photographer Archives - Page 2 of 3

Published July 24, 2017 by avardw

8 Questions for California photographer Alexis Gerard

Alexis Gerard has been taking photos in the San Francisco Bay area for over 30 years. He has an amazing ability to capture the interplay of light and shadow. His photos have a sense of complexity, yet are easily accessible. They are sometimes humorous, sometimes banal, but almost always reveal something interesting beyond their literal content. For a more in-depth view of his work, check out his Suburban Bliss website, and Flickr.

I asked him eight questions about his work and his current projects.

Can you tell us about the projects you are working on these days?

I usually have several irons in the fire, because I prefer to rotate rather than to focus on a single one for a long time. I continue to document the mid-Peninsula area where I’ve lived for over 30 years – that’s an area half way between San Francisco and San Jose that is fast changing due to the explosion of the tech sector, and the resulting pressures in the economy, the demography, the infrastructure and the culture, that project is on my “Suburban Bliss” website. I’m also a fascinated by islands, and have been traveling to and photographing a number of them – the Hebrides, Easter Island, Malta, Crete, Corsica. And I’m always captivated by the interplay of light and shadow, on which I have an ongoing series of abstract-leaning photos and short videos.

Your photographs are beautiful and complex. At the same time, in some way they strike me as being easy to look at—the play of colour and light seems to combine with the subject matter in ways that allow us access. That’s just my take on your work. Do you have that feeling about it?

I deeply appreciate your saying this, it’s very kind of you. Also, you’re describing something I deliberately strive for, and constantly work at improving. I value beauty and I’m not satisfied with an image unless it achieves it on some level. As for complexity and accessibility; to me a really good image is one you can look at over a period of time and keep finding more and more to appreciate. But a really great image should do more than that, it should also have immediate appeal. I want the viewer to get some pleasure from my images at first glance and then, if they’re willing to invest time and attention, to get a lot more.

How did you develop your unique sense of vision?

You know the old saying “throw enough mud against the wall and some of it is bound to stick”? Well, 2017 is the 40th year since I bought my first camera (an Olympus OM-2) and started photographing. That said, I think what shaped my “eye” most was my decision to have a camera with me at all times possible. A high-school friend of mine told me an anecdote about Cartier-Bresson: My friend’s parents were artistic, and knew Henri Cartier-Brersson socially. Once, when my friend was still a kid, the great photographer came to their place for afternoon tea. As my friend told it, he never stopped holding his Leica with both hands, poised like a tiger to grab an image if one came about. Without going to such extremes, having a camera with you constantly is what I’d recommend to anyone who wants to develop their eye and style. You take a lot more pictures that way, therefore you learn faster because you’re making so many mistakes you can learn from! And because you’re always alert for images, rather than thinking about what interests you, you actually find out by doing. This is why I’m excited about cameras in phones; I’m hoping they’ll help many people become great photographers.

What subject matter attracts you, and why?

A scene or an object attracts my attention when it intimates something to me that goes beyond its outward appearance. I know this may sound pretentious, but it’s a sense that what I’m looking at reveals something about the functioning of the universe that goes beyond our everyday understanding. It can’t be expressed in words, but a successful image has a chance to convey it. So, my images can appear to be all over the map if someone goes by their literal subject matter (what they’re “of”), but when one focuses on what they’re trying to convey (what they’re “about”) they have a unity. At least I hope so! That’s kind of serious, so I should add I also photograph things because I find them funny or humorous.

What’s your state of mind when you’re taking good photos? Do you think there’s any connection between your mood or mindset and the results you get?

Yes, there’s definitely a connection. The kinds of images I hope for require being in an open and receptive state. You can’t have preconceptions about what you will photograph and be looking for specific things – if you do you’ll miss everything else. So, you go somewhere that’s related to a project you’re working on (or not). You allow your awareness to be diffuse, rather than focused on anything in particular, and you find out there and then what to photograph. Another way to put it is that you don’t go out to photograph, you go out to enjoy being in a place and time and, if you’re alert, the images come to you. Then, since you have a camera with you, you record them.

Do you like the region or city you live in? Do you like your home? Do these affect your photography?

I’m originally from Switzerland, but I’ve been living in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. It’s a great area for any photographer because of the region’s unending variety of scenery, and the magnificent light of Northern California. There’s also a wide range of environments from dense urban to suburban to small town. So yes, as a photographer I feel very privileged to live here.

Has your approach to your work changed in recent months or years? If so, how and why?

