Part I: About Julie Poole
JM: Hi Julie. For the people here who many not know you from the forum, would you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
JP: I grew up in Carmel, in a typical suburban household. We had one miniature Schnauzer and I was obsessed with horses. At age 16, I moved to Knoxville, and I got the opportunity to actually ride hunter jumpers. I was a member of the UT equestrian team and on the board of the UT equestrian club while in school. I ultimately went on to graduate with a degree in psychology. With the degree, I went back and forth being a mortgage broker and running a hunter/jumper barn/lesson business.
I have been married for 16 year and have twin 10 year olds. I also have 3 whippets who I show and lure course. To see the dogs, go to HYPERLINK "http://aperturewhippets.com" http://aperturewhippets.com The kids and husband area all over that site too! (
JM: How did photography come into your life?
JP: I did the whole 110 film thing as a kid and made lots of photo albums. I had no real aspirations of anything but taking photos to remember things by until about 8 years ago.
JM: Who were your photographic influences?
JP: Susan Sexton was a huge influence on my equine work. I always loved Vavra also. Susan would definitely have been one I aspired to be like. My dog influences came from friends and clients. I listened closely to what THEY were looking for and developed my style that way
JM: What formats do you use for your current work?
JP: I use all Olympus professional gear, currently the E-3 and the two lenses I use most in my work is the 35-100f2 and the 50-200 2.8-3.5. I have all their high end lenses, and a couple of the super high end ones.
The quality of the lenses is amazing. I am very particular on my lens choices! The color rendition of the sooc jpgs is almost perfect. I am comfortable with the system and when I see my friends and their ginormous lenses, I am not envious! Not to mention in the last 8 years I have never had a camera that needed sensor cleaning, so, no dust spot cloning necessary. It works for me and as long as Olympus keeps supporting their professionals I won’t change.
JM: What is your photographic education?
JP: My only formal education is the U of TN photography certificate program. It is a non credit program but was integral in learning the mechanics of shooting
JM: You mentioned earlier that photography is not your first career. How did you get to this point?
JP: No, it follows on the heels of my mortgage broker life. I honestly sort of fell into photography. It was after the kids were born and I was riding dressage. I would shoot clinics for the fun of it and I was asked more often to do photos for friends. A close friend was the president of ETHJA (East Tennessee Hunter Jumper Association) and asked me to start shooting their local horseshows. That is what started the wheels turning and my journey into professional photography.
JM: How would you describe your work? Is there a specific 'look' you are trying to achieve in your work?
JP: I prefer a timeless look that will be as beautiful to look at 20 years from now as it is today. I will do a little trendy stuff, but, I don’t want people looking back on their portraits and thinking “OMG, that is so 2010!” the way we look back as some of the stuff done in the 80’s(aka double exposures! Library backgrounds etc;) I usually say it is classic portraiture with a kick. I do not think my photography is as stuffy and boring as the connotation “classic portraiture” conjures up. I do follow the principles of it though. My goal in my work is to create art you want to display on the walls in your home.
