Jade & Jasmine: {Conversations With a Pro} JB Photography

In the year 2000 I met Jay Braack in science class at high school. We became good friends and over the years we've stayed in touch. So imagine my astonishment when I recently discovered, via the magic of Facebook, that he had chosen to pursue a career in photography! This man kept his passion quiet from many but, when I saw his work, I knew I had to share it with the world! It is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you, JB Photography.

{What prompted you to pick up a camera?}

My old man kicked me out of bed the one morning at about 05:30, and told me to go look at the impending sunrise. So, with two hours of sleep behind me, the morning chill and a cup of coffee, I got up and went outside. The sunrise looked stunning, but I had no desire to take a picture. My dad was taking a few shots and he handed me the camera. I was pretty hooked from there. That was two years ago. I wanted to share my perspective with other people, without having to kick them out of bed! From then on, I progressed as many other photographers do, taking pictures of EVERYTHING! I appreciate a nice photo and am confident enough to sell my images as art.

{What is your favourite thing to shoot?}

I enjoy shooting landscapes, children and live bands. Subjects that have a vintage or indie feel also catch my eye very quickly. Natural scenes are my favourite because there is no rush, I can take all the time I want. Kids are fun because they're so disconnected from the 'grown-up world', they're generally not camera shy subjects and are quite willing to put on a show, with great results. Live bands rock, literally, but the vibe of being that close to the makers of music is really great. It feels as if I'm part of the band. It also offers the challenge of shooting in extremely low-lit conditions.

{What's in your bag of tricks?}

I use a Sony A200 D-SLR. I have two lenses, an 18-70mm and a 28-200mm. Digital post-processing offers a very wide scope of creativity. Film photography is tempting, but expensive. One day when I'm all grown up and have some extra money, I wouldn't mind getting a Canon 7D!

{Care to share your favourite picture of your own?}

The 'Shoes' pic always gets shown off first, it's got one of my favourite colour schemes, black and yellow, the shoes themselves make me think back to childhood. Running around the garden, playing cops and robbers, skate boarding, making a mess, getting dirty.. and then, like a true boy, leaving it on the stoep for mum to pick up :)

{What advice can you give to aspiring photographers?}

My advice, you can only get better by shooting as many pictures as you can, branch out, experiment and keep learning. If qualified doctors are called practitioners, then so are photographers!