Pretty early on I decided the SLR thing of carrying around a lot of lenses wasn’t for me, because I don’t like to carry stuff, and more importantly, it gets in the way of spontaneity. I want to always have with me the best camera available that’s small enough to fit in a pocket or a belt holster, so I can take photos quickly and without drawing attention to myself. There were some wonderful film cameras along those lines, like the Contax T, whose image quality was just as good as the SLRs. However, in the digital world the smaller cameras have smaller sensors than those in bulkier cameras, and that impacts their performance. So, in the early years I had to adjust my choices of subject matter to accommodate cameras that had lower definition and narrower dynamic range (I believe you can make a good photo with absolutely any camera, but only if you work within, and make use of, its limitations). Fortunately, since Panasonic came out with the LX line, there have been better and better “pocket” digital alternatives like Sony’s RX 100 series and the Ricoh GR. That’s enabled me to do things that earlier models couldn’t support, like landscapes or interiors where detail is important, and low light.

One final question: Can you tell me briefly about a couple of photographers I may not be familiar with yet but you would recommend checking out?

Some of the lesser-known photographers whose work has had a strong impact on me are Clarence John Laughlin, Max Yavno, Paul Outerbridge, Jean-Christophe Pigozzi, and Charles Gatewood. I’d also like to mention two painters: Robert Bechtle, and John Register.

Many thanks to Alexis for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of his thoughtful answers that provide insight into his work. Be sure to check out more of his work on Suburban Bliss, and Flickr.

Interview Photography

8 questions Alexis Gerard interview photographer

Published July 17, 2017 by avardw

8 Questions for New Zealand photographer Derek Smith

New Zealand photographer Derek Smith has a keen eye for the everyday world. His colour, light, and composition make his photos memorable documents of a changing world. There is a beautiful simplicity about them that seems to echo the joy of the photographer. Some of his photographs resemble the work of painters like Edward Hopper or Alex Colville. For a more in-depth view of his work, check out this wonderful BBC interview with Derek. Also, you can see more of his work on Flickr.

I asked him eight questions about his work and his current projects.

Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from, and where do you live now?

I am 60 years old and was born in Newcastle, UK, but have lived in NZ since 1963– originally in Auckland but have travelled and lived extensively around the country since 1988. I married Maclean Barker (another obsessive photographer, luckily) in 1994 and have a son, Oscar, who is now 21. We are now finally settled in a small seaside village, Kakanui, on the east coast of the South Island.

What subject matter attracts you, and why?

I really enjoy composing pictures and that leaves the content fairly open but because I prefer them to also have a documentary value, I tend to focus on the social landscape. I love colour, light and form and arranging these elements to have aesthetic meaning to me in a rectangular composition. As children, we respond to these elements in a purely primal sense before we identify them as learned objects (tree, house, car, etc.) so I try and retain that simple sensory joy when observing things rather than attaching cultural, social or political meaning to what I observe (all learned rather than sensory.) I believe that everything is natural so I view myself as a nature photographer.

Your social documentary photos of New Zealand are stunning in their lighting, colour, and composition. (They certainly make me want to visit New Zealand.) And you have been at it for thirty years. Have you pretty much covered the entire country?

I am the “fill in guy” for a nationwide meter reading company so I get sent to every corner of the country often for weeks at a time when required. Due to the nature of my job, I have familiarised myself with my country very intimately. It is a relatively young country with a limited degree of diversity but I have gotten to know the different social and physical characteristics of each region really well. This has given me a great opportunity to chat with a huge range of people and photograph the country I love. The pay is crap but thanks to digital I am cheap to run.

Can you tell us about the projects you are working on these days?

Photographically, I am on an ongoing lifetime project that began almost 40 years ago. I carry my camera everywhere and always seem to find something to point it at. I did have a book published a few years ago but the publisher packaged and marketed it more as a Kiwiana collection for the local market. It sold quite well. I would like to self publish a book or two with a more specifically photographic feel but I know that would limit its market, particularly here in NZ. The bookstores here are filled with magnificent landscape works that I don’t feel compelled to add to. The social landscape is the broad theme that I seem to be most attracted to and the passage of time always adds a fresh dimension to the pictures.

You have probably the best day job I’ve ever heard of for the kind of photographs you take: You’re a meter reader. This was a genius move in choosing a job path. What are some elements that you think make a work environment potentially rich for photography?

