I've been a commercial photographer for some 23 years now. Early on everything was film-based photography and I was fortunate to be mentored by a talented commercial photographer who taught me everything about 4x5 view camera techniques, studio & location lighting. (Thanks Gerry!)  His demand for precision has served me well, especially when exposing transparency film with its unforgiving exposure latitude. I eventually became proficient enough to branch out on my own as so many photographer's assistants have done. I also did a stint as a portrait studio photographer and learned a great deal about people, posing, and pleasing a client. Additional formal training via classes at Professional Photographers of America expanded my knowledge & techniques in many areas. (Those were some fun classes!) ie: Portraiture, Studio Product LIghting, Food photography, Art history, Composition, Special Effects, Corporate photography.

My main types of photography are architectural, corporate, industrial, interiors, location, people, products, stock and wall decor.

Fortunately, I saw the rapid advancement of digital imaging in the early 90's and purchased my 1st of many Macs, and started using an amazing program, Photoshop Version 1.2 as I recall! Of course, all film had to be scanned, at considerable expense, before importing, editing, etc.

Now, digital capture is a push of a button, often importing directly into the laptop and shown as a large preview. In some ways, the technical capabilities of digital SLRs have allowed many amateur photographers to instantly rank themselves as professionals. This has somewhat hurt our business. Fortunately, there is no substitue for knowing how to: successfully light something; make great compositions, communicate a product or service for an advertising campaign, deliver consistent imagery, etc.

So, here I've found a great place to share many types of images. Some may even put a smile on your face as I believe a sense of humor is critical to making it through life... There's a wealth of talent here in so many different areas and I hope to make new friends, view, enjoy, learn, and perhaps share ideas in the process.
Have a creative day – every day!
-James
www.artistic-imagingbyjs.com