Who is 'enax'? First I want to say thanks to the members of
R'osity who voted for my option. Also thanks to the members who
didn't vote for me, because the nominees are excellent
photographers. My name is Francesc, I'm married and enax is
the abbreviation of e-naxian. I'm Catalan and I live near
Barcelona, the language normally used by me to speak, write and
think is the Catalan; for this reason, sorry if I use some wrong
expressions. How long have you been rendering/doing computer
graphics/photography? I've been rendering and doing computer
graphics for a year and some months but the important thing now is
the photography. I started taking photos with a friend at nine
years old with a very bad camera, at sixteen I bought my first
reflex and two years later I had my darkroom. During these years
our diversion was take the car on Sundays and go somewhere with our
girlfriends to take photos. Do you have traditional art
experience? No, my formation is in business administration.
What are you currently working on? In reference to the
photography, I want to start a series on Barcelona, possibly with a
sub-series about Antoni Gaud I want to start this weekend. Also,
I must work on my abandoned website and re-install Poser and Bryce;
recently I've bought Vue d'Esprit and I was waiting for the version
4.2 to import from Poser 5. I've got some ideas, like "From the
Isola di San Michele to Sant' Antonio". I have a clear image of
what I want, but I need these programs and to model some props,
anyway it's a very difficult image. I've got 2 props and the Sky_13
ready to upload to free stuff section too. This, alternated with my
business and my studies: at present, a superior degree in New
Technologies of Information and Communication. What
software/equipment do you use and why? The software for
excellence is PhotoShop; everyone who wants to work seriously with
images needs PS, from the creation of textures for 3D, to resize a
photo or change the White Balance, and save for the web with
quality and quick downloads. I know some people here use other
software, and it is good for treatment of images, but I think PS
has it all (3D, Web, Photo, 2D, Mixed Medium, Fractals...); for
this reason I bought PS. With Adobe Web Collection I also got
GoLive, Illustrator and LiveMotion, this software isn't as unique
(without competence) as Photoshop, other options like Dreamweaver,
Flash and FreeHand are excellent and maybe better. Of course I've
got Poser4pp and Poser 5; perhaps without Poser I would have never
known Renderosity. I use other software for 3D, like Bryce, Vue,
and Rhino. About the equipment, first the computer, I selected
every piece of it, from the processor to the power supply. The
processor is an Intel Pentium with Hyper-Treading technology,
really effective in multitask, and I always work in multitask. Also
I use two CRT monitors, not necessary for Bryce for example, but a
comfort working with PS, P5 and all the programs with palettes. At
last but not least my equipment photographic, I use two bodies of
Canon with some lenses from wide angle to tele. I also own a
fantastic second hand Mamiya645 (I like the quality) with three
lenses, wide angle, normal and tele. One essential photometer
(Gossen) and flash. Finally, an Olympus Camedia E-10, is reflex but
not with interchangeable lenses, its unique lens is a macro-zoom
(9-36mm). What do you think your best piece of work is and
why? Almost all images in my gallery are of the last three
months, I started uploading photos last May. I like very much some
of my B&W (Tri-X 400-135) photos of people and a few portraits I
took with the Mamiya, also in B&W (Ilford FP4-120). I can't scan
the rolls "120" and the master prints are 30*40cm, excessive size
for my flat scanner. I also like a series of still life I took with
the Mamiya too, with Agfa rolls, 25 ASA exposed at 12 ASA and
developed with two developers to get more quality in the shadows.