Yes, I have been very lucky integrating my passion with my work life. Could not have been better, actually. I suspect many other outside jobs would offer similar opportunities but with the nature of work changing radically lately (my job will soon be obsolete), work time being so vigorously monitored, and many manual jobs becoming automated, these opportunities will be far more limited. I would encourage anyone to document their workplace, especially in this era of phenomenal change.

What’s your state of mind when you’re taking good photos? Do you think there’s any connection between your mood or mindset and the results you get?

My mood doesn’t change much, I don’t think there is a great range of emotional content in my work. I am not disturbed or creative enough to be an artist. I am a happy chap with a love for colour and a passion for New Zealand. Some pictures work on an aesthetic level, most miss the mark but at least they may possibly have a documentary function. If others find the pictures enjoyable, that’s great but I generally photograph to please myself and the great thing about photography is that the possibilities are endless. There is that famous saying, not sure who originated it “I photograph to see what things look like, photographed” Always surprising!

Do you find these days that you’re inspired by the same people, places, or events that inspired you in the past? Or has this changed for you over time?

I still do what I have always done because the contemporary social landscape is in a constant state of flux and the light is ever changing so the opportunities are endless. I have found my language. I will revisit certain subject matter and re-photograph it to illustrate the wonderful effects of time. As with much of your wonderful work, the passage of time gives another dimension to the images that can often present a strong social pointer.

One final question: Can you tell me briefly about a couple of photographers I may not be familiar with yet but you would recommend checking out?

There are many photographers that have influenced me. Walker Evans, Eggleston, Shore, Friedlander. All are great renderers of the utterly ordinary. Here in New Zealand, I have huge respect for Bruce Foster, in my opinion our most astute observer, and the wonderful Ans Westra, a national treasure who has documented the lives of Maori in New Zealand since the sixties, Always with her beloved Rollieflex for beautifully candid images. (she now has a permanent Rollieflex stoop!) Well worth a look.

Many thanks to Derek for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of his thoughtful answers that provide insight into his work. Be sure to check out his BBC interview, and his work on Flickr.

Interview Photography

8 questions Derek Smith interview New Zealand photographer

Published July 10, 2017 by avardw

8 Questions for Toronto photographer/illustrator Dominic Bugatto

Toronto photographer/illustrator Dominic Bugatto never ceases to amaze me. His social documentary photographs of Toronto neighborhoods, and his dynamic and thoughtful illustrations are bursting with life and creativity. I like the way that despite the success he’s achieved, he continues to hone his skills and progress in his work. Be sure to check out his illustration portfolio, photography portfolio, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

I asked him eight questions about his work and his current projects. Our online conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

You have two sons (and take some really wonderful photos of them). As a parent of two girls who are now teenagers, I know how full-on being a dad to young children is. Can you say a bit about how parenting has affected your work?

It was becoming a parent for the first time that reacquainted me with the camera. Naturally you start to document this new life and by extension you’re soon documenting your own. We live in Toronto, a big cosmopolitan city with a lot of places to go. The kids have always been a great catalyst for getting out of the house and exploring it.

Your urban landscape photos of downtown Toronto are a joy. Do you find it meditative walking around with a camera?

Thank you; it’s a great city to photograph. There’s a broad range of topography to it, with the various neighbourhoods having their own particular characteristics and personalities. It’s completely meditative, though the camera encourages a heightened sense of awareness.

You do illustration work for big clients–the New York Times, Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal. Does your photographic sense help you in that realm, or do different skills come into play?

I often go out and take photos to provide references for illustrations that I’m working on. Google has its limitations; when you need something more specific it’s often easier to just make your own pictures.

You are both a photographer and an illustrator. Is there much overlap, for you, with these two mediums?

I think each influences the other. Composing a frame and telling a story as an illustrator is akin to looking through the viewfinder. It’s just a different way to organize a picture’s environment—the stage and the players within it. I’ll often photograph either of the kids or a family member when I need such a reference for an illustration. They’ve appeared in some A-List publications like Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal, but to them it’s just another drawing by Dad.

I’ve been really struck by your vintage jazz album illustration project, and it reminds me that over the years there has been such a strong and interesting body of art documenting jazz musicians—both illustrations and photographs. Can you say a little about that area?

I’ve had a long running love affair with the LP covers of jazz albums from the 50s and 60s. They really pushed the boundaries of typography, design, illustration, and photography. The series originated out my appreciation for them, but also as a disciplinary exercise for me to hone my design chops and experiment with different approaches to drawing and portraiture. I initially planned on doing one or two; I think I’m up to around twenty now. In some case I’ve even incorporated my own photographs into the pieces.

Have your photography and illustration changed in recent months or years?

