August 02, 2004 - This week, we interview Ron Cillizza from Du Jour:

Please tell us a little about yourself:
I was born in Hartford, Connecticut in July of 1960. Our family moved to New Hampshire in 1971 and I've lived here ever since, except for my college years spent in Massachusetts. I am currently working as a freelance graphic designer, and have been in this industry since the mid 1980s. Most of my clients are corporate types including Hewlett Packard, Intel, and various other high-tech companies. It pays for my hobbies.

Do you remember the first time you grabbed a camera?
I honestly don't remember the first time I started using a camera. I do remember owning an inexpensive point and shoot type camera when I was a teenager. I believe it used 110 film.

So did you get serious about photography as a youngster, or did this evolve later on in your life?
It wasn't until my college years that I really took an interest in photography.

Why is photography so interesting to you?
It's a creative outlet. And it allows me to compose the world through my lens then provides me with a souvenir to take home in the form of a photograph. I like to collect things so it serves me well in that way too.

Do you have any other hobbies other than photography?
I'm drawn to anything creative, especially within the arts community. I do play the guitar too. I think it's all part of being creative. That is the connection.

Can you elaborate a bit further on this? On "the connection"?
Expressing ones self creatively can take many forms. I believe it all comes from the same place. And it's up to us individually as to how we express it. Through our music, art, or otherwise, it's all connected.

Do you have any memorable photographic moments?
Not sure I have any one experience that covers this question. I do enjoy taking photographs mostly when I stumble into a situation or place that I know has potential photographically. Where I can take my time and explore the subject.

So no interesting 'unexpected' moments that stand out then?
Most of my best work came from an unexpected moment or place I found myself in. I did a series called 'abandoned' last Autumn which is posted on my portfolio site. These photographs came about after discovering an abandoned lumber mill behind a McDonalds, where I had stopped to eat breakfast one morning before heading out to look for something to photograph.

Have you had any negative moments?
Being confronted by someone that suspects I have malice intentions. Usually they have something to hide. This has happened to me on at least two occasions. I can usually convince them that I am just a photographer out taking pictures. But on one occasion the person was intent to believe otherwise.

What is your belief on this? It seems as if it's getting harder and harder to photograph freely out there. People seemed spooked. Any ideas why and how to fix this?
I believe there are many people who are just suspicious or paranoid. It's part of their personality. Of course, this whole 911 thing hasn't helped matters. Perhaps it comes from not understanding something or as I said previously, having something to hide. For example, I encountered an individual working at a carnival about a year back. He was a carnival ride operator. I had returned to his ride several times trying to capture an interesting photograph. Waiting for the right moment and circumstance. It never came. But this individual watched me each time and finally decided to confront me by asking me what I was doing. I thought it was obvious since I had a camera in my hand. I tried to explain why I was photographing his ride, showing him my camera and explaining a little about my purpose for this, but I couldn't get through to him. It wasn't until several weeks later, after talking about this with someone that I realized he was probably running from something. Perhaps he owed child support, or maybe he was a fugitive. He was young and traveling with the carnival company. I still don't really know his reasons but I decided not to take it personally.

Probably a good idea. Onto shooting styles. Do you think you have a specific one?
In college, I was drawn to macro photography. My teacher suspected this and allowed me to use the school's medium format Mamiya camera. I loved it. And when I first started using digital cameras, my interest in macro continued. I guess I just had to work through it. I rarely shoot macro anymore. Now, I just do the best with what presents itself. I am very focused on composition. This is where the designer side of me helps out.

Interesting you said you rarely shoot macro anymore. I noticed this on your site. Any specific reason for the falling out?
I think it's because my interest in photography is evolving. I will probably shoot macro images again someday, but I don't have any immediate plans.

So do you don't have a style now, correct?
I try not to limit myself to any one style. I believe our interests evolve, at least mine do. I don't know what will interest me 5 years from now. That's the beauty of it.

Film or digital?
Both. But mostly digital lately.

Why?
I work on a computer every day doing my design work using photoshop and other graphic type programs. So digital photography is a good fit. I'm comfortable with it. And I like the immediacy of it. I can take a drive, photograph, then return and have the images on my web site that day. I have to admit, I just purchased a holga camera. I love the images I've seen from those photographers using them. So perhaps I'll be using more film in the future.

So what's your all-time favorite camera you've used?
As far as film camera's go, it would be the Mamiya 2 1/4 format. With digital, I don't own a favorite yet. I make due with what I have but hope to be purchasing a digital SLR this year. Maybe that will be my favorite.

Why did you start a Du Jour?
Since publishing is of interest to me, and of course photography (is), I felt it was a good way to merge the two and present my work. I also enjoy the community aspect of it.

What's been the biggest joy in running your site?
Meeting (online) and corresponding with many other photographers out there. It also keeps me motivated to photograph daily or at least several times a week.

Any strains?
Trying not to compromise quality for quantity.

Has photography and photoblogging changed your life?
Yes. Because of it my interest in photography has grown tremendously. I have learned a great deal from it too. It's also led me to get some of my photographs published, mostly in local papers and magazines.

Very nice. Congrats. Do you have any inspirations out there?
There are too many great photographers out there to name here. Some of my favorite contemporaries are listed on my links page. I find new sites and photographers everyday that I enjoy and am inspired by.

So which photograph inspires you the most? Your favorite of all time?
It would be hard to pin me down to any one favorite. Too vast a selection. As far as landscapes go, anything by Ansel Adams would qualify. I also enjoy the panoramic works by Pentti Sammallahti.

Any tips on making photoblogs better?
Image quality. Simple navigation. Clean layout. No Flash, soundtracks, or bad scripts... please! And test the site in multiple browsers before launching it. We're not all using IE anymore.

Are you involved in anything else photography-wise other than your photoblog?
I shoot for a local magazine, NHTodo. It's a glossy tourist publication. The pay isn't so great, but it is exposure. I also publish an online art and literature magazine called Yasse which has featured some of the folks I met online through photoblogging.

Well of best of luck on those, and with Du Jour. Thanks again for the interview.