Around Town Fridays: The Work of "phototravel1" - Jim Watkins
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 18, 2011 5:00PM
I finally decided to follow up on the popular November gallery focusing on Dmitry Samarov's artwork and feature regular Chicagoist Photos Flickr pool contributors on Fridays. Today, I talk to someone whose photos have become regular additions to "Around Town" posts during my time as editor.
Jim Watkins is a banker by trade. Chicagoist readers and fans of "Around Town" will be more familiar with his photography under the moniker "phototravel1." Watkins's architecture and street photography are full of brightness and vibrancy, particularly his black-and-white shots. "I'm largely self-taught, except for a class here and there," Watkins said.
Watkins's interest in photography started around 20 years ago. "I took a trip to Europe in '91 and had all these disposable cameras with me," he said. "I saw how the photos came out and liked what I saw. two years later, I went back to Europe with my first real camera."
Watkins uses a Nikon D90 and touches up his photos "using subtle HDR. I try to capture what my eye sees that the lens misses." He also founded a Flickr group called the Chicago and Northeastern Illinois Photo Meetup Group (they also have a Facebook page) that gets together regularly to take photos, look at photography exhibits and trade tips on improving their photography. The group's next meeting will be at the Cultural Center tomorrow at the Vivian Maier exhibit. "We've got 55 members confirmed to show up right now," Watkins said.
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