Michael Kistler Photography

www.urbanxonline.com

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-X/394888257206673?ref=hl

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkistler/

http://findingyourselfinthestreets.com/

 https://www.facebook.com/FindingYourselfInTheStreets?ref=hl

 http://instagram.com/mdkistler/

What kind of equipment (camera body, lens, filters, flash, tripod, cleaning equipment other) do you use?

Body: Canon 7D

Lenses: Canon EF 24-105 mm f/4L/Canon 50 mm f/1.8/Tokina 11-16 mm f/2.8

iPhone 5

Ricoh GR

 
What do you like and dislike about your equipment, especially your camera, and how would you improve it?

There isn’t much I’d change with the 7D aside from the weight–it’s heavy, especially depending on the lens I’m using. I love my iPhone 5 for street–it’s easy, light and always with me. As for the Ricoh, the jury is still out–I’d read a lot of good things but thus far am not overly impressed.

 
What is your favourite lens, and why?

My favorite lens is my 50 mm 1.8. It’s simple, light, fast and functions well in low light. I also like that it forces me to interact when I’m shooting street.

 
When you travel, what is in your essential photographic kit bag?

I try to keep things as light as possible. I bring my Canon with the lenses mentioned above. If I’m shooting in an urban area with a concentration of tall buildings, I’ll also bring my wide angle lens. And, of course, my iPhone is always in my pocket.

 
What kind of software/tools do you use for post-processing, if any?

I don’t do extensive post-processing. Most of my editing involves minor tone-tweaking and contrast adjustments in Lightroom and Silver Efex/Color Efex Pro from Nik. I tend to do more editing of my iPhone shots and almost exclusively use Snapseed.

 
How long have you been taking photographs? How do you find inspiration? How do you take your pictures?

I’ve been shooting for 25 years, but my most focused (no pun intended!) work has been in the last 5 years. There is no end to motivation in the streets. I walk, shoot and inspiration seems to find me. I tend to shoot pretty freely and don’t get hung up on technical details. The essence of street photography is of the moment, so I have learned to react quickly to dynamic and fast-paced situations. The flip-side to missing the so-called decisive moment is that there will always be another one.

 
Which style of photography do you like the most, and why?

Street photography is my favorite because of the endless possibilities. I love the energy, movement, motion and interaction of various elements in a very unpredictable setting.  I am also a big fan of motion blur and heavy contrast.

 
What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?

Personally, I am constantly striving to create better compositions and looking for new ways to express myself creatively. Additionally, I have devoted a lot of time recently to iPhone photography. There is something simple, free and unpretentious about it. I think the combination of the iPhone and Instagram has made photography a lot more fun and accessible to a wide range of people, which I think is a very positive direction for the future. I hope to be a part of it. Professionally, I have recently started a street photography workshop series (Finding Yourself in the Streets) with a friend and fellow photographer named Mimo Khair. It is my goal to do workshops throughout the world, increase the visibility of street photography as an art form and to connect with as many people as possible.

 
Looking at your own work, which piece is your favourite? Why? Please provide a link to the picture.

It’s tough to choose. There is something in photography about each photo being your next new favorite. That said, here is a recent personal favorite of mine. I shot this one on my iPhone, and I like that by simply rotating the image 180 degrees, the perception changes significantly. I think this image is complex in its simplicity if that makes any sense. There is a story here, but it is also very open to interpretation. Hopefully the image is thought-provoking to the viewer. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkistler/8645267976/

 
Does your work fit into any one or more distinct genres (nature, landscape, long-exposure, black-and-white, infra-red, urban, artistic, macro, vintage, vernacular, social, street)? If other, please specify.

I would characterize my work as street photography (mainly B&W but color, too), but there is often a distinctively abstract element to my images. I love imagery that is subjective and takes time to digest.

Are there any photography websites that you visit regularly?

Flickr

Instagram

 
What is the one most important lesson that you have learned since you started taking photographs?

The single most important lesson I’ve learned is that what you see and how you compose is far more important than the camera and equipment you are using. Also, repetition is very important; if you want to be a good photographer you have to shoot, shoot, shoot.

And finally, what other interesting photographers would you like to see in this blog?

Brendan Ose and Mimo Khair are two of my favorites.