1. What’s your favourite artistic tool or piece of equipment (past, present or dream)?
Past:
My Piano. BEALE UPRIGHT GRAND
I started writing music at about the age of 5. Up until the age of about 25 I had written more than 200 pieces of music.
With musical instruments [and I think especially the Piano] you tend to have very intensely personal relationships. My Piano was my soulmate and only true friend. It was the only one who would/could listen to me and understand the [emotional/psychological] pain I was going through. It was not really possible for me to verbalise those feelings back then, – its still difficult now.
Present:
Konica Minolta Dynax 7D 6mp DSLR with a Sigma 17-35mm W/A Lens. [see the photo towards the end of this interview]
This is a professionally-specified camera designed for Photographers [as opposed to designed for hobbyists]. It is big and black, and covered in dials and buttons so you don’t have to access functions by an on-screen menu [hooray!].
It looks like a million bucks, and says “this guy is for real”. I have had many pro-photographers drool over it because it is sooo much better than the gear they use.
I am a tech-junkie. I love high-end equipment. I only own the best. It says that I take my art seriously.
Dream:
A Wacom “Cintiq 21X” Graphics Tablet. The one where you actually draw on the screen. 
I want one of these so I can complete the graphic novel I am working on.
I’m gonna have to work a lot of overtime to afford that toy!
2. Which work are you most proud of and why?
THE BOXER 1
This was photographed in a boxing gym that is just like the one in the original ROCKY movie… old, dark, poor ventilation, and it reeks of sweat and old leather.
I love the high-contrast gritty/grainy look of this image, the stark composition, and the intense feel.
I especially love how the window and its frame came out in this shot.
MAINE HOUSE, NEW ENGLAND
At the moment I took this shot, I knew how it would look after post-production. I love the way it feels like you are sneaking a look through the bushes.
This house is only a few miles from where Stephen King lives, and this was inspirational in the creation of this image.
I pretty-much only shoot B&W images. I like my skies black, and my clouds white, for this reason I always have a Circular Polarising Filter on my lens to boost the contrast and deepen the blues in the sky. The net result when you convert the digital file to B&W is that the sky goes black. This creates lots of drama, and contrast with the clouds. It also helps to bring out any detail in the clouds.
3. Which artwork by a fellow RB artist do you secretly wish you’d created and why?
[empty at this time]
4. If you could learn any new creative skill or technique, what would it be?
To draw like Matthew Dunn or Chris Wahl
5. If you could collaborate with any artist on RedBubble, who would it be?
There are so many artists I admire on RedBubble, but my top three who I would like to learn from, would be:
Matthew Dunn
Paul Vanzella
Koukei
6. Finish this sentence: When I’m not being creative …
“When I’m not being creative… I am thinking about being creative, or I am asleep.”
Bonus Question: Show us a photo of something that’s important to your creativity. It could be your workspace or studio, an image above your desk, an old sketchbook, the tool you mentioned in question one or anything else that tells us a little about you as an artist.
Konica Minolta Dynax 7D 6mp DSLR with 17-35mm [KM] w/a Lens.
To gain more insight into the insides of my insidious intellect, especially in regards to outrageously excessive alliteration, check out these:
50 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT BYRON
Aleksandar Top...
wow – this goes strait to favs to be read over and over
BYRON:
wow, Thanx Aleksander, it was just a bit of fun really.
I am so glad you like it.
Cheers,
-Byron
Aleksandar Top...
cheers, great person!!!
LeviMoore
Inside the mind of B…scary.
BYRON:
have you read:
50 things about Byron ?
Magi5760
Nice one Byron! Do you still have time for the piano?
BYRON:
no, I haven’t played the piano in nearly 15years, I gave it away to a good home on the understanding that they could never sell it. If they ever wanted to get rid of it, then they had to give it back.
The rest of my recording studio was broken-up and given away or sold over the period of about a year.
Honestly, it was like chopping off a limb.
matthewdunnart
Wow, just read this and saw my name twice! Thanks for the kudos man. I’m always up for a collaboration so drop me a line when you’re up for it :-)
BYRON:
You’re most welcome Matthew. I am terribly jealous of anyone who can draw.
When I have saved the $1600 for the Wacom Graphics Tablet… I’ll definitely be in touch, especially about styles etc…
Hey, I’ll being picking your brains over a lot of stuff.
Soxy Fleming
do you still have a piano? our piano is pretty important too.
what about recordings of your compositions, any of those?
nice read.
BYRON:
Hiya Soxy, no I gave my Piano away to a good home.
As for recordings… They are all sequenced data files [no audio information] from the Atari 1040STE computer system running NOTATOR/CREATOR music sequencing & scoring software. This brilliant and amazing software was created before the days of standardised file types and high capacity hard-drives.
The upshot is that I have about 20 or so 3.5 inch floppy discs in Atari 1040STE format [those PC’s don’t exist anymore] and the NOTATOR software also no longer exists.
And I don’t have all the sound modules and drum machines needed to make it all produce audio.
Quick answer… effectively – no I don’t have any data files or audio files of any of my music… but I live in hope that I will one day find a computer and sofware package that can read those discs.
Michael A. Mor...
Fascinating…man you have alot of cameras! wow…interesting stuff, cheers Michael :)
BYRON:
Thanx Michael.
yeah I own a few cameras, I am a tech junkie, and I adore cameras – especially old ones. I would love to buy a large format box camera, or anything made by “EBONY” like the SV810E:
Paulette Wright
I asked for more and, voila! there it was!
BYRON:
aaah, you found it!
Lorraine Creagh
Well I’m not disappointed. :-)
BYRON:
I aim to please!
Ina Mar about 1 hour ago
interviewing yourself? that’s cute… Your journal attracted my attention because we share two loves: the piano and boxing (well rather kickboxing for me…). I was sorry to read about your broken finger. Even though you recite it as a simple fact in two lines, I feel its importance.
I have two images that you might understand more than others might be able to:
BYRON: 30 minutes ago
nah, I didn’t interview myself… it was part of something we did over at the Friends of RedBubble Group – they interviewed about 100 Group Hosts.
Yeah. love boxing. Can’t do it anymore due to a back injury, which is a real shame.