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Photographer Spotlight: Greg Davis
It is a little earlier in the month than is normal for this feature. The reason for that is simple, I will not be anywhere near home on the 15th when this feature normally is published. Instead of waiting till later in the month, I figured I would go ahead and introduce this month's featured photographer a little early. The subject of this month's Photographer Spotlight does a little bit of everything from landscapes, to racing, and even a bit of wedding photography thrown in for good measure. I'm happy to introduce Greg Davis of G S Davis Photography.
Photo Copyright © 2004 G S Davis Photography
Greg has resided in Cincinnati, OH, for pretty much all of his 30-some years. From early on in his life..."almost before I could talk", Greg had a love of drawing and art. He owes this in no small part to his Dad. After graduating high school, Greg went on to pursue art in college where he received an art degree. Greg puts it best...."the art degree, however, pretty much qualified me to drive a truck." He put aside his love for art for the sake of making a living, which I think we can all understand on some level. Greg has worked for several of the more well known carriers over his life.
About four years ago, Greg decided it was time to chase another one of his dreams to become a teacher...specifically middle school. He is currently in the last stages of the teaching program with under two months left of student teaching before he is a full fledged teacher. He says the best part about this is that his student teaching will be in Australia. As if this assignment isn't enough, he is excited about the photography potential as well. So...how and when did photography come into his life?
Photo Copyright © 2007 G S Davis Photography
He got started with photography in a round about sort of way. He used to race bicycle motocross at the national level. Apparently he was pretty good on a bike as he made it into the top ten experts in his age bracket for the country. He actually traveled the country racing bikes which prompted him to rediscover his love of art through the medium of photography. He cut his teeth on a Pentax K1000 SLR camera, and even spent some time in the darkroom at his school.
As he continued with the sport of motocross, he gradually upgraded his equipment and began shooting many of the races. He made an impression on his circle because in no time at all, his pictures were being featured in a BMX magazine as well as several websites on a regular basis. He participated in two different contests where he ended up being featured in Photographic (now Shutterbug), and almost landed a feature in Cowboys and Indians Magazine in their special photographic issue.
Its funny how things develop in photography some times. It was Greg's work with the BMX circuit that opened the doors to another type of photography....weddings. Greg's work was noticed by a fellow racer who asked him to photograph his wedding. Even after shooting BMX races and dealing with the very fast paced tempo, he has found that weddings can actually be harder to photograph.
Photo Copyright © 2007 G S Davis Photography
Greg has realized something when comparing wedding photography to sports photography, and quite frankly, I had not ever thought of this. "And get this, whereas my BMX photos are dated from almost the moment I download my memory card, wedding shots might be so loved as to outlive me..." he goes on to tell about a picture that can be point to and described as "This is my grandparents wedding. This is where we come from." He makes a very strong point here, and he is very privileged to be able to capture those moments for the family to share for generations.
Greg has been fully into photography now since May, 2003, when he landed his first magazine job. In 2004 he began focusing on another type of photography...travel photography. It was during a trip to Europe that he captured the image that was eventually to be featured in Photographic. Greg found that travel photography was a type of photography that he absolutely loved after this trip.
His affection for travel photography could possibly be traced back to seeing photographs in National Geographic which arguably employees some of the best photographers around. Greg finds that he is drawn to photographs of people "doing what they do when they're not being photographed." He recalls the infamous picture of the Afghan girl with the "mesmerizing eyes" as being one of those images permanently burned into his memory. It is these candid, and not posed shots that he likes the best, and tries his best to incorporate that into his own wedding photography. He is trying to capture the emotion of the event so that it can be "re-feeled" at a later time. That is when he knows that he has done his job.
While Greg has received some formal training in photography, he believes (as do I) that passion is major player in this art form. He sums it up quite nicely in this one interview answer..."Paul McCartney doesn't have a master's degree in music, but pretty much everyone would agree that he has a mastery of music." Greg feels that photography is the same way in that you can still be a great photographer without any formal training. However, he bets that you can become even better with masters in the field guiding you along the way.
Photo Copyright © 2006 G S Davis Photography
Greg currently shoots both film and digital cameras. He keeps the film cameras around for his infrared work as seen above. He is a little miffed at Kodak for discontinuing their infrared B&W film that he has come to love over the years. However, he plans to keep his "brick of a camera", the Nikon F5 and an F100 as he has found that brides still prefer film shots. Since he works with candids so much, a medium format camera is out of the question for him.
Greg is far from a film holdout though. He sees the place that digital will have in the future of photography, and carries both a Nikon D200 and a D2H (which he loves despite being a lower resolution camera at only 4MP). The D2H comes in handy when it comes to shooting fast moving sports as it is very quick. As a backup he uses an older Fuji S2 which also fits the Nikon lenses.
Photo Copyright © 2006 G S Davis Photography
Greg's photography is only part-time at present. He earns very little from his photography, and would like to do a bit more weddings. However, he doesn't quite have the time to do the marketing necessary for a success in this field. Right now, his business has been solely word of mouth. So, with that being said, take a minute and drop by his website at G S Davis Photography. While he does not promote selling his images on the website, he would not be opposed to selling prints.
As mentioned above, Greg has been influenced by National Geographic and the photographers that fill the pages. In addition, he finds inspiration from the great masters of photography such as: Ansel Adams, Anne Leibovitz, Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa, and Edward Curtis. He also mentions two wedding photographers that stand out in his mind: Joe Buissink, and Jeff Ascough who works with a film Leica rangefinder camera.
As far as goals, Greg has a pretty realistic view of where photography can take him. With his recent career change, he will be taking a pay cut, so he is hoping to build on his wedding photography to supplement his income. Travel photography also comes into play, and he hopes to have many more of his travel based photographs published, and possibly do some freelance work for some magazines. His dream job, however, would be a gig with National Geographic, which he refers to as the "elite of the elite."
While the first time getting published was great, his highlight in photography so far has been the reaction of brides to his photographs. On once occasion, the bride said "that shot was exactly how I was feeling all day that day." Reactions like that make him feel like "a million bucks."
Greg would like to share with other photographers a fairly simple concept that has helped him to become a better photographer. He says you shouldn't be afraid to try new techniques. By pushing yourself and your equipment, you will become much more familiar with yourself and your camera. It will become an extension of your eye and arm. Along this same line, play around with lighting and don't be afraid to experiment with a scene.
The biggest piece of advice is to look around you. While he has always had 20/20 vision, the time between art school and his rediscovery of photography is referred to as a black hole of vision. He didn't "see" things and certainly didn't appreciate things like sunsets, budding flowers and the delicate smile lines on a grandmother's face. Photography has been like having cataracts removed from his eyes. He can now see again brilliantly, because he is once again looking....noticing his surroundings. He is now able to look for that perfect opportunity to tell the thousand words that his pictures tell.
Written by Greg A. Kiser
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What an interesting read. I loved the photos of the BMX racing. I can imagine it was quite a change from fast paced to weddings.
Lisa -
I adore the magical woodland scene and I like the last paragraph you've ended this entry on.
Have a wonderful photo full trip :) Rache -
Great Spotlight! This is some beautiful work! I'm a little rushed right now but will be back to check out Greg's photo site. Martha :-)
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I am saving his site until I have some time to enjoy it more. Helen
7/18/08 5:55 PM