#SFGuide Featured Photographer: Eric Kessler
Each week we select and profile a photographer from our #SFGuide community on Instagram. We believe these photographers capture the everlasting beauty of San Francisco and the Bay Area. For a chance to be featured on our Instagram feed, or here, on 49Miles.com, tag your photos with #SFGuide.
This week’s featured #SFGuide photographer is Eric Kessler (@ingrownsplinter), an Architect from Allentown, Pennsylvania currently residing in San Leandro, CA. Scroll down to view Eric’s amazing work, and learn more about what inspires him as a creative.
#SFGuide Featured Photographer
Name: Eric Kessler
Age: 33
Profession: Architecture
Place of Birth: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Where do you currently reside: San Leandro, California
Something you’d like viewers to know about you: I am always down to go shoot, so hit me up.
What is your favorite spot to shoot in San Francisco, and why?
Yerba Buena Island, looking back at the city from over the Bay Bridge.
When and why did you take up photography?
I got my first DSLR when I studied abroad in college, mainly for documenting the experience.
What do you love about photography?
I am addicted to the feeling of creating something beautiful. My three drugs of choice are Architecture, Carpentry, and Photography. Of those three, photography is the quickest high.
How do you decide what to shoot?
If a place can elicit an emotion inside myself, then I try to capture it in a way for others to feel the same.
What’s your favorite part of going out to shoot?
Sunset hikes in new locations with my wife.
Which location did you have the most difficulty getting to, and how did you do it?
I was doing some urban exploration in Birmingham Alabama. I went unprepared without a flashlight and the only way to the abandoned location was through some pitch black tunnels. I decided to use my cameras flash in burst mode to get me through. I will just say, coming across a homeless person, being only able to see in 6-second bursts of strobe light… Not pleasant.
What is your dream shot? (Where, what time of day, what’s in it / the subject?)
I dream of capturing the San Francisco skyline (or Golden Gate) during the extremely rare occurrence of a lightning storm.
What is your favorite app to use for photo editing on the go, and what are your top 3 favorite filters?
I only post images to Instagram after processing with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I try not to use filters.
How do Instagram and the #SFGuide community inspire you?
I vigorously follow others in the community to find new locations. I also enjoy seeing how others may have interpreted familiar subjects in new and exciting ways.
What are your favorite San Francisco-based Instagram accounts to follow?
Of course, I always check to see whats up @49milesSF but I also really enjoy @wildbayarea
What type of camera do you use? And what is your dream camera?
I shoot with a Nikon D750.
What are your favorite settings in your idea shot?
Lens: Nikkor FX 18mm-35mm wide angle
Aperture: usually between 8 and 16
Shutter Speed: most likely I am in Aperture priority
ISO: as low as possible
White Balance: Auto (I address this post process)
Focus (Manual / Auto): Auto
Image Format (RAW / JPEG): RAW
What advice would you give to new or rising photographers that you wish you had received when you first started?
Shoot in RAW, I definitely regret now that all my travel photos from when I studied abroad are JPEG.
What do you love about living in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Endless possibilities for new locations to shoot and explore.
