November 01, 2004 - This week, we interview André Nantel from Digital Apoptosis:

Please tell us a little about yourself:
I'm a 38 years old French Canadian living in Montreal. I have been blissfully married for 17 years and we have two daughters aged 13 and 11. I'm a biologist and university professor working in a variety of fields including genomics, fungal diseases and cancer research. I am also an unapologetic Mac zealot. Of note, I have an identical twin brother who is also a biologist. This has resulted in many amusing encounters during scientific conferences.

Do you remember the first time you used a camera?
I'm too old to remember. I bought my first camera, a Yashika FX-D, for a photography course when I was 17. It "died" two years ago while I (was) horseback riding.

So are you more of a lab or field scientist? Ever get your camera involved?
All of my work was done in the lab, although I have now reached that point in my career where people would chuckle if I show up with a lab coat.

To make it worse, I have just found out that I'll be on the cover of my institute's annual report... wearing a lab coat. I might as well call-in sick for a year or two.

Other hobbies other than photography? Do they mix with it?
Too many; if I was still a kid they would have pumped me full of Ritalin a long time ago. My other major interests include history (usually in the form of very thick books), cooking and computer games. The latter has greatly suffered as a result of my new passion for photoblogging.

How did you discover photoblogs?
I started reading blogs about two years ago. Since I was already doing more and more photography by then, I decided to see whether there were some photography-related blogs around. You can guess what the top hit in Google turned out to be.

Before we continue, you have one of the more amusing self-portraits anywhere in the photoblogging world. The story behind it?
My wife and I were at a spa near a Costa Rican volcano. I was completely covered in volcanic mud and was actually pretty worried that I would "contaminate" my in-law's camera.

Do you have any memorable photographic experiences?
Arizona, where I discovered the joys of digital photography and my recent trip to Croatia where I took over 400 pictures over two days. I'll always remember a conference in Austin; my colleagues and I were settling down to see the bats leaving the Congress avenue bridge. With no warning, my friends saw me suddenly take off, run across the bridge and down the river for about 300-400 meters. I had spotted a small pier that would allow me to silhouette the bridge and the bats against the setting sun.

Do you think you have a shooting style?
My shooting style could be described as "travel photography". I love to capture the landscapes, architecture, vistas, colors and animals that make each area unique. I am trying to expand into street photography.

What challenges are you finding in street photography?
The eternal challenge in deciding whether you want your subject to see what you are doing. I'm also getting used to the shutter lag.

Back to your travel photography... why do you like it so much?
One of my reasons for believing that I could create an interesting photoblog is that I'm fortunate enough to travel 4-6 times a year. Nothing is more exciting than capturing something new and beautiful while knowing that you may not see it again for many years... if ever.

Ever had an experience where you know you may never see a place again, and blew it photographically?
In 1984, I saw Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who was then Canada's PM, coming down a flight of stairs. I pointed my camera and said "un p'tit sourire". He put the tip of one finger on the top of his head, stood on one foot and stuck out his tongue... I just froze there and never pressed the shutter.

Film or digital?
Most definitively digital. A couple of years ago, we went to Costa Rica carrying both an SLR and a digital camera. I didn't know at the time but the SLR was on its last legs (it was 20 years old after all) and produced bland and unexciting images. The digital "saved the trip" and I haven't gone back to film since. Furthermore the instant feedback has been indispensable to improving my technical skills since I can immediately detect mistakes and remember how they came to be. Lameo answer! I'm just not that good a philosopher. People should just use what they are comfortable with.

I often find 'amazing' digital photographers who don't even know how to use a film camera and produce nothing but over/under exposed shots. Is that still a good photographer? Is digital actually destroying photography?
I just see digital and film as different tools for producing images. I would never have been able to improve on my skills so quickly if it wasn't for the instant feedback of digital photography.

Do you have a favorite camera?
My Precious is a FinePix S5000. The Fujifilm ergonomics experts did a great job on its design.

Why did you start your photoblog?
Just like cooking, I tend to work harder at something if I can see others enjoying the results. In this case, the seed was planted during a scientific conference. I was answering questions at the end of my talk when I noticed that many in the audience kept looking at the screen behind me with a interested/amused look in their faces. Unbeknownst to me, my screensaver had activated and was showing the content of my images folder. Further encouraged by the selection of one of my image by MacDesktops and becoming interested in the blogging scene, I did some research over the following months which culminated in the release of Digital Apoptosis last February.

What's the story behind the name, 'Digital Apoptosis'?
If it wasn't for digital apoptosis, you would have palmed fingers and toes. One of my research interest is programmed cell death where cells commit suicide either as a response to significant damage of a part of a developmental program.

What have been the biggest joys in running a photoblog?
To date, this has been an extremely rewarding endeavor. I love seeing how constant practice has fostered the growth of my skills as a photographer, my interactions with a new community, the increasing traffic on my server, etc...

Furthermore, the need to feed the photoblog has been an excellent incentive to get us out of the house more often. My wife has turned out to be an excellent "spotter".

Spotter?
She doesn't do photography but she has a good eye for things that will turn out good.

Has your family been getting involved in your photography? Ever have family photo trips?
They are all extremely supportive of the whole thing... and reminding me to bring the camera every time we go out.

Are there any strains in running a photoblog?
Getting up 30 minutes earlier every morning, not only to activate my daily entry, but to see what else others have posted during the night. Furthermore, being involved in something related to the internet means that distraction is only a mouse-click away thus making it harder to focus on the task at hand.

What is your favorite internet distraction, besides email and other photoblogs?
For a Canadian, I'm spending way too much time reading US political blogs.

Any inspirations? Either in photography or photoblogs?
I probably visit more than a hundred photoblogs a week, but my first visit every morning is always Chromasia. In the professional field, my favorite is definitely Yann Arthus-Bertrand whose Earth from Above series simply blew me away. I (was) lucky enough to talk with him in Stockholm and I felt like a 12-year-old meeting Britney.

What do you think can make photoblogs better?
Keep your template simple and make it easy for visitors to explore your earlier work. Sometimes it's as simple as keeping the previous/next links in a constant position. And don't ever EVER photograph flowers if you feel bored and/or uninspired.

Why not?
Simply because the photoblogosphere is filled with bad flower shots.

Are you involved in anything else photography-wise other than your photoblog?
I love memes, I'm a regular at Photo Friday, Theme Thursday, i-gizmo and a few others. Some of my shots have also been published by MacDesktops, A Thousand Beautiful Things and Streets of America. I occasionally write for blog.photoblogs.org.

As always, we thank you for both this interview, and for your wonderful photoblog...
Merci beaucoup.