It might be in the name – DAVID MUTUA

Forget the title. Today we get to chop it up with one of my newest shooting buddies David Mutua aka @dipwiz on twitter.  I met David about 3 months ago and since then got to know and appreciate him as a photographer and friend. He has been confused with me severally, I’m sure it is not because of our resemblance so it must be the name, people have thought that he was Mutua Matheka and some people have thought I was David Mutua. Since we are artists, I guess it might be in the name…..no?

I especially like his low-key photography technique. Today, our focus shall mainly be on his event photography portfolio. Lets get into it.

 

MM: Thanks for gracing us with your presence man. It is appreciated

DM: I’m David Mutua(dude, we already knew that, it’s written above). I’m a freelance Photographer and web and Graphics designer. I am inspired Mohamed Amin, Ricardo Gangale, Tim Freccia, James Nachtwey, Christopher Morris, Jacob Zocherman, and more or less every other Photographer I meet in the field because everyone has a unique trait that they bring to the table that I can learn from

MM: When did all this start for you?

DM: I started out doing web design in 2007 as I was doing my Internship for campus and photography, in Dec 2008 as an editor and webmaster for an Online news agency assigned to the Photography department and in September 2009 bought my first camera and took to the field.

MM: I’m curious, why photography?

DM: The challenge to create, the opportunity to tell a story in pictures, the power to freeze a single moment for eternity at the click of a button and the desire to get that “perfect” moment. Thats what inspires me. One of my mentors once told me, you are as good as your last picture, so I pursue to improve it every single time.

MM: What’s your workflow like?

DM: If in studio, first step is to identify the theme of the shoot followed by conceptualization which involves identifying suitable props and costume based on what the background will be, position of the lights, makeup(if need be), suitable albums to play in the course of the shoot (jazz preferably and the occasional reggae tune here and there:-))
If out in the field, The first step is identifying what is to be covered and for what purpose. Some shots that may be ideal for  visual showcase eg online may be unsuitable for print publications. Other factors to consider, positioning based on where the sun is, what lens to use and ideal shots from generic to artistic shots. Then, just swing it and have fun while at it :-)

MM: Cool stuff. So far, what have you identified as your pro’s and con’s to doing what you do?

DM: The major pro of photography is the vastness of the field. With so many genres to learn and techniques to master you can never get bored.

The con is sometimes, it can get a tad bit dry, wallet wise thus its always important to have a fall back plan.

MM: Ok, animal, if you were one, which would it be?

DM: hmmmm……An eagle. Their eyesight is five to six times shaper than that of a human being. Thats wassup! :-)

MM: What about a gadget?

DM: Nikon D3S, cause it can shoot in very low light conditions.

MM: So what tools do you rock, both soft and hardware?

DM: My camera is a  Nikon D60 with a Nikkor 15-55mm lens ,I also have a  Nikkor70-300mm lens, a Vivitar 100-500mm lens and a SB 600 Speed light. I use a Compaq CQ 61 laptop and a clone desktop I put together and I primarily use  Lightroom 3.2 and Photoshop CS4 for my post process.

You can find a lot more of Davids work here:

David’s Flickr

David’s Website [davidmutua.com]

David’s Twitter (follow him already)

Tags: concerts, david mutua, event photography, guest blogger, photography

• November 3, 2010
• Guest Posts, Photography
• 13 Comments