Interview with Paul Bate

Hi Paul! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

A Hi my name is Paul from Liverpool and now live in London, I work in retail but photography is my passion.
Most of my work is flower macro as I love of horticulture and also landscapes, but since I joined Picfair I've been taking some cityscapes plus I'm going through a black and white phase at the moment.

QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

APhotographing an angry stag in Richmond Park and thinking to myself I wouldn’t be able to out run him. So it was a fast walk but keeping an eye on him, I got a great shot out of it.

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

ASony a77, favourite lens is the Sony 100mm macro and I use Vanguard Alta Series 70 tripod. Also loving experimenting with a 10-stop ND Filter, it gives great movement to clouds.

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

APhotography captures moments in time so get out early. Personally I love going out early. On a recent trip to Venice I was up a 4am to photograph the sunrise and it was beautiful to see the city without all the tourists. Not only is the light better at that time there are less people around even in a busy city like London.
And with flower macros cloudy days are much better than in full sun and I alway use a tripod.
The eye is in the detail, make sure whatever the main focal point is sharp and in focus.
I’d also say always enjoy whatever you shoot.