Each Friday, in honor of the #FollowFriday tradition on Twitter, we will be featuring one of our own Featured Users on the blog.

Today we hear from James Campbell. James is a photographer and web developer living in Washington, DC, with a slew of interesting and creative web projects. He can be found on Twitter as @jamescampbell.

Tell us about yourself.

I am a Washington, DC area freelance photographer and web developer with far ranging interests from iPhone app development and Arduino-controlled gadgetry to music recording. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, I moved to Washington in 1999 to attend the Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and I’ve been on the move ever since, traveling all over the USA, including two years in Monterey, California, interpreting my experiences through my words, artwork, photography, and music.

How (and when) did you first come to be on Twitter, and how has the experience evolved for you?

It’s funny, I have been on Twitter in some shape or form since April 19th, 2007. Back then, I was using clipmarks, StumbleUpon, and a service called Utterz along with Twitter. When I started on Twitter, I used the moniker @constantskeptic, which is still active today. The account was originally tied to my old website/blog, which I finally cut all ties with this past year. Using the @constantskeptic account and batboy avatar, I posted skeptical thoughts about current affairs and things like UFOs and Big Foot.

I didn’t like hiding behind a character that wasn’t me. Sometime in early 2008 I realized I should create a real brand with my real name so that people could put a face to my name and words, which would hopefully build trust and a tribe with those who shared my interests. From 2008 on, Twitter morphed into more of a living search engine for me. I started using Twitter like a living, breathing Wikipedia of people who are all experts in something and eager to share their knowledge. And the best thing about that is I am an active participant in that knowledge base as well. I respond to every single topic that I know something about, whether it is something mundane like cable service or something philosophical like the meaning of life, I can step into the stream and participate whenever I want.

Where are you located? What’s your favorite thing about where you live?

I currently live in Washington DC. I hate the traffic on 495 but I love everything else. The short tall foreign-looking alleys of Chinatown. The National Mall and Smithsonian, which provide endless picturesque captures through my viewfinder. The silence of the Tidal Basin. Eastern Market’s fresh produce and flea market every weekend. The convenience of the Metro, even if the service is sometimes sub-par. The funny tourists and wanna be hipsters hanging around Union Station looking for answers. The serendipity of walking down the street with your camera in hand and knowing that you will find something interesting to photograph and share with the outside world.

What are you most excited about sharing with your followers?

I try to post the type of messages that I love receiving, which are links to great new content that is out there, wonderful photos, or the latest technology that’s really helping me organize (like Evernote) and live my life easier and fuller than ever before. I also throw in links to my latest photos on my various photo project sites: iPhone 3gs photo a day project, black and white photos project, and of course my Flickr stream, mainly because I love the feedback and suggestions I receive. I also have projects in the works like You’re Never Too Old For Crayons, which lets anyone send in crayon drawings via a group email address and they get automatically posted on the site for feedback and discussion, and Sketch A Day, which is going to be 365 days of pencil/ink sketches that anyone can critique.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not online?

More and more I am finding that I need to unplug from my MacBook Pro and go mobile with just my iPhone 3gs and Nikon D90. I love hiking, mountain biking, camping, and going on road trips to strange places during the warm months of the year, and snowboarding is my passion in the winter. I try to make at least one trip to Lake Tahoe every season. I also do more normal things like watch Coen Bros movies (The Big Lebowski is one of my favorites) or the latest indie flick at the Landmark in Bethesda or the AFI in Silver Spring.

Thanks, James!