Tag: <span>photographer</span>

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

Norwegian photographer Lise Utne  loves light and how it illuminates her everyday life. She says of her photography,  “I think of photography as a way of fighting my insignificance and powerlessness in the big picture, but also of accepting and celebrating it. Maybe it’s the same thing, or at least two sides of the same coin. I count myself very lucky to be cast into this beautiful world, and to find myself travelling my allotted distance with my loved ones.” Be sure to check out more of her work on Flickr.

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

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

I live in Trondheim, Norway. I moved here in the mid 1980s, and I’ve now lived here longer than all the other places I’ve lived taken together. I also lived here for a while during my early childhood in the 1960s, and I’ve always had relatives here.

As a child, I never knew how to answer the question “Where are you from?” I was born in Bodø, above the Arctic Circle – where the sun shines day and night for a few summer weeks, and barely at all in the dead of winter. I uttered my first words here in Trondheim, Norway’s ecclesiastical capital (and up to the Reformation the hub of a Catholic archdiocese spanning west to Iceland and Greenland and south to the Western Isles of Scotland). After a couple of years we moved back to Bodø. Situated on a peninsula jutting out into the Norwegian Sea, its location is very scenic, but the city is infamous for its blustery weather conditions. I still have vivid memories of wind and snow lashing across my face on my way to nursery school on the back of my mother’s bike. The next stop was an island near the southernmost tip of the country. It was a good place for learning how to ice-skate; two tidal waves meet there, thus cancelling each other out. Hence there is no ebb and flow, and the sea water freezes when the winters are cold enough – which they were during both of our two years there. When I started school, we had just moved inland for the first and only time, to a small place in eastern Norway (somewhat west of the capital city, Oslo). And by the time I was eight, we had moved seven times.

In the next eight years, though, we only moved twice. We were back in mid Norway, on the coast south-west of Trondheim. This area is quite dramatic with its ocean and narrow fjords and rocky islands – and some of the islands adorned by mountains rising 900 metres straight out of the sea. My mother and maternal grandfather grew up here, and I’d been taken here every summer since I was born. It is the short answer to where I’m from, and where I keep returning. But I also visit Bodø, and retain an affinity for the north, since half my relatives still live there.

 

What projects are you working on these days?

For several years, I’ve been photographing a collection of beautiful maple trees overhanging a small car park beside the street down from where I live. Trapped between a tall concrete wall (the back wall of a disused cinema) and a row of cars, the trees seemed a good analogy for the tug of war between man and Nature in our day and age. The material-gathering phase of my project came to a sudden halt when the trees were felled on 29th August this year.

In fact, sadly – and infuriatingly – most of the tall trees that used to adorn the front gardens along this street have been cut down in recent years, only to be replaced by parking spaces for people’s ever growing number of private cars.

I continue to chronicle the tall ash tree I can see from my skylight (while crossing my fingers that it will outlive us all), and other fixed elements of the day-to-day uneventfulness of my everyday surroundings: our cherished fellow being the cat, and her approach to life; shadows and light fluctuating through the day and the seasons (and the way objects and greenery inside the flat and out on the balcony are offset by the changing light conditions); friends and family going about their business (although I don’t photograph them nearly as much as I’d like to, as most of my friends and family dislike being photographed)… Then, there are the annually recurring holidays; the local festivals reflecting the rich cultural diversity of my local community; and my short, and not-quite-so-short distance excursions (mostly to take part in chores or celebrations in the extended family).

Nan Goldin has said that her primary reason for photographing is so that she won’t lose her sense of herself (I’ll Be Your Mirror, 1996, p. 451). I can sympathise with that. I think of photography as a way of fighting my insignificance and powerlessness in the big picture, but also of accepting and celebrating it. Maybe it’s the same thing, or at least two sides of the same coin. I count myself very lucky to be cast into this beautiful world, and to find myself travelling my allotted distance with my loved ones. Having access to means of recording and sharing my points of view gives me tools to better understand and remember. Ultimately, that’s what all my projects are about.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

You do some wonderful diptychs and collages. What draws you to those forms?

