His flickr stream is dominated by stunning portraits of beautiful models. Photographer Dave Gruentzel is a jack-of-all-trades, a self-described digital handyman. Photographer, musician, recording engineer: He’s a man of many talents. How did he get started? How does he look at life through the lens? On today’s Photog Friday, meet and learn more about Dave Gruentzel….
Photographer Dave Gruentzel
Name: Dave Gruentzel
Country of residence: USA
Brief Bio:
A Wisconsin native, I’ve always been an artistic person and this is another way to express ideas and myself. Photography was a hobby of
mine that turned into a business, a business that i enjoy. Besides photography music is another passion of mine, both playing and recording. I currently work at Area 68 recording studio as a main engineer and i play bass in a band called Jake Jendusa & The Dead Men. I am also a web and graphic designer. So i guess you could call me your digital handy man.
How did you first get interested in photography?
Photography was an accident in my high school schedule, and I’m glad it happened. It just snow balled from there.
What do you like to shoot?
I love to do on location shooting. The setting is always different and you have the challenges to figure out the lighting because nature is always changing.
© Dave Gruentzel
What’s your approach to photography, your philosophy? What do you look for? How do you set-up a shot?
For me 50% of photography is taking the photo, the other 50% is the creative processing you do to make it better than real life. I’m not saying you should take a bunch of random photos and hope for the best then fix it later. It’s always best to get what you want straight out of the camera.
© Dave Gruentzel
What is the best photo you have taken? Why? Background and details, please…
The best photo that i’ve taken was with the model allison. It’s me favorite because of the movie poster look and feel. The photo was taking in my basement studio with her standing about 5 feet away from a black paper background. The main key light was a B800 with a silver umbrella to camera right and above. SB600 behind her for the hair light and another SB600 for the background light. I sprayed her down with water from a spray bottle to give her that wet look. Then i brought the photo into light room for the light editing then photoshop for the textured background.
What gear are you using? What else do you want to buy?
Right now i’m using a D300, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.4, SB600’s, and Alien Bee gear. My Gear wish list is a D3s, 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.
Which area of photography would you like to explore further (macro,
landscapes, portraits)
I try and not to stick in one area as it will get boring to me. Trying different type of photography helps me keep my interest and gives me a challenge to try different things. But, if i did have to choose i would like to do more portraiture.
© Dave Gruentzel
Where do you see your photography 5 years from now?
That is a very good question, and i don’t know the answer. I go where the wind takes me.
Whats the best advice you would give to fellow photographers?
Keep shooting, see what you like and don’t like about your photos. Look at other photographers photos and see what you like about them then try and recreate them. Read up on different techniques, photographers, styles, gear, and anything you can read about photography. Join some photo groups, Flickr is a great place for that. And you can never stop learning!
Where can we find your images?
Website: www.itakeyourphoto.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/davegruentzel
Model Mayhem: www.modelmayhem.com/1075632
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