Profile: Mikee Catacutan
Some photographers catch your eye with bold colors, some photographers are experts at composition, and others create fun imagery. Photographer Mikee Catacutan is excellent at all three things, and we have been hooked on looking at his portfolio and Instagram account. (Mikee may become a contributor to our site, so look forward to pieces on how he creates his images.)
How long have you been a photographer?
18 years
What type of photography do you specialize in?
Environmental Portraits, Fashion and Editorial travel
Do you consider yourself a professional or an enthusiast photographer?
I would say both. I do photography for work but I’m also very much an enthusiast and hobbyist.
What did you shoot with before your current Sony gear?
Canon 5D MarkIII and L glass
What made you decide to buy Sony gear?
Form factor, size, full frame, sensor quality.
What are your thoughts about shooting with your Sony gear, and specifically versus other gear you’ve used? (Please include both pros and cons.)
It wasn’t until I started shooting with the Sony A7 that I realized how much form and aesthetics of a camera body are really important to me. How it feels in my hand, how it doesn’t feel like a brick and how natural it felt to put the camera to my face and shoot. It now feels like an extension of me rather than a tool I’m lugging around.
And then it got better. The Sony A7II came out with IBIS. Stabilizing every lens I have? WOW.
So here I am now addicted to this system. The sensor quality is amazing. I had really never knew what it was like to work with such good dynamic range. The focus is quick but most important, super accurate. Out of a thousand images I’ll shoot, 5 might be blurry. Never got those results with Canon.
The only thing I would say that for the way I shoot, a DSLR’s advantage would be battery life and quick overall operation.
Can you tell us about one of your favorite photos?
I love this photo because it’s framed in a way that complete takes out what the naked eye would see. You don’t see the cliff, the ground, the fence… but would you do see are these two people in front of this canvas of endless sea. On the flip side, I also do like to capture scenes as exactly they are as best I could. My approach depends on the location and environment and I think that’s why I love environmental portraits so much.