​Tell us a little about yourself:

My name is John McAllister, a forty something currently living 20 miles west
of London. I have been interested in photography ever since getting an
Olympus OM10 when I was sixteen. Unfortunately, the trials of life and
demands of work meant that I put my toys away for a very long time. This
year, the toys are back out as I received a DSLR for the Christmas of 2011.
Since then I have been on a fast-track, cram-it-in, steep-as-possible
learning curve - I just hope I can keep up the momentum.​

​

Are you an amateur or a pro photographer?

I would call myself a keen amateur photographer.  I've always enjoyed art,
doing and viewing, and photography is a great medium especially when
combined with a good post-processing app like Photoshop.
 

What do you like to photograph?

​Everything possible, I have not settled or found my own style. I find
photography is a challenge; not to just create something beautiful or
interesting but to experiment with as many techniques and subjects as
possible - it's unbelievable just how many variables are involved but that's
the beauty of photography, fleeting moments or staged creations - what you
experience right at this moment could be so completely different several
seconds later... WOW!
 

​What is in your photography kit?

Canon 7D, Fisheye 8mm, 28mm, 35mm, 40mm (my current fav lens), 50mm, 90mm
Macro, Canon 18-135mm (kit lens) and 70-300mm - many of these are
second-hand manual lenses dating back to the 80's/90's and make you work for
the shot. In the last six months I have become interested in off-camera
strobe lighting so I have collected a variety of cheap lighting equipment.
Oh yes, I can't do without my tripod - one of my best investments.
 

What's your favorite lens?

The newly released Canon EF 40mm f2.8 STM - Other than being ridiculously
cheap, it's sharp and quick to focus, a good focal length on the Canon 7D at
around 64mm or so and, being a pancake lens, is compactly cute and
inoffensive :)
 

​Any favorite photographer(s)?

I don't have any big-name influences although I read many, many books. I
prefer the mystery of abstract images and spend an age trying to understand
just what attracts me to a particular image. A photographers that regularly
get me scratching my head and staring in awe is
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7544906@N03 for the simplicity and audacity. I
also admire the beautiful creative photographer/graphic artist
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60608730@N05/ who has created some fine pieces
of art and I keenly look forward to the next posting.

 

​Which is your own favorite picture?

It's got to be Hercules Over Loch Tummel, which marked the start of a
fantastic, but far to brief, holiday in the Highlands of Scotland. By being
ready, patient and doggedly persistent while I waited for the right light
rewarded me with a unforgettable flyover by a RAF Hercules, mere metres
overhead.
​

What is your dream?

​I'm a fortunate person with love, trust, health and security in my life.
Dreaming that my fortune continues is plenty enough for me.
 

​Any advice or great tips to share?

If a challenge or task seems too big and daunting, think about yourself
already being there or having already achieved it and then imagine what you
must have done to get there - I find that ideas come so much easier once
you've removed the barriers.