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Exposure: Lester Jones

From the television industry to documenting street style, Lester Jones has done it all and shares his unique love for sneakers and photography on Exposure.

Lexy Savvides
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
Lexy Savvides
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New to town

Lester Jones

(Credit: Lester Jones)

Photographer: Lester Jones (Sole Digger)

Speciality: portraiture, fashion, reportage

Biography: Lester is a successful TV producer and writer, but through his blogging alter-ego the Sole Digger, he has become one of Australia's leading names in street style.

Lester studied the basics of photography at the University of Westminster, London and developed an interest in reportage and portraiture that led to his "I Dig Your Sole Man" street blog.

"I Dig Your Sole Man" focuses on finding interesting people with eye-catching street-style. Through the project, Lester's work has caught the eye of stores, brands and publishers around the world, and he has plans to expand the project further by upgrading his kit (when funds become available) and travelling to new overseas destinations.

Equipment: Canon 7D, Canon 450D, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash, Adobe Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5.

More of Lester's work can be seen on his blog.

Taken in Melbourne, this stylish guy was a wannabe actor who had just moved to town from Queensland and was off for a casting in his new surroundings. Despite his nerves he was kind enough to pose for a few quick shots. I hope his audition went well.

Exposure: f/3.1, 1/2000, ISO 100

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2 of 18 Lester Jones

Anyone for Lush?

This eye-catching subject was in the centre of Sydney putting up posters to advertise for a new bass player for his band. His appearance is pure rock-and-roll.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/1600, ISO 200

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3 of 18 Lester Jones

Barista in black

This very shy subject is a Sydney barista who works on Oxford St and kindly offered to pose. Her look is simple, but I loved the coy feel and composition of this shot.

Exposure: f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200

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4 of 18 Lester Jones

BMX candid

Taken on the fly, this reportage shot was very quick as I caught the BMX rider weaving through pedestrians in the centre of Sydney.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/3200, ISO 400

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5 of 18 Lester Jones

Sunset walk

This shot was taken very quickly when I fired off just two frames. The warm afternoon sun shone down on this couple as they took a romantic stroll in Bondi; his red shoes subtly stand out.

Exposure: f/14, 1/100, ISO 400

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6 of 18 Lester Jones

Fashion monster

My mate Nathan, one of Sydney's sharpest dressers, kindly posed for me last summer.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/4000, ISO 400

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7 of 18 Lester Jones

Teenage kicks

With her monochrome outfit, this rebellious teenager made a loud statement with her shocking pink All Stars. She had been chasing pigeons in a park moments before these shots were taken, and she was off again once we had finished — the youth of today!

Exposure: f/3.2, 1/200, ISO 200

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8 of 18 Lester Jones

Body of art

A very eye-catching tattoo artist, this subject was spotted on Sydney's Oxford St on a bright summer's day. I used the abundance of natural light to create the bokeh background with a very shallow depth of field.

Exposure: f/2.0, 1/4000, ISO 100

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9 of 18 Lester Jones

Norwegian wood

Taken in Sydney's Paddington Markets, this skater took some time out while his girlfriend shopped.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/4000, ISO 400

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10 of 18 Lester Jones

Skaters in the rain

A reportage shot taken after a storm had passed. No flash, just natural light.

Exposure: f/2, 1/640, ISO 200

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11 of 18 Lester Jones

The next generation

This young sneakers-lover posed while his parents watched on. While his innocent look took a while to capture, he was happy to talk about his beloved sneakers.

Exposure: f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200

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12 of 18 Lester Jones

Grams

A new stylish brand of smart-casual shoes, this shot was one of a range taken for a Sydney fashion store. There wasn't much space, so I played around with aperture to get some depth to the shot.

Exposure: f/1.8, 1/160, ISO 400

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13 of 18 Lester Jones

Nike free

The shoes that changed my life! This is a pack shot taken using natural light for an online promotion that I ran.

Exposure: f/4.6, 1/2500, ISO 200

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14 of 18 Lester Jones

Carrying shoes

Spotted walking along Bondi Beach, this guy's new sneakers were not allowed to get wet or sandy as he enjoyed the beach.

Exposure: unknown

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Stuck together

Two skateboard buddies who both collect sneakers from around the world. We had shot some portraits and then I took some action shots. I will never know if the mate looking on was impressed or not with the skills being shown off.

Exposure: f/2.0, 1/4000, ISO 400

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16 of 18 Lester Jones

The write stuff

A writer who had taken some time out to head to the beach for inspiration; this was the first shot that I took of about eight portraits. I framed the shot to get the guy walking in across the grass bank. Again, only natural light was used.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/4000, ISO 100

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17 of 18 Lester Jones

Pumped up

This simple yet vivid portrait was shot at one of my richest hunting grounds — Sydney's Bondi Markets. The weekly market draws fashionistas of all shapes and sizes, and I loved this guy's retro style.

Exposure: f/5, 1/1600, ISO 200

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18 of 18 Lester Jones

All the way to Remo

Remo is a Sydney-based director and artist. A colourful player on the Sydney arts scene, I spotted him while painting some street art of his Femme Fatale "Scar". There is a mirror-like quality to the image which I love.

Exposure: f/1.4, 1/2500, ISO 200

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