Photographer John Hughes is based in Spain and takes advantage of the many photo opportunities close to home as well as through his travels. With an eye for detail, John’s portfolio is multi-dimensional and a direct extension of himself. As you browse through his photos below, I think you’ll agree that his work is exceptionally creative and visually stunning.
John, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us and thank you so much for all your thoughtful responses. You have given the readers an opportunity to glimpse into the mind of someone who truly enjoys what they do. I look forward to viewing more works from your future travels.
If you’d like to learn more about John or if you are interested in purchasing one or more of his fine pieces, you can view his collections on FineArtAmerica, Pixels, and Pinterest. You can also follow him on Instagram.
Can you please tell the readers a bit about yourself?
I am originally from Northern Ireland where I had a long career working in the Civil Service before taking early retirement in 2015, married with two grown-up children. Apart from photography my main interests are walking and watching football ( soccer ), the football loyalties have changed from my local team in Northern Ireland to supporting Elche in La Liga in Spain.
Where do you call home?
Since 2017 home has been in the Valencia Province of Spain when with my wife and Lhasa Apso pet dog we made the move to change our holiday home to our permanent residence after both retiring from our work lives.
I see that you have built up an extensive collection of wonderful photography. When did you first become interested in photography and how long have you been involved with it?
My interest in photography began when I was a teenager and received an Olympus Trip camera as a Christmas present. After a few years, my interest in motorcycle racing and wildlife lead me to purchase a Nikon SLR camera and telephoto lens to try and capture some memorable images. Nearly fifty years have passed and I am still keen to get out with my camera and during that time I have been very fortunate to have travelled widely to many wonderful countries.
Are you satisfied with your choice of getting involved with this industry? Is there anything else you would rather be doing?
Possibly my only negative experience of photography has been with Camera Clubs both in Northern Ireland and in Spain. Sadly, there tend to be cliques formed that do nothing to promote or encourage new members.
Marketing is a crucial component for any photographer. How do you go about marketing yourself?
The main focus of my photographic activity is with the Fine Art America / Pixels website. I find that there is a wonderful community of photographers and other artists that support and encourage each other. Being active in groups, discussions, and contests on the website leads to increased exposure for my photographic artwork. Outside of this, I promote my work on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest with regular updates and features to display my images.
If there was one thing you would want prospective clients to know about you, what would it be?
Photographers know that being successful is a combination of having the right equipment, knowing how and when to use it, and then having photographic vision (creativity).
You have photographed several subjects that have been photographed by thousands of people yet you seem to be able to capture fleeting moments with unique moods and emotions. How do you ensure this constant creativity?
With landscape or architectural photography is important to find the right perspective for the image to work, sometimes a slight change of position or angle dramatically changes the outcome and produces a different and new look for a familiar scene. It is also important to get to know how your camera works, initially, I would have used automatic settings on the camera but with time learned how to use the manual modes and the results give me great satisfaction as I feel I have achieved something rather than just point and shoot. Having said that I have been surprised and pleased with the results obtained with my phone camera.
What is your favorite part of heading out to a new location?
Forward planning for a new location is always important to enabling you to get the most of an outing, however, being flexible to adapt to changing situations is my favourite part of an outing, the unexpected sometimes leads to the best images.
How do you keep yourself motivated and your photography fresh?
In recent years most of my photography has been on my travels with a focus on candid street photography and architectural images. This has led to fresh challenges and kept my levels of interest high. Key challenges revolve around trying to get a new perspective on a much-photographed scene that does not look like a holiday snap and without hoards of tourists getting in the way.
What do you hope viewers take away from your images?
I hope that my images inspire others to pick up their camera and get out and about. While travel gives great opportunities there are many wonderful places to visit and photograph on your own doorstep.
Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for someone starting out with or wanting to improve their photography skills?
With modern technology, you could spend thousands on camera equipment or learn the key skills by using your smartphone and the camera options found there.
What type of camera(s) do you shoot with? What is your favorite lens?
For nearly fifty years I have been loyal to the Nikon brand, originally with an SLR film camera and since changing to digital updating to a new model every few years. Currently using a Nikon D90 and D40 with a variety of lenses. My favourite lens, however, is my Sigma 150-500 lens, great for those wildlife images that I love to capture.
What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
My favourite photography accessory is one that only costs a Euro ( Dollar ) or two, it is a mini spirit level that fits into the flash unit on the top of the camera, while you can straighten images on your computer this gets things right at the time of the shoot.
What is in your camera bag?
I always carry a spare camera body, spare ( fully charged ) battery, a selection of different lenses with different focal lengths, cleaning products, notes are recorded on my phone now rather than in past years when pen and paper were required.
What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have yet?
When the budget permits a further update of the camera body is my next desired piece of equipment but for the time being it is research on which is best.
Do you use Lightroom, Photoshop, both, or others?
For photo editing, I use Photoshop, Smart Photo Editor, and Portrait Professional.
Can you tell me about one of your favorite or most memorable photo sessions? What made it so great and why did you like it so much?
Hard to believe that it was nearly ten years ago but my experience of a Festival Of Sail in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is my favourite photography memory. The Festival was over three days when around twenty Tall Ships visited the city in 2012. On days one and two we spent time with friends and fellow photographers photographing the ships moored in harbour and the various activities around the quaysides including concerts and markets. On day three we hired a motor cruiser to go out on Belfast Lough to photograph the ships under full sail. These memories are as fresh now as they were then, a true highlight in my life.
Do you have any projects that make you look back and shake your head? What made the experience so unpleasant?
Nothing unpleasant apart from the normal disasters that befall any photographer, dropping a lens or not having a fully charged battery.
What do you think the future holds for you? Where do you see yourself in the next few years?
Hopefully, when things settle down after the Covid 19 pandemic we will be able to get away on some cruises that we have planned and look forward to the opportunities they present. In the meantime, we are exploring areas of Spain that we have not visited yet.
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