Web Profiles

Young At Heart; Praise And They Will Prosper

Joe Farace  |  Jul 1, 2004

Jordan Farmer from Washington state is 16 years old and aspires to become a professional photographer. He's been making images for "a year," but you would never know it when you see
his website.
© 2004 Jordan Farmer, All Rights Reserved

"Praise youth and it will prosper."--Irish proverb

For many photographers, especially young ones, it seems like the most difficult challenge they face is getting published. Maybe not? One of the things I like best about Web Profiles is that it gives me a chance to introduce new, young photographers to Shutterbug readers. This month, I'd like you to meet Jordan Farmer...

He's Not Horsing Around
Jordan Farmer from Washington state is 16 years old and aspires to become a professional photographer. He told me that he's been making images for "a year," but you would never know it when you visit his website (http://jordanfstop.com/). Inside, the clean interface contains About, Gallery, Contact, Prints, and Links sections. His Gallery contains eight different collections covering all kinds of genres from Portraits to Scenics to, yes, Horses. Since there's a clever horse portrait providing the leitmotif on his homepage, I figured Farmer had some affinity for these four-hoofed steeds...and he does as you can see by the color and monochrome photographs in this collection.

Some of the images in the Gallery are what you would expect from a kid new to photography, while others show a fearlessness that young people, who haven't already been taught the "correct way" to make images, are still free to express themselves. The best of these photographs show a flare for whimsy and interesting compositional choices. The Misc collection, a.k.a. Artsy, has a great image of a traffic circle made at night and other images that show me how much Farmer loves photography because he schlepped there at night to make an image that took some time and thought. There's also a Street collection showing photographs of actual streets, and among Farmer's many explorations, in this and each and every one of his collections, you will find little jewels. While more experienced photographers have already made some of these images, put yourself in Farmer's place and imagine the wonder of discovery that lies before him. I wish him the best.

Phil Weston's website is the essence of what a 21st century photography studio's site should be. It has style, but most importantly shows that he's creative and contemporary.
© 2003 Weston Imaging Group, All Rights Reserved

With A Name Like Weston, It Better Be Good
If in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance you find the "very model of a modern major general," then Phil Weston's website (www.westonimaging.com) is the very essence of what a 21st century photography studio's site should be. It has style enough, but most importantly shows he's creative and contemporary...and did I mention versatile? The images on the site are a mixture of Weston's and his associate Heather Zahner's work, but no matter who's behind the camera the technical and aesthetic levels are of the highest quality. The Our Photography section shows an eclectic combination of commercial, architectural, and portrait imagery woven into the tapestry of the site design. So many of the images are excellent on so many levels that picking a favorite is difficult, but Weston's monochrome image of a woman holding a child, as seen from the back, is as good as illustrative photography gets, despite my simplistic description.

Want some techno gee-whiz? Go to the Immersive Media section for some amazing QuickTime VR (Virtual Reality) images and movies. You'll need a free QuickTime plug-in for your browser, which most Mac OS users already have but Windows users can download one from Weston's site. There are few, if any, captions and the thumbnails could charitably be called "tiny," while the large images could be larger. But this is a small criticism for one of the best looking and functional sites that I've visited this year.

Chuck Haney is a free-lance photographer based in Whitefish, Montana, who has put together a warm, attractive, and inviting website that showcases his stunning landscape and nature imagery.
© 2004 chuckhaney.com, All Rights Reserved

The Best Nature Photography On The Web
Chuck Haney is a free-lance photographer based in Whitefish, Montana, and has put together a warm, attractive, and inviting website (www.chuckhaney.com) highlighting his stock, commercial, and editorial photography. For all those skeptics that think getting a coffee-table book published is impossible, think again. In the Books section, you will see five books that Haney has produced, some with long-time collaborator and fellow Montanan John Reddy. I have a copy of Haney and Reddy's (now out of print) Wild and Beautiful Montana, but a sequel is now available. These are stunning books filled with beautiful landscape photography of the Big Sky Country that have been lovingly printed, yet these lavish books cost less than $30 each. Take a look at some of these breathtaking images in the Stock Images or Prints sections.

After selecting a collection, they're opened in a separate window with scrolling thumbnails at the bottom of the screen. The images are rich, deeply saturated in color; if they don't pop off your screen, it's time to get a new monitor. Whether Haney is photographing farm buildings, as seen in "Beauty in Agriculture," or making "Digital fun & Panoramas," the images in both these collections will help you rethink your ideas of the West and what nature photography can be. (I'll give you a hint, it ain't just a picture made "outdoors.") If you want a print, Haney will be glad to make a state of the art print from his library of 55,000 images at most reasonable prices. It may be a cliché to say it, but I'm going to anyway: Haney is a poet with a camera and his website will take you down some country roads to see America as it really is. Thanks for the guided tour, Haney.

Don't Be Bashful
If you want to recommend your own or a friend's website for an appearance in this department, please e-mail the URL to joe@joefarace.com. Be sure to visit my sites at: www.joefarace.com and www.joefaraceshootscars.com.

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