1, How about an introduction?
Hello fellow ยphoto-modersย , well my name is Darryl and Iยm a 40 something (old-timer) GT5 enthusiast and all round average bloke that doesnยt take life/work or gaming too seriouslyย
.ie: I try to enjoy everything I do and have fun whilst doing it. Pretty much how I approach these forums and it appears many of you on here do the same so I fit right in perfectly.
Iยm an Anglo-American born in Scotland (Mother/Scottish and Father/American) but have lived in England virtually my entire life. I am a Manager of a Furniture company that Iยve been with for 25+ yrs although Iยve always dabbled in Photography and all the genreยs within its art form, even tip-toed around making a career of it (almost landing myself a job with a well known Photo magazine.....came so close). I always loved the old school darkroom techniques and still feel thereยs a niche for that style of photography some still craveย
. Ansel Adams is my ยiconicย hero in this realm, I donยt think the sense of achievement when producing the final image can be matched on its digital equivalent but Iยm getting a bit nostalgic now so back on topic.
2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
Only since GT5 actually, I only dabbled with the gameplay of some of the previous versionsย
.I have to say that I was never really into ยDriving Gamesย as such and only just by chance or luck that someone purchased GT5 for me as a Xmas gift, well after a week of solid Licence building and ยEventingย I stumbled onto the Photomode soon after and was just hooked in completely by the results even with my mundane skills. Even better I found somewhere to showcase my efforts with like-minded enthusiasts and now here I am writing my biography.
3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?
Virtually the first one I was confident enough to upload.... you can just see the potential can't you?
4, And your first edit?
A failed attempt at an HDR edit Still it taught me not to step in at the deep end after that and over the couple of years or so on GTP I've mellowed somewhat in my editing style.
5, How would you describe your photography style?
It swings with my mood sometimes.... can go for an all out assault on the retinas or subdue it with simple no mess straight-forward subtle details, in the main I like to try and tone down the contrast/saturation results the Photomode camera gives you.
In ยreal-lifeย photgraphy I like to concentrate on line/shape/form and combine this with composition and lighting. In a nutshell I look for anything..even the mundane things we take for granted and try to shoot from an artistic perspective that makes an overall image somewhat surreal or interpreted in an unorthodox way.
In GT5 terms I strive for the opposite most of the time due to them medium we are using ย Realism. Playing around with a bunch of coded algorithms and polygons on digital renders lends itself towards trying to fool the observer of what they are really looking at. I have failed much more than Iยve succeeded in this goal but always inspired by the ยworksย you guys/gals produce here to keep at it.
6, In your opinion, what makes a great photo?
The $1million question? Lighting and Compositionย
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Hand on heart Iยd have to say that if you get a handle on these two aspects then any subject you shoot will look amazing. Black and White photography really does inspire me to view all my shot taking in this way in a way colour photography doesn't, I love colour photography but it can sometimes be a distraction from the two areas I just mentioned but that is just my humble opinion.
7, What is your favourite car to shoot?
LFA (most peoples fave), McLaren MP4, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and ย
ย
wait for itย
ย
.Art Morrison Corvette, I know you didnยt expect that one ..haha. My current fave is the Mercedes SLR McLaren (19inch Wheel Option) '09 right now, getting a lot of 'face-time' with that one right now.
8, What is your favourite location to shoot
SSRX, Nurburgring, SSRX, Toscana, SSRX, Kyoto Shoren-in and SSRXย
ย
. Just fell in love with the lighting at Special Stage Route X and the landscape vistas, catch it at the right time and it has a dream like quality.
9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
I'll bend the rules a little here because it changes every week and I procrastinate and haven't updated my gallery for AGES.....sorry, Currently I'd have to say this one .....
.........for the main reason that I was totally happy that there was nothing more I could do with it, happens very rarely but this was one of those times.
I will always have a soft spot for this one though as I after editing it I thought "How you do that?". Still not sure to this day
10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
Yes....on old Photoshop CS4....will upgrade very soon though. I work with layers a lot, only filters I use are Blur and Noise then I just work on enhancing my images with curves/saturation/colour balance and so on. My tip: Stay away from that Sharpen - Unsharp Mask filter, I used to make the mistake of using it and it basically "breaks" your image with artifacts and dead pixels. There are other techniques if you delve deeper into Photoshop
11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
Longer Shutter speeds please, esp on track.
Ditch the filters - apart from the Monochrome ones.
Free up those locations where the exposure is locked for some unknown reason.
More movement with the roving camera.....like getting behind the barriers.
......and please do something about the Photo-travel locations that have a day-night cycle....20 secs or so of day and then within 5 seconds its middle of the night
12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
Apart from my little "sharpen filter" rant all I'd say is what ever your shooting and the techniques you are applying, regardless of result ensure that you are ENJOYING it. This alone will kick you along to experiment more and establish your own style and take on being a "Photographer".
13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
Sounds like a cop-out but truthfully Everyone on these forums has given me a new way of looking at whats possible on GT5, my list would almost be endless so I will just give out some names that really stand out for me.
Kodje (Unbelievable realism you pack into your images), bmxmitch (where are you dude?), DarkR (same again?), SlipZ, NBDESIGNS, Nato777, Shaolinmasta, SMFan, Taiga, GT-R, Fido le Muet, Dolp, Moglet, Zambuca, nanabu, Raphaele, Croooooow, GPR, StrayShadow, Sixtoes (remember him?), Grand Prix (him too?) .....god I know I've forgotten loads, please forgive me but you know who you are. Finally leeislee for being the breath of fresh air that these forums needed from falling into the 'meh' realm of banality.
14, Outside of GTPlanet, Do you have a special photo, piece of art or anything else you've created that you would like to share to showcase your other interests and talents?
Watch this space ....currently building a portfolio of images I've taken over time and more on going. Hope to establish myself within a well known "Stock-Photo" community and start contributing for commercial purposes.
15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
Well I'd like to hear from nanabu if he has the time to share with us...... Finally thank you to hawk2201 for nominating me
Thanks Darryl ๐
๐
.. 2 cats and no radio in that car ๐ 
..and the driving school was awesome.. I drove a Corvette C5 for 3 days learning the ins and outs of car control and to top it off I met and chilled with James Bondurant..the grandson of Bob Bondurant who is quite the racer/drifter himself 
...will try and get my typing skills up n running in time for this weekend (hopefully).
It's also good to see just how many of us "old-timers" there are kicking around here in the photomode section. ๐
. Its great to get some sort of aspect of character and opinion behind the 'name'.
and wasting 'paper-round' money on "OutRun" can still kick it with some of these young upstarts 
).