Hopefully. To quote the old adage: it’s the journey, not the destination. I always maintain that I’m a perpetual student of my craft–there’s always room for improvement and growth.

What’s a new interest of yours?

I’m currently looking into the prospect of making a photography book of my Pay Phone series. I was quite pleased when the Government of Canada chose to purchase six prints of them for the National Archives. It’s a pretty daunting prospect and the editing and design process seems all-encompassing. Ideally, I’d prefer to have someone publish it, but I’m not ruling out print on demand either.

One final question: Can you tell me briefly about a couple of photographers I may not be familiar with yet but you would recommend checking out?

I’ll try and steer clear of the obvious ones, especially because you and your readers are likely to know their work already. Two great books to check out: Once by Wim Wenders, and Buzzing at the Sill by Peter van Agtmael.

Many thanks to Dominic for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of his thoughtful answers that provide insight into his work. Be sure to check out more of his illustration and photography.

Interview Photography

Dominic Bugatto Eight Questions illustrator interview photographer Toronto

Published June 28, 2017 by avardw

8 Questions for San Francisco photographer Esther Reyes

San Francisco photographer Esther Reyes has a great eye for details and scenes that others may pass by, and aims to find harmony or balance in what she sees. Her photos contain beautiful light and a wonderful sense of rhythm, and In her words, “photography became a way for me to pay attention, to get out of my head, and to document where I have been.” Be sure to check out more of her work on her website and on Instagram.

I asked her eight questions about her work and her current projects.

Can you tell us about the projects you are working on these days?

I have been thinking a lot about the concept of querencia, or the place where one feels at home. I had recently planned to move away from the San Francisco Bay Area, where I have lived all of my life. Instead, I moved back to my childhood home in the Castro Valley suburbs. The change in plans was due to concerns about my father’s deteriorating health and his move to an assisted living facility. The project is about how place impacts one’s identity and the gray area of ambivalence mediating safety and obligation versus risks and freedom. It will be from my own perspective, as well as my father’s.

I am also putting together concepts and experimenting with lighting and reflective surfaces to work on a Jaromír Funke-inspired still life project. I do not typically stage photographs, so it is an interesting process.

I’ve read that you see photography as a meditative practice. Can you talk about this?

One day I was walking around the Outer Mission in San Francisco where I had lived for more than four years a long time ago. I looked up and saw Sutro Tower, a prominent San Francisco landmark that looms over the city. I had never noticed it from this neighborhood during the four years I had lived there! I realized that I had failed to notice both obvious and subtle details and experiences of my surroundings for most of my life. I also have a poor memory. Photography became a way for me to pay attention, to get out of my head, and to document where I have been. I started meditating at about the same time. I no longer meditate regularly, but it helped me develop a way to both let go of and to internalize the external world. Using photography as a meditative practice for me means engaging more fully with my environment and finding harmony or balance in what I see.

Your photos of the social landscape are a pleasure to look at. They contain many elements and details that most people would pass by. How have you developed this vision?

I am grateful that you think so! My mother was a concert pianist and painter. She taught me to notice beauty where others might not. I think being raised to be a musician gave me discipline and patience for details. I also credit the many talented photographers on Flickr that have educated me with hundreds of thousands of images. When I started shooting and posting photographs to Flickr, I had conventional ideas of what a photograph was supposed to be, what was considered worthy of photographing. I became and still am fascinated by the wide variety of answers to these questions (or visual responses that pose even more questions). I suppose that I am drawn to the details of overlooked and neglected anomalies because they say something about human nature and about me.

What’s your state of mind when you’re taking good photos? Do you think there’s any connection between your mood or mindset and the results you get?

I may get better results when I am feeling more free and can let go of expectations, when there is a sense of openness or discovery. But, it isn’t always predictable.

What themes are you exploring in your photos?

Human nature. Impermanence. Entropy.

What is beautiful? What is valuable? Who gets to decide?

Do you like the city you live in? Do you like your home? Do these affect your photography?

I have loved living in the San Francisco Bay Area all my life. It has lovely light and a mild climate, is incredibly walkable, and even the garbage on the street is photogenic! Tolerance for the foibles of human nature has provided lots of rich subject matter.

Who or what inspires you?

“Isn’t imagination really the final measure of intelligence?” – Larry Sultan

I am inspired by the fact that anyone and everyone is or can be a photographer these days, including me! Photography has become a ubiquitous medium for self-expression, communication and connection (hat tip to Marvin Heiferman).