Thank you for liking them! Through photography, I try to relate to what is right in front of me; patterns and meanings tend to emerge organically, over time. I see making diptychs as an opportunity to seize some measure of control; a chance to impose contexts and suggest meanings. Diptychs are often a fairly straightforward “compare and contrast” exercise, of the same subjects during different seasons or time of day – for instance the car park trees down the road in summer paired with the same car park trees in winter. At other times, I juxtapose photos to make a social or political comment: the car park with its trees paired with the same spot, trees gone. And so on…

At other times, I make diptychs or combine multiple images to focus on more formal elements – e.g., a seascape in a dark blue dusk paired with an almost identical scene, but with unmatching horizons; or the horizontal lines of one photo continuing into its otherwise different pair. Making diptychs is my version of “creative post-processing”; applying filters and such is not my cup of tea.

When I make the collages it’s a very different process in the sense that I don’t use my own images at all – although I sometimes photograph them during the process, and when they’re finished – with or without added shadow play. I find the image elements I want to use in various magazines and other printed matter, and physically cut them out with a scalpel. I use re-positionable spray glue to fix the cut-outs onto paper.

The collages allow me to create my own (sur)reality by picking and choosing from a great number of sources, combining image elements from places I haven’t been and including people I haven’t met. Independently of the various times and places of their capture, I can create an entirely new context and narrative from the pictures. I love the sense of play and the feeling of freedom involved in that process!

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

Some of your photos have a quality that I see as a somber beauty. There is a nice use of darkness and light, and many of your pictures have a timeless, moody feeling. (And yet there’s much joy, also.) Is that something you’re trying to capture in some of your photos?

I love the intense shadows thrown by a low sun, and the quality of that light. I also love the intensifying blues in the space between sundown and nightfall. Nothing beats the morning and evening light no matter when it occurs – in this corner of the world, we are entering the time of year when morning means 10 a.m. and evening 2 p.m. There is something about that light that reminds me that I’m here, now, nestled with my loved ones between what has been and what will come.

Life is so precious. And it’s complicated and changeable and unpredictable. Then there’s the fact that we can no longer take for granted that life on Earth will persevere beyond our individual life spans, due to our collective efforts to destroy it.

Our lives are so short. So full of drama. So unfair. So beautiful.

There’s something about that dramatic light that reminds me of those basic truths. But basically, I’m just drawn to that kind of light and automatically lift the camera when I see it.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

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 don’t really know whether a photo will come out as I intended or hoped until I see it on the computer screen. And at the moment, I need to learn the secrets of my newish camera in order to seize greater control of the technical outcome of my efforts.

My mood or mindset does matter, though, for whether I lift the camera or not in the first place. I always keep it at hand, but I often let opportunities pass me by: In order to photograph people, I need to feel courageous, or to feel that I have their permission.

Photos without people are less complicated, and for me more a matter of simply being open to my physical surroundings. They are often triggered by what Emily Dickinson described as “a certain slant of light” – such as the morning or summer evening sun visiting my flat or my balcony. In a way, they catch me, rather than the other way round.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

You have self published a few books. What has that experience been like for you?

I really enjoyed the editing process – so much so that I forgot to take breaks: my neck and shoulders took a bad battering with each title. It’s great fun to have the finished products on my bookshelf, and I have loved sharing the books with my nearest and dearest. Also, I’m very grateful that a lot of people have taken the time to look through the previews, and that some of my most loyal (and solvent) friends and photo contacts have bought their own copies of some of them. Having said that, the number of copies sold is rather modest, and In Passing has yet to be purchased by anyone apart from myself.

Blurb’s software was easy to use although there were a few glitches along the way with uploaded photos disappearing (my latest attempt was nearly four years ago). I’m also happy with the print quality. What I’m extremely unimpressed with, however, is the unattractive blue-greenish bias that suddenly appeared in the previews of all of my books, and Blurb’s lack of interest in fixing it. The previews show the entire books for free because I wanted to make the contents equally available to everyone irrespective of their bank balance (as long as they have an internet connection and a viewing device). However, my good intentions are totally undermined by the nauseating ugliness of the tainted online presentation. I’ve asked Blurb repeatedly over a period of several years to fix it; every time their helpfulness stops with the same statement: “it’s a bug”.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

Your work seems to be tied to the seasons. Can you comment on that?

