FileHurricane Featured User – Charles Letbetter

Posted by: adbaker on 8/18/2008 1:39:02 PM

File Hurricane has been around for over a year now, and we’ve had great success. In our first year, we received half a million page views and have become a favorite website for many different people. Some love us because of the great photos and videos on the site, while others love how easy it is to upload their photos.

Our top content provider, Charles Letbetter of Captured Light Studios, has submitted over 775 photos to FileHurricane. Because of Charles’ commitment to File Hurricane, we recently interviewed him about his great photography. Charles has also recently released his first public book and can be ordered online today.

FH: How long have you been a photographer? When did you know that it was you wanted to do professionally?

CL: I literally had a camera shoved in my hands over 23 years ago. I didn't have a clue what I was doing and got lucky on a few early shots picked up by wire services. At first, it was just a job, something to pay the bills, but the longer I did it, the more it became a part of me. When I was eventually given a chance to go back into music, I realized that I had already found my passion and haven't looked back since.

FH: Where do you find your inspiration for your photography?

CL: Inspiration comes from every imaginable source: life, dreams, nightmares, observing others, studying science, curiosities, academics, physics ... it all works together.

FH: Typically, are your photo shoots for commercial purposes or just photographing models for their portfolios?

CL: Considering I don't have any other source of income, I'd best be shooting commercially! Commercial work is rarely available or appropriate for my own promotion, however, and it is important to continue adding new material to my portfolio, especially new fashion. Also, as I get older, I find myself doing a lot more art work with the camera, which is an entirely different market.

FH: Where else can people see your great photography? Do you have any upcoming shows?

CL: My website has six galleries full of images, most of which are a sampling of the last five years' work. That address is http://www.capturedlightstudios.net.

I've not booked any new shows yet, though we're talking to a couple of places. Finding someone who has the space for the larger images is a bit challenging.

FH: Have you won any awards for your photography?

CL: Only when they're forced upon me through external nomination. Over the years, there've been several advertising awards and recently even the art work has started getting some critical mention. But I'm hesitant to put much stock in the value of awards. Ultimately they are nothing more than the opinion of one two people and I always find it interesting when someone chooses to celebrate one of my images that I'm not all the crazy about.

FH: How did you hear about File Hurricane? And why do you use it so frequently?

CL: FileHurricane sent me a friend request on MySpace right at the time I was growing frustrated with the limitations of another service. Seeing that it was created by local people, I decided to give it a try and have been very happy with it. I use File Hurricane so often because I am always sharing material from recent shoots either on MySpace or other web sites.

FH: Do you have any recommendations for other aspiring photographers that are using File Hurricane today?

CL: Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. There's absolutely no substitute for experience behind the camera. There's no such thing as perfection. Never accept limitations and never stop shooting.

FH: Thanks for the great content Charles! We always look forward to your new pictures!

Be sure to check out Captured Light Studios for your next photography project!

Captured Light Studios provides full commercial photography services throughout the Midwest. We focus primarily on advertising, marketing, and editorial photography across a wide variety of genres from fashion to medical technology. The one area we do avoid is weddings. Wedding photography is best handled by those who specialize in that field and we are happy to recommend fully-qualified colleagues upon request. Our rates are negotiable based on volume and content. The most reliable way to reach me is by email: charles@charlesiletbetter.com



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