For the light metering in these photos, I used photometer to meter
every light and shadow in the image, this is the "Zone System" of
Ansel Adams applied with a 6x4.5 camera, and this is really
quality. I took a few nudes (of woman) that I like too. From my
gallery generally I like the last work, I'm very selective and when
I upload an image it's because I like it for any reason. One of my
favorites is "4U
Again"; I used it to say thanks to the members of Renderosity
who has voted for the AOM and to those who with their comments have
encouraged me to take more photos. Why do you like to work with
3D software and photography? This is two questions in one and
very different. Photography, the most difficult to answer, I don't
know why I began taking photos; I suppose that is an excellent
alternative to the shit-manipulator TV and foments culture,
friendship and creativity, basic terms for a stable person. You can
say that some of the most excellent artists were eccentric, mad,
angry or crazy, ok, I'm not an artist but generally the
photographers are stable, except these old-fashioned snobs for whom
their work is pure art. Well, the answer, the World, with its
inhabitants, is full of beauty and it's a pleasure to play with the
images, light, shapes and colors of this World. Mankind has created
infinity of beauty as well; this is the bucolic part of the
photography, but also it offers the "very important" possibility to
be witness of primordial moments in the history of our time or of
our particular history. 3D is like the photography in some aspects
but radically different, there you aren't the witness of a moment,
you are the creator, and you can put the people where you want, the
light as you like, the scenery that you prefer and finally take the
photo. Who / what inspires you? All I like inspires me, and
all I dislike too! I've got more inspiration than time, I think
this happens to the majority of active members of Renderosity, but
I can't create all the images that I have in mind, and the
generation of mental images is superior to the generation of
tangible images. Books, for example Dante's "The Divine Comedy" is
like a slideshow, every three verses is one image, not a fractal or
abstract image, is a real image with a lot of 3D work if you want
to materialize it. It's an intriguing and stunning surrealism, very
expressive, the churches used to terrify the poor people of Dante's
time. Poetry, Catalan poets like Salvador Espriu, Joan Oliver or
Miquel Marti Pol...and the Spanish Antonio Machado. Music, all
the music: from Alessandro Marcello to Dmitri Dmitrievich
Shostakovich. From Tomaso Albinoni to Igor Stravinsky. From Mozart
to Norah Jones. Also Catalan singers, and composers, as Llu Llach
or Joan Manuel Serrat. The titles of my first photos in the gallery
are from songs of Llu Llach. Also the touching interpretation of
Pau Casals, and the powerful and vital conduction of Leonard
Bernstein. Movies, such as "Eyes Wide Shut" with the symbolism of
Kubrick. The color and expressiveness of some painters like
Salvador Dal Joan Mir Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Renoir,
Kandinsky or Pablo Picasso...This and more is what I like. The CNN,
Sky News, and the news in general have inspired images like
"Spring.03"
(Original title "Sadness"), "Black
Tears" or, not uploaded yet, "Brothers in Arms". Finally some
friends, members of Renderosity, principally my Vue dEsprit
images. Well, this can be endless, only add my beautiful country
and the cradle of all the blues, the Mediterranean Sea. How has
this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work,
relationships, and learning? Renderosity has many members; I
think it's the most active community of people creating images in
Internet. I like this community, and I like the people and
communication, now I consider I've got some friends here and they
are, with their comments on my works, who enhanced my work, and
I'll never get tired of saying thanks to them. As the real world
the relationships not always are as you would like, but I'm very
happy with the people here. About learning, the forums are an
excellent tool, and the tutorials too. This helped me, especially
with my 3D work, and I even dare to write a tutorial. Summarizing,
the three points very positive for me. Parting Comments / Advice
to other Artists? If you are reading this maybe you've read the
whole interview writing in my bad English and this is harder than
the heat wave, well for some members now it's the winter...Hey HC!
It's really great to know people around the World, with different
cultures, religions, languages...making and sharing Art. Advice,
well if you want, I could recommend some of the points I have in
consideration in my work. First and essential "self criticism", if
you aren't sure about an image put it as wallpaper for two weeks,
if after two weeks you don't like or you don't know how to improve,
discard it or wait two months. If you need help for one image put
it in the forum, not in the gallery, be serious with this, people
are fantastic but we can irritate them with our messages.
Moderators are expert people and kind, they can be an excellent
help. I think that the gallery is for images that you really like.
For the photographers: The best recommendation is "don't go
anywhere without the camera", you and I always lose our better
photos when the camera is at home, when the rolls are finished,
when the battery says no more for today or when the CF is full.
Also important for me is to do the composition and metering the
light in the moment of taking the photo, now with the digital
cameras you can crop the photo 10 times and get 10 different photos
of one, and if you crop a macro you can get the most amazing macro
ever seen, but this only serves in the gallery, not for print; it
can be impressive, but not efficient. And the last but not least,
be selective, taking photos is easy. All of us are able to take 100
photos per day technically perfect. My nephew said me, two months
ago, "With your camera," referring to the Olympus, "it's easy take
cool photos". I gave him my camera and he took a lot of photos
during the day, perfect in focus and light. When we compared the
photos he said, "Well, it isn't the camera". Thanks again! Francesc
Be sure to check out enax's
gallery! Click on 'AOM 2003' on
the sidebar to learn more about Artist of the Month and to view our
past winners.
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