Edward Fieder is photographer and, over here at Almost There, we love his work. I'm happy to call him a friend and even happier to talk photography with him!
We hope you enjoy this week's interview!
Well, my name is Edward Fieder and I'm a photographer! I'm 26 years old and graduated from Troy University with a degree in Design, Technology, and Innovations with a contract in photography and I'm currently living in, and from Montgomery, AL. Some cool facts about me...are...I'm a type one diabetic, I love the movie Scott Pilgrim, and play soccer...thats cool right?
Is your passion photography?Yes, without a doubt my passion is photography...though I'd like to start playing with video too. Out of everything I learned about design in college its not really "my thing." Sure, I know and can do design work, but I'd much rather be holding a camera in front of my face.
When did you realize that photography was for you?
Honestly, I figured photography was something I wanted to do while in college. I used to think having the title of "photographer" was earned and I still kind of do. I didn't really think I earned the title until about my third photography class at Troy and when I started working with the schools photography department. I then got some awards for it and I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What is a career goal that you are currently working towards?
My current career goal is to really just make photography my full time job. I would much rather it be with a company that could use what I have to offer because I really want to be a part of a team instead of freelance my entire life. Freelancing is great and all but in college I learned how to work with others and I really miss that aspect of working on projects. The only thing that keeps me company with projects now are Pandora, and Netflix playing in the background as I edit images.
What's the most expensive camera you've ever had?
Most expensive camera I've ever had is my current camera...Nikons D4. The camera is a BEAST and I love it!
Most expensive camera I've ever had is my current camera...Nikons D4. The camera is a BEAST and I love it!
Give us the deets: What's in your camera bag?
Whats in my camera bag...here we go. Nikon D4 Body, Nikon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6, Nikon 50mm f/1.4, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8, Nikon Fisheye 10.5 f/2.8, 2 Nikon SB-600 Flash's, and a Nikon SB-800 Flash.
This is just whats in my backpack and is camera gear...Im not even going to get into cords, chargers, memory cards, or studio lights and diffusers I own.
This is just whats in my backpack and is camera gear...Im not even going to get into cords, chargers, memory cards, or studio lights and diffusers I own.
We LOVE your 365 Project. What inspired you to do one?
Thats a good question. I saw people do it before and an old room mate told me about the projects. It seemed like it would be a lot of fun to do and try out so we decided we would try and tackle it together....and we failed...MISERABLY! It was strong there for awhile but as the year progressed it got really stale. During the summer was the worst because we went off and did our own thing and there were just too many distractions for a college kid during the summer to really wanna concentrate on producing quality work every...day...I managed to make it to September but school work became too much and I just couldn't keep up. If you're in college, and you want to do this, it's going to be hard...fair warning.
We definitely have a few favorites from 365 so far, what are some of YOUR favorites?
Oh boy...some of my favorites...lemme see...I love January 1, January 14, Jan 20, March 5, April 11, April 12, April 24, and May 3.
There would be more...but after a few weeks of looking at my work I tend to start ripping it apart and looking at things I need to change or would've done differently.
Aside from 365, what's your favorite picture that you've ever taken?
For some reason I feel that the picture of the Troy quad that looks like a hurricane is about to hit it is my favorite. Its one of my first images that I was noticed for and people were trying to find out who took it. It was made into a poster for the girls basketball team and I've sold quite a bit of prints from it. Even more importantly I look at that image and think of all the amazing times I had and things I learned from the University in those 3 short years. It's more of an emotional image to me more than anything.
Do you have a favorite photographer that you follow?
I have 2 photographers that I follow. They are Zack Arias, and Trey Ratcliff. I look at a lot of photographers work...but those are the 2 I really keep up with.
While taking the pictures is a big part of being photographer, people forget that editing is a big part too. How long does it usually take to edit a picture and what do you use?
This is a question I can't really answer. It depends on the image really. April 11 picture took me a around an hour and a half to complete but April 12 picture took me 5 minutes. Some images I only have to throw in some contrast and color adjustments and others I have to remove things, dodge and burn, make selections then make adjustments to those selections, then mask some things and remix them with other images, there's a ton of things I can do to an image and ultimately it depends on what I'm trying to make.
Are you planning on working any future projects you'd like to tell us about?
I'm actually in the process of getting funds to start a photo book about diabetes. Well, its not really about diabetes, but its a photo book showing diabetics doing whatever it is they do. See, back in the day when I was diagnosed I FUHREAKED out. I cried and was scared and all that stuff. I thought a bunch of terrible things that weren't true and I NEVER WANT A KID TO FEEL THE WAY I DID EVERRRRRR AGAINNNN. So, I want to make this book with a bunch of pictures of awesome diabetics doing awesome things with a general awesomeness so when kids are diagnosed with diabetes they can look at this book and hopefully it'll show them that they are just like everyone else and it will kind of keep them at ease. Does that make sense?
What advice would you give to aspiring photographers out there?
Do not give up! There are going to be good days and bad days. Days you think you suck and days you think you're doing ok. You will over think your images and rip them a part. You will compare your photography to others and you'll want to give up some days and do something else. If you really want to do this...YOU CAN NEVER give up.
Link us up! What sites and social media accounts should we be following if we want more of your awesome photography?