I am also inspired by meeting other photographers and exploring possibilities for collaboration and community. I have met a few dozen photographers from social media in real life and some have become dear friends.

One final question: Can you tell me briefly about a couple of photographers I may not be familiar with yet but you would recommend checking out?

Sotiris Lamprou, and Yanina Boldyreva. Both of these photographers have a distinct, recognizable style with a wide and rich variety of subject matter. They are able to communicate a palpable sense of wonder.

Many thanks to Esther for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of her thoughtful answers that provide insight into her work. Be sure to check out her website and Instagram.

Interview Photography

8 questions Esther Reyes interview photographer San Francisco

Published June 26, 2017 by avardw

8 Questions for Seattle photographer Jeff Turner

In Jeff Turner’s words, he takes photos that are about the arrangement of shapes and underlying geometry of the image, where the ostensible subject is just an interesting prop. But his photos are an interesting document of Seattle’s explosive growth and dramatic gentrification. Be sure to check out his work on Flickr and Instagram.

I asked him eight questions about his work and his current projects.

What got you interested in photography?

My exposure, if you will, dates back to early childhood, watching my grandmother develop studio-quality photos of her many children in a basement darkroom. I took my first photos as a child with a thrift store Argoflex. I got my hands on an SLR in high school photography class, really took to it, and was very active for a time afterwards, then slowly petered out to just the occasional really good vacation photos for many years. When I first got on Facebook eight or so years ago, someone mentioned in passing how much he liked my photography so I decided to go out and take a few new pictures just so I would have something to post, and here we are.

Can you tell us about the projects you are working on these days?

I’m in the process of winding down the Hipstamatic Neighborhood project I’ve been working on past couple years. My neighborhood has become prosperous and dull, and not very Hipstamatic anymore. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Minor White’s “camera-as-brush” vs. “camera-as-extension-of-vision” distinction but I’ve tried to adhere to camera-as-extension-of-vision for most of my work so the Hipstamatic camera-as-brush treatment, which I have described as “fiddling with the image until it looks like a memory” has been a fun diversion.

Your photos seem to encompass the urban landscape, architecture, the banal, and things of historical significance. Do you see your work as documenting an ever-changing world?

Without really intending to I’ve been recording some of Seattle’s explosive growth from a middling town with delusions of grandeur to an actual large city, and my own neighborhood’s sudden and dramatic gentrification. For the most part though, my photos are really about the arrangement of shapes and underlying geometry of the image and the ostensible subject is just an interesting prop. I like to have fun with titles and may give something a faux-serious documentary title, like Endangered Surface Parking Lot and include a sober analysis on urban land use patterns in the caption, but the reason for making the photo was primarily aesthetic value; not documentation.

While I still take vacation pictures – and some of my favorite photos are from places new or unfamiliar to me – when I return home I usually say to myself, “Damn. You shoulda at least got a few street shots of what the place looked like, but this photo of a pile of dirty snow you did take will look great alongside all those photos of piles of dirt you already have.”

There are several interesting quotes on your Flickr page regarding photography and seeing. There is one from you: “The memory of it is better than any picture could have been.” Can you talk about this? And can you explain your moniker, Blinking Charlie?

I’ve left that quote up even though I now have no idea now what it refers to. Too bad I didn’t take a picture. So often looking at a photo from years ago takes me back to the otherwise unmemorable time I took it. As far as my “brand name” goes, some time before I had joined Flickr, after locking myself out of Yahoo! Messenger by not being able remember whatever fake birthday I had used to create my account, I just looked around my cubicle and took a new user name the last two words from this piece by Maureen Dowd I had pinned up, mocking former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s interview with journalist Charlie Gibson:

“We must not, Charlie, blink, Charlie, because, Charlie, as I’ve said, Charlie, before, John McCain has said, Charlie, that — and remember here, Charlie, we’re talking about John McCain, Charlie, who, Charlie, is John McCain and I won’t be blinking, Charlie.”

What’s your state of mind when you’re taking good photos? Do you think there’s any connection between your mood or mindset and the results you get?

My worst photos are created reliably when I go somewhere with the intention of taking some great photos. I do much better when I keep my mind clear and just notice what I’m noticing. The low cost of digital and social media’s endless appetite for content are a trap I can easily fall into where if I haven’t taken any photos I like lately I start to feel like my “productive period” is behind me; no small matter in a place with over 300 cloudy days a year. On the other hand, being able to learn how to take photographs by taking photographs and then reviewing them critically happens much faster now than when I was using film. I feel a lot freer to experiment.

