Hamad Darwish interview

If you've used Windows Vista, there's a fair bet you've seen a Hamad Darwish photo, even if you weren't aware that is was his work. Hamad Darwish was one of the photographers commissioned by Microsoft to provide Windows Vista's distinctive desktop backgrounds included within the operating system. 

Hamad was gracious enough to answer some questions about his experiences with Windows Vista.

How did you come to do the shots for Microsoft Vista?

I received a mail from an unknown party that was willing to buy some of my work. When I answered with an agreement I received a formal offer from Microsoft for a commission to shoot images for Windows Vista's wallpaper collection. I went on to shoot over 6,000 RAW files and submitted 15 images to Microsoft. Microsoft purchased five images, two of which are now featured in Windows Vista.

What's your photographic philosophy in a nutshell?

My number one is have fun! I got into photography because I enjoy looking at things through the viewfinder, and because I love the outdoors.

What advice would you give other aspiring snappers who would like to shoot their own desktop backgrounds?

When it comes to desktop images, less is more. Try to use spaces of colour like grass fields, flowers, water, and sky. Also keep the arrangement of the elements in the final result in mind when you shoot. It wouldn't make sense to take a picture where you placed an important subject matter on the very right of the frame, exactly where your Vista toolbar would be.

What's your general photographic advice for great pictures?

I am an outdoor photographer, and landscape is my passion. A successful landscape is the one where the viewer keeps wondering where that place might be. A successful image would make him/her dream about being there, out of reach, and living a fantasy. So my advice is "find your message".

What's the best piece of advice you could give a photography beginner?

Keep your camera with you all the time! Photography has a long yet steep learning curve. Your position on the curve won't change simply because you purchased the camera. In order for the learning to really take place you need to use your camera.

Sit down at your computer and analyse the final appearance of the photograph. Why did it turn out the way it did? Check your exposure properties and examine what difference they make.

What you should you do for amazing pictures? And what should you avoid?

Do:

• give one-third of the image to either the sky or the ground in your landscapes. It does wonders.
• Use a tripod and a remote trigger to get perfect blur-free, sharp images.
• Shoot in RAW To widen your error latitude, and preserve the most amount of information.

Don't

• Take all your pictures from a standing point-of-view. Get down on your knees!
• Rush yourself. If there is a good subject to capture, you might want to make sure you get it right.
• Rely heavily on editing software if it can be done with the camera alone!

How do you think Windows Vista could help digital photographer's pictures?

There are some really neat features that make things so much easier, like viewing metadata information right on the spot. Having organisational tools, such as Windows Photo Gallery, available is very beneficial, especially when you shoot several thousand images.

Do you have any specific picture editing/organizing advice for Windows Vista equipped photographers using Windows Photo Gallery?

I think adjusting the brightness/contrast and cropping are two very important steps in editing any digital image. You can bring your washed-out images to life simply by adding a little more contrast, while you can tidy things up by cropping out unwanted elements from the image.

Try to keep image libraries organised. Simple things like tagging and rating can be very effective and save a lot of time.

We'd like to thank Hamad for the interview, and if you’d like to see more of Hamad’s work, go to his flickr page .