Adam Binns is a photographer based in Dunedin, he specialises in sport, music, event and general commercial imaging and is the first photographer to feature in the blog’s ‘Photographer Profile’ segment.
| Current Camera | EOS 1 DX Mk II and EOS 5D Mk III |
| Favourite Camera you have ever used/had | My EOS 1 DX Mk II is the best camera I’ve ever had, but I’ve got a soft spot for the Chinon CE-4 I had back in the 80s |
| Which do you prefer? | Either – no preference |
| And why? | I love film and still shoot it sometimes. I always said I wouldn’t go digital until the prints from it were as good as from film. We’re a long way past that now. Being a sports photographer who files live to the picture agencies, digital is just great. So I like them both equally now. |
| Which medium do you prefer? | |
| And why? | There’s something special about seeing a great image in physical existence. Particularly when it’s well mounted and framed. |
| How did you get into photography and when? | When I was 12 I pestered and pestered my parents into buying me an SLR. My first camera was a Praktica Super TL 1000. I absolutely loved it and it taught me the nuts and bolts of manual photography. I helped form a photography club at school, and we were lucky enough to have a darkroom set up for us so I got to learn how to develop and print as well. So I’ve been a photographer for 35 years now. |
| What keeps you inspired with your photography? | I like to think that I see the world rectangularly. I see pictures everywhere, so for me it’s about transferring what I see into an image for other people to see. |
| Do you have a particular theme that would summarise your photographs? | I prefer for my photography to be what you see is what you get – ie no (or little) manipulation. My images are tend to be a record of real life, but I do still sometimes get arty. I’m not one for photoshopping and changing reality too much though. |
| Where is the best place that you have been to take photos? | Baker Beach, San Francisco, California. The best image I ever took was of Golden Gate Bridge in black and white, and it was superbly hand printed by a lab in Leicester in the UK. |
| What piece of equipment could you not do without in your camera bag? | My monopod. Running a 400 f2.8 I couldn’t work without it. I was flying up to Christchurch once to photograph a Crusaders rugby game and I’d got a nagging feeling sitting on the aeroplane that I was forgetting something. Just as the captain put full throttle on I remembered. It was my monopod. I had to go to Photo Warehouse when I got to Christchurch to buy another one. I now have two monopods. |
| Do you have any advice for your fellow photographers? | Take advice from people who know what they are on about. Don’t get upset at constructive advice. Use it to improve. But always keep your own style. Don’t copy others. |
| Do you have any favourite photography related websites or web resources that you’d like to share with us ? (this includes your own) | adambinns.com snpa.co.nz (one of the agencies I work for) |
Dunedin Photographic Society 