The peer review offered by Flickr (as opposed to automated appreciation from an endless series of like bots on Instagram) has helped a lot. I can’t tell you many times a photo I post thinking “this is a modern masterpiece!!” draws little interest where one I worry is somewhat cliché, or am just on the fence about gets quite a bit of attention. If I just kept my prints in a shoe box and entered the occasional contest, I would never have to accept that fellow photographers whose opinion I care about see right through some not-happening image I just really want to happen or perhaps that I need to be stubborn, conclude sometimes everyone else is wrong, and take the road less traveled.

Do you like the region or city you live in? Do you like your home? Do these affect your photography?

I live in the Central District of Seattle, as the name implies, right in the middle of the city. For generations it was the city’s ghetto for Black, Jewish, and Asian residents. We moved there right after September 11th because my wife wanted to be with her people, but today it is the kind of place where a white man who just recently moved to the area feels entitled to walk up to her standing in front of our house, ask her what she’s doing, and tell her she looks like she doesn’t belong there. The city’s rapid growth has been dislocating and alienating. It’s not unusual to feel lost in a part of town I haven’t been to for a while because so much has changed. On the flip side, I’ve always dreamed of living in a big city and didn’t have to move to one. The city came to me. If nothing else, boom times are interesting.

I haven’t made any effort to comprehensively document these changes. Partly that’s a free-time limitation but also an endless series old buildings with Proposed Land Use Action signs on them followed up with holes in the ground with rebar and tower cranes growing out of them followed up with a 4-over-1 with unleased retail space on the first floor or another glass tower is really not that interesting. I do recognize that the record of the scenery of my day-to-day life at this time may be of interest later and have been careful to record the location for every photo. My wife has been much more invested in this process with her work at the Seattle Public Library; funding a team to record interviews with remaining long-time Central District residents, which will preserve the memory of it better than any picture could.

Who or what inspires you?

If we mean inspires as in influences, seeing Walker Evans’ photography for so many years growing up created some paradigms for me. Houses and Billboards, Atlanta, 1936 is for me a perfect photo and lies underneath a lot of my better images. I also had a lot of exposure as a young person to historical architecture photography and vintage picture postcards. Often, my favorite shots consciously imitate the utter deadpan of a 1960’s motel postcard or commercial real estate flyer.

Stephen Shore’s photo Horseshoe Bend Motel, Lovell, Wyoming, July 16, 1973 – essentially a frame around seemingly random elements (in other words, a photo of nothing) with some underlying special harmony – I saw at a crucial point where I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do creatively. I knew immediately I wanted to take photos like that – photos of nothing.

As I try to break away from that, I’ve found some of Kahlil Joseph’s very magical motion picture work (https://vimeo.com/66703600 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fLKcHu-LJo) along with a variety of other people’s still work that is about feelings rather than things is probably my next “Horseshoe Bend Motel photo” or at least I hope so. Taking pictures of nothing is easy. Visually representing something that makes you feel some kind of way is a mystery to me, especially as I make an effort to avoid photographing people.

One final question: Can you tell me briefly about a couple of photographers I may not be familiar with yet but you would recommend checking out?

There are number of people on Flickr whose work I greatly admire but I would say in that environment we probably travel in the same circles. Probably the exception would be Cameron Schiller whose work is nothing at all like mine.

I follow a whole different group on Instagram: Joonbug, and Jenoris Caba (monday.monday on Flickr) are both film photographers I always look forward to seeing. Ibán Ramón Rodríguez, Sam Kelly, and Carlos Bravo do the clean and spare landscapes I wish I was doing as opposed to the cluttered and too-close shots I am actually doing. Phoebe, Tony Gum, and Yagazie Emezi remind me I don’t have a very well developed appreciation for color juxtaposition or management on digital, and probably ought to work on that; and I’m always happy when a non-photographer I am following for reasons of general interestingness is in the right place at the right time, manages to avoid typical amateur pitfalls, and posts something really terrific.

Many thanks to Jeff for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of his thoughtful answers that provide insight into his work. Be sure to check out his work on Flickr and Instagram.

Interview Photography

8 questions interview Jeff Turner photographer Seattle

Tag: <span>photographer</span>

8 Questions for California photographer Alexis Gerard

8 Questions for New Zealand photographer Derek Smith

8 Questions for Toronto photographer/illustrator Dominic Bugatto

8 Questions for San Francisco photographer Esther Reyes

8 Questions for Seattle photographer Jeff Turner