Five at Five – Elke aka Eklastic of Pictures Imperfect Blog

Mon 12th Sep, 2022

This week’s Five at Five Intro features Photographer Elke aka Eklastic of Pictures Imperfect Blog. Elke says in her About Page of Pictures Imperfect.

This “side dish” to my primary blog (https://eklastic.wordpress.com/) is just a collection of photographs and collages, usually in response to a photographic challenge. It has little purpose above displaying some of my snapshots.

Five at Five Questions

When and how did you start on your photographic journey?

I got my first camera (a Kodak Instamatic) when I was about 12. Later I had a friend who introduced me to the darkroom at our school and that’s when I started to look at photos as more than mere snapshots. At university I had the use of a decent mirror reflex by Minolta but analogue photography was an expensive hobby, particularly in South Africa where I lived then.

What subject do you like photographing the most?

I enjoy taking candid shots of people but that has become quite difficult with restrictions on photographing people so I’ve turned towards animals and macro photography, particularly of flowers and insects.

Have you been influenced by other photographers, if so by whom and why? If not, who is your favourite photographer?

Not in a conscious way. I like to look at photographs, from amateurs as well as professionals but I wouldn’t say I intentionally apply that to my own photos. However, about two years ago I came across the book of local photographer who does really clever and funny photos with miniature figures in outside settings, often incorporating well-known landmarks (Benedikt Hild: https://www.littlefotografie.de/ ). I’m not even close to what he does with the minikins but I really enjoy experimenting with toy figurines of various sizes.

What is the go-to camera equipment that you use regularly and what software do you use to process your images?

I am really a casual photographer. I only have one camera, a Lumix DMC-FZ 300 with decent telefoto lens. What I like about it is that it can be used as a simple snapshot camera, which is great when you are on a run or a cycle tour, or you can use it for more artistic shots if you bother to explore the possibilities the camera offers.

What is your favourite method of processing an image? (i.e., colour, monochrome, saturated, dreamy look etc)

I work with PhotoScape (because it offers the basics and doesn’t require too much complicated and time-consuming editing). I like playing around with the features but more often than not keep the original in the end. I enjoy using a feature which is called “Area (out of focus)” where you can apply certain editing tools to only a clearly defined area of the photo. I also use a few online photo editing sites, particularly lunapic.com for artistic effects (i.e. rending a photo in the style of well-known artists like van Gogh or Cezanne) and fotojet.com which is great for collages.