 It is hard to ignore the changes brought on by different seasons around these parts. Again, I must mention the light; it changes so dramatically through the year. Between late October and late February, it’s hardly worth getting up in the mornings, as the sun is hidden by the hill behind my house. In the summer, it’s difficult to find a time for sleeping that doesn’t mean missing the best light – except in the middle of the day.

Then there are the different activities, both inside and outdoors, associated with the different seasons. Bringing a fragrant tree inside when everything is barren outside is such a treat every year, as is decorating with the deep red table cloths and trinkets, and lighting the candles to brighten the darkest weeks. Knowing that the winter celebrations are approaching makes even the gloomiest days and nights bearable.

Autumn is a sad time with the leaves falling and the darkness tumbling down around us. But it is also very beautiful with its colours and scents and the crisp sounds of drying leaves underfoot. And winter dusk is lovely, with its pinks and purples and delicate, deepening blues. Spring heralds joy, and summer is pure opulence. Birds and haymaking; shadows and light playing with the trees and their foliage; the scents of honeysuckle and salty sea water.

My preoccupation with seasons probably stems at least partly from growing up mostly in the countryside during an age when children spent a lot of time outdoors, and activities were dictated by the seasons – and by the fluctuating weather conditions within the seasons, since the coastal climate is rather unstable. It mattered a great deal whether the weather was mild enough to bathe in the sea during summer; or cold enough to sustain the ice on the fjord so that we could go ice-skating in winter. Heavy snowfall would put an end to the skating, but then we’d get the skis out, and we’d make snowball lanterns. If a thaw arrived, we’d just have to wait it out, and wade through the slush and slide around on the ensuing ice in the meantime… (By the way, just as an aside: the indigenous people around these parts, the Sámi, traditionally divide the year into eight seasons, based on the suitability of the conditions for tending to different chores connected to their reindeer herds.)

These days, the changing seasons are reminders that nothing remains the same, for good and bad – thus symbolising both resignation and hope. With more than half of my life behind me (statistically speaking), I obsess about the lightness of summer nights and the shortness of midwinter days more than I do about the short-term weather – although I do think we need to take climate change more seriously than many of us do.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

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 so many wonderful photographers out there, for instance on Flickr, as you know. Veerle Leunis shares her perceptive and beautiful takes on human and animal life on a farm in Belgium.  Masaaki Ito photographs Japanese street cats. Then there’s Sonia Madrigal from Mexico (sonia_carolina on Flickr). Her recent work highlights the burning topic of violence against women. Paris-based Dan Hayon from Romania is also on Flickr. He has made many great Blurb books, such as Shooting Each Other (a true story), for which he claims to have made a deal with his cat Jules: For every photo he shot of Jules, Jules got to shoot one of him.

Both Zoltán Jókay from Germany and artist/photographer Julie Edel Hardenberg from Greenland are also worth checking out if you don’t already know them. Each has published wonderful photographic works celebrating our shared humanity across various origins and circumstances. Someone else who is on Flickr is multi-artist Michael Szpakowski, with his diary-like approach to photography. And Moscow-based Ksenia Tsykunova’s Flickr stream is definitely worth checking out.

There are just so many people out there sharing such great work. It’s very humbling, but also extremely inspiring.

Lise Utne
© Lise Utne

Many thanks to Lise for doing this interview. I’m so appreciative of her thoughtful answers that provide insight into her work. Be sure to check out more of her work on Flickr.

Interview Photography

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

Photographer Victoria Campa loves to photograph people, especially the people she is closest to. She says, “My primary concern, even beyond just photography, is people and their stories. There is nothing more valuable than human connection, and I am fascinated by what occurs when someone is in front of my camera.”  Her portraits are youthful and vibrant. Be sure to check out her work on her website and Instagram.

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

 

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

I was born in New York but my family moved to Spain when I turned 4, so I spent most of my life in Madrid. When I turned 18, I moved back to New York City for university, and I just graduated in May 2017. Right now, I am traveling throughout India and southeast Asia, so I am living in between hostels and trains.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

What projects are you working on these days?

I collaborate very often with my brother and sister, and we made many photos together this summer that I am still putting together. Another project that is very important to me is a collaboration with photographer and my dear friend Victoria Zavala Carvajal where we create double exposures by combining our two perspectives in one frame. It is called Layers of Synergy. And now that I am traveling for a while, I am photographing a lot, so we will see what shall come of that.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

You shoot mostly in black and white. What attracts you to monochrome?

The truth is that it goes by phases, and this summer I made a lot of color photographs as well as in black and white. I am attracted to monochrome because sometimes I think that color distracts from a photograph and what it is trying to say. By adding a whole other dimension, it complicates the image in a way that makes a viewer dismiss it more quickly. To me, black and white feels more intimate and more revealing, especially since I mainly photograph people.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

You do lots of interesting and lively portraits—young people in their environments. Is portraiture something you specialize in?

Yes. My primary concern, even beyond just photography, is people and their stories. There is nothing more valuable than human connection, and I am fascinated by what occurs when someone is in front of my camera. My favorite thing to do is photograph those closest to me, as if by making something beautiful with and of them I can properly communicate what they mean to me.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

You graduated from Barnard College, in New York City, earlier this year. Has your approach changed now that you are out of school?

My photography has changed significantly from the beginning of my studies (four years ago) to now. Probably simply from spending many hours with my camera, I think I have found the subjects I am interested and I have begun to develop a voice of my own. I am sure my work will continue to grow and change over time.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

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 definitely think there is a connection, and I think the connection is even deeper when it also involves the subject of my photos. It is important to feel comfortable and for there to be total trust between me and my subject. At the same time, my mindset varies. Sometimes I know exactly what I want before looking through the viewfinder, and other times I am surprised by the resulting frame. At this point, my “camera mind” is always on, and I don’t think I will be able to turn it off anytime soon. I see photos all around me all the time.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

Who or what inspires you?

In my experience, inspiration can come from anywhere. Whether it’s from the way the light falls on a rock on an afternoon walk, or a conversation with a friend, or even a specific feeling or memory stored deep inside of you that you can’t even recall. I am constantly looking at the work of others, both photographers and other visual artists. I also like to read a lot, and I am very influenced by film. However, I am most inspired by real people and the real happenings that surround me.

 Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

 

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 photographers I look to often for inspiration are Quentin de Briey and Hollie Fernando. Lately I have been very into street photography in New York and have fallen in love with the work of Andre Wagner.

Victoria Campa
© Victoria Campa

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

Interview Photography

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux 

Nick Prideaux shoots beautiful photos, on film, that form a visual diary of his life. His photography is about subtraction, which he approaches with a simple and minimalistic process – focusing on the smaller details, the beauty in the little things. Be sure to check out more of his work on his website and Instagram.

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

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

My name is Nick Prideaux and I am originally from Byron Bay, Australia, a small coastal town on the east coast. I studied film production in Melbourne, spent some time in China, then moved to Japan, where I lived for 5 years as a freelance photographer and teacher. Currently, I am based in Bangkok, Thailand, where I’ve lived for the past year and a half.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

What projects are you working on these days?

I wrapped up my first major solo exhibition in May this year, so since then I’ve spent the last few months putting together my next body of work. I’m always shooting so it’s never quite clear instantly what the project will be, but somewhere along the line, I find the thread that ties it all together.  I’m also putting together a group project with some friends in December, and a new solo show in February in Malaysia.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

You seem to prefer film over digital. Can you tell us why?

I spent my time in high school shooting film on and off but switched to digital for its convenience and ease of use. I soon found though I could never find my ‘style’ with it as the images I produced were kind of flat and uninteresting; I was never really happy with them. I switched back to film about four years ago and never really looked back. I love film for a variety of reasons but I love its color, its feeling, and the romance attached to it. I like the timely process too; waiting to see the images later is another huge reason why I love it – I don’t like to have that instant gratification that digital offers. I try to practice mindfulness as much as I can, and shooting with film offers that.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

The approach you take is simple and minimalistic – “focusing on the smaller details, the beauty in the little things.” How did you arrive at this way of seeing?

I think it’s just a process of subtraction rather than addition. I try to love my life as simply as I can so I think my photography is, of course, just an extension of the way I see my life and see the world. I generally approach most things with a ‘less is more’ way of thinking. Even the cameras I use function in this way, as I shoot on mostly simple point and shoots.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

You shoot stories from your life that form a visual diary. Is time and memory important to you?

Definitely. I think it’s an age thing, along with living abroad for so long – you start to forget things more and more when you aren’t documenting them in some way. The camera for me acts as a kind of conduit for memory.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

Do you use a flash for most of your photos? What do you like about it?

I use the flash quite often, although try my best not to over use it. I guess my style has a particular color palette to it, and the flash can often help those results ‘sing’ a little more than without. I’m drawn to particular colors and subjects; often the flash can help heighten a particular mood or feeling to it.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

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 think there is a type of flow that comes with taking good photos, something akin to a zone, or the runner’s high – it just comes in a beautiful free flowing continuous moment. It’s rare though, and it’s always fleeting. Most of the time though I think it’s best you just have to find that feeling in the process. There is definitely a connection between your mood and mindset and the end results. I look back at my photos even a year or so ago and they have a different feeling to them. I’m in a really good place now emotionally now, better than I was a year or so ago, so I think my work is reflecting that.

 Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

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 so many! But first and foremost is a friend of mine who goes by Yatender – she’s an incredible photographer and I admire her work greatly. Also, Rosie Matheson is a wonderful portrait photographer from the U.K who I love. Daniel Arnold is documenting life in the U.S now with his street photography; I think he is an absolute master. Lina Scheynius‘ work breaks my heart in the most beautiful way.

Nick Prideaux
© Nick Prideaux

Many thanks to Nick 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 his website, and Instagram.

Film Photography Interview Photography

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

Eric Frot is a photographer and graphic designer who has been taking photos in the Paris area for over 30 years. Though he is known for his black and white work, his colour photos are vibrant and thought provoking. He doesn’t differentiate between shooting on the street and shooting in the forest; it’s all about expressing his ideas. In his words, “I do not want to show the reality. I want to show the reality that inspires to me. There is no truth in my photos, only my falsehood.” His photos are now on display at Médiathèque Jacques Duhamel in Le Plessis-Trévise, France. For a more in-depth view of his work, check out his website, Flickr, and Instagram.

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

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

I’m almost 53 years old. I love music. I love light. I love darkness. I love shadows and silence. I love wind and thunder. I love my independence and do what is needed to be to live as free as possible, what doesn’t mean anything, but it motivated almost all the choices I made in my life. I was born in a small town, 100 kilometres from Paris, France. I moved to Paris when I was 20 to study photography and lived in the city for 30 years. At the end of 2014, I moved back to the countryside to a very small village between woods and fields where I live among horses, rabbits, and roe deer.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

You’ve said you tend to shoot mostly in black and white but are also drawn to colour photography. (You have a fantastic sense for colour!) Has your feeling about those two ways of shooting changed in recent years?

Thanks for these kind words. That’s an interesting question. A few years ago someone told me I was a black and white photographer. This statement surprised me, as I have used colour as much as black and white since the early ’90s. But maybe my black and white work has more impact on viewers.

In the ’80s, I used to shoot a lot in black and white for all my personal work because it was cheaper, and black and white was very common in the newspapers and magazines. But I’ve never asked myself if I preferred black and white, or colour. It depends on my mood, on what I want to express. Some photos need color, other need black and white, so I always carry two cameras.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

You do a lot of street photography and you live in Paris, which has such an incredibly rich tradition of that. Do you find there are resources there—I’m thinking of galleries, exhibitions, colleagues—that inspire you? (And, if so, do you have any advice for those of us who don’t have such access?)

I haven’t done much photography in Paris since I left. But it’s an incredible city for photography, culture, and inspiration. I have a pass for the Maison Européenne de la Photographie where I love to go a lot. I saw a great exhibition there about Japanese photography recently. The Ed Van Der Elsken exhibition in the Musée du Jeu de Paume in Paris was really awesome. I also like the Polka Galerie which is much smaller but where the works exhibited are always inspiring.

Painters are a great inspiration to me. I really admire the great painters’ work. Brueghel (both the Elder and the Younger) would have been great street photographers if they had had a camera, as would other famous painters such as Le Tintoret.  I love abstraction and I tend to experiment with some form of it in my flash photography.

