Once a week, we interview one of our Patrons or a photographer from our Slack community on NJspots.com!
We hope that you learn a new spot or new camera setup!
Who are you, and where in New Jersey are you from?
Hey everyone! I’m Liz! I’m from South Jersey (just outside Philly) but currently living in this weird area of not North, but not South Jersey, but I mean… is Central Jersey a thing? Asking for a friend.
YES!!! We have a whole category of guides about Central Jersey.
What are the three best spots for photography in New Jersey, and why?
1. Historic Walnford Park. I saw a few people in NJspots posted about this one and decided to go see it for myself since I like history. It’s not too overwhelming with information or things to see and they have people available throughout the park to tell you about it. I had fun looking around at the different time period objects they had.
2. Roebling Museum. This one I stumbled across when I didn’t want to travel too far, but I wanted some interesting pictures. There is a museum you can go into, but I stayed outside this day just looking at some of the historical things they had outside on display. I will make a trip inside the museum soon.
The John A Roebling’s Sons Company designed and built cables for some of the most famous suspension bridges! This is where the original plant was before moving to Trenton, and the history of the township of Roebling is pretty neat.
3. Sandy Hook. I feel like this is another cliche one, but in keeping with the historic theme that I seem to have, it is just so cool! The only time I went it was cold, windy, and started raining so I couldn’t spend a ton of time. But I can’t wait to walk around all the grounds when it is nice weather and the parks open back up again.
What's your camera setup?
I’m actually in the group that left Sony and went to Canon… they exist right? I had the old Sony A5100 and moved over to the Canon 77D, hopefully in a few years can step up to a full frame. I’m currently relying a lot on some fast prime lenses for most of my stuff! And using Godox flashes to try to learn about some off camera flash.
Not sure about Sony to Canon, but our founder went from Nikon to Sony! Read all about it here.
What's your dream piece of gear? Think big!
Canon 1Dx Mark III but can I add a lens to that because, let’s be honest, can’t be using our “get by” lenses on that one, probably the 70-200 f/2.8. I don’t dream too crazy… yet.
What's one bucket list photo of New Jersey you haven't gotten yet?
Everyone seems to have gone up to the Red Mill in Clinton, but I want to get up to Liberty State Park on a nice day to explore.
One tip for aspiring photographers?
Talk with other photographers and follow other photographer’s work. Books and courses are good for basics, but you are going to need to practice A LOT to be able to capture and create in a way that is not overly time consuming.
You can talk with other photographers in our Slack Community! Sign up here.
What's your favorite part of being a photographer?
“Photographer Feature” is an ongoing segment featuring our Patrons and Slack community members. Contact editor Abbey Dufoe for more information.