The internet is also a fantastic tool to discover and learn. There are a lot of websites (museums, galleries, press agencies or newspapers, Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, etc.). But it’s very time consuming and I prefer to look at books at home or in libraries and bookstores.

I usually prefer shooting on my own but sometimes I go with friends whose work I love. Isa Gelb, for example, who is the curator and designer of Underdogs, a stunning magazine in which she gives us the opportunity to discover the work of photographers she enjoys, and Laurent Bichaud, with whom I studied photography at school. He is an awesome photographer. I invite you to check his work about the Velvet Revolution in Prague in 1989, or his series about Paris 911, among many others.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

Can you describe any interesting experiences you’ve had in doing street photography?

I never thought of me being a street photographer. I think I shot in the street because it was my immediate surroundings. I don’t differentiate between shooting in the streets or shooting trees in the woods. My state of mind is the same shooting candid or staged photographs. First you need an idea, second you have to make the photo– framing, and exposing correctly to get the result you want with your idea. I do not want to show the reality. I want to show the reality that inspires me. There is no truth in my photos, only my falsehood.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

How do creativity and self-expression in your photography relate to creativity in your graphic design projects? Are those processes quite similar for you, or pretty different?

Well, photography, painting, or graphic design is all about making a picture. Different tools, different techniques but same skills. I guess graphic design helped me to develop my sense of colour.

When I work, or when I shoot, I try to empty my mind; this is not so difficult because it’s not really full in general. But it seems to me it’s the best way to allow ideas to come to life. If I think too much or I’m worried about something I can’t get out of my mind, I won’t be able to work efficiently.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

Are you exploring any particular themes in your photos this summer?

Summer is ending and I finally didn’t shoot a lot. Summer is the time of the year I do work a lot. I still have an ongoing series about my dreams and my nightmares, but it hasn’t progressed very quickly. I used this summer to put some distance from photography, and clear my mind. I admit that I had an overdose of images, between my job and the internet.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

Is there a certain time of day/week/year you find you’re most likely to get photos you’re happy with?

I don’t think so. Light is one of the points in the result in a photograph, but it’s up to the photographer to deal with it. Creativity is needed, specially when the conditions are not favourable. And I love to fire a flash in the dark night.

 Eric Frot
© Eric Frot

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 previously talked about Isa Gelb and Laurent Bichaud. [Editor’s note: Isa Gelb has been profiled on the site this summer; be sure to check out her interview.] I really love the delicacy of Sylvain Biard’s photos. His series D’ailleurs demain, Badlands, and Shima are awesome; also, the beautiful series Leaving Scars by Patrick Sagnes. I very recently discovered the work of Andrea Buzzichelli. His work Inhabitants is really worth checking out. These are a few among many awesome photographers who deserve attention.

Many thanks to Eric 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 his website, Flickr, and Instagram.

Interview Photography

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

Isa Gelb has a refreshing perspective on the visual world. Her memorable photos are unexpected and challenge our preconceived ideas. The forcefulness of her personality shines through in her wonderful work. I loved reading her nuanced take on why she uses film. She’s known on social media as Punkroyaltiger; be sure to check out her work on Tumblr, Flickr, and Instagram.

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

 

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

You seem to prefer film over digital. Can you tell us why?

Indeed, I do, for many reasons. The first one is the color rendering of film. I like, aesthetically, the grain that you get. It is much more pleasing, natural and smoother than digital cameras. Film grain and film aesthetics add another dimension to a photo that in my opinion makes it more interesting and charming.  Sometimes you will have a picture that comes out slightly out of focus or with light leaks, and even though it’s not what you expected, you end up loving it.

I also find interesting that you will get results that look very different from what you have seen in reality, by using different films and cameras under different weather and exposure time.

But the main reason I really love film is the limited number of exposures available on a roll. It obliges me to be more selective and shoot less but better. When it’s time to check out the scans, I am not scrolling through tons of images that completely lack of interest. Don’t take me wrong, I’m not saying that with film I take only good pictures; I get many bad ones—that no one will ever see—but I feel I’m wiser in the choice of my subjects. (Okay, not all the time.)

Being liberated of the instant gratification on the screen allows me to follow my instinct and better enjoy the moment. Another thing I also enjoy is that by the time I get back my films developed from the lab, I often have forgotten about some photos I have taken. It makes super exciting the moment of discovering what’s on the roll.

Last but not least, these analog cameras inspire confidence and simply feel right in the hands. The sounds of the shutters and winds are just amazing. The brutal “CLONKK” of the F3, the elegant “SCHLING” of the G2 or the spongy “SCHNNIIUUUUWW” of the Mju are music to my ears.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

You created the magazine Underdogs. Can you tell me a bit about it?

Underdogs is a quarterly magazine about contemporary photography. At the beginning, it was a selfish project. I simply wanted to give myself the opportunity to flip through a magazine in which I enjoyed every image. I had viewed tons of online photography magazines over a period of years. I experienced a frustrating dissonance of personal “likes” and “dislikes” about each one. And this frustration spurred me to produce my own magazine, as a place where I could feature those photographers whom I personally appreciate and admire.

One of the defining features of Underdogs is its emphasis on the photographs themselves, and the minimization of textual commentary. I have always believed photographs should be able to stand on their own.

My goal (less selfish) was also to offer exposure to photographers who never or seldom answer “calls for submissions,” and that’s the reason publication in Underdogs is by invitation only. I do not intend to be exclusive for the sake of being exclusive. While a formal submissions process might theoretically provide me with more excellent photography, the truth is that reviewing open submissions would drain my time from preparing and presenting the work I already desire to publish. However, from time to time I receive self-submitted portfolios that I ultimately invite into the magazine.

Curating is a special and rewarding experience if I feel free to chose pictures that are not selected by photographers who often tend to send their best series or images that they are proud of. I personally tend to pick up the opposite, the less spectacular, the less perfect, the less obvious because, in my humble opinion, their flaws bring out more beauty. But of course in the end, I never publish a selection that is not validated by the photographer himself.

I want to add that the last issue marked the third anniversary and it really makes me happy to get so much good feedback from photographers and viewers from all over the world. I did not expect such success at the very beginning.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

In another interview, you mention that you want to “give credit to that sense of modesty I witness, rather than using artistic means to amplify it and change its nature.” Do you consider yourself a documentary photographer?

Documentary photography is close to photojournalism, requiring deep knowledges of the subject/area the photographer wants to study. With that kind of photography, you have to think about why you originally wanted to work with the topic and make decisions about how you want to represent the subject. I’m far from this state of mind and even if I were in it, I have neither the skills nor the time for such kinds of preparation.

I’m more into the “spontaneous shot” thing: I see, I snap, I move on. My pictures are just some kind of “mental souvenirs”; they “are not memories” but they “make memories” to me. It’s that simple.

The great Saul Leiter once said, “I go out to take a walk. I see something. I take photographs. I have avoided profound explanations of what I do.” I couldn’t agree more.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

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

Making projects is not my thing. I live from day to day and rarely plan ahead. I can’t handle working on series or other long-term projects. I get bored very quickly. I’ve been thinking about making a book, but my laziness is stronger than my will to start working on it. Also, I feel more comfortable making relevant associations with the work of other photographers than with mine.

Pairing/sequencing/laying out pictures is a difficult exercise that must bring out beauty and sense. It requires lot of time and I don’t have much. So for now, I’ll try to keep focusing on Underdogs and shooting as much as I can.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

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

I live in the close suburbs of Paris, an ugly place that I’d like to leave if I could afford it. And I work in Paris.

This city is defined as the most beautiful city in the world, but this statement is overrated in my opinion. In the past, walking through the streets was an enjoyable photographic moment but for a couple of years now, Paris has no longer been attractive to me. Lately, most of my good images have been taken while traveling and just a few in my neighborhood. But I still carry a camera everywhere I go because I always anticipate finding a striking subject.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

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 actually never know if a picture will come out well. I sometimes have the feeling it will, but I only know when I’m checking the scans. Especially when I use a point and shoot; that can brings unexpected results and often nice and/or interesting surprises.

You know, I don’t intellectualize art, even less my own approach to photography.

I’m more intuitive than cerebral, so before you asked I had never questioned myself if my mood affects my pictures. Actually, I believe it affects more the way I look at my surrounding, I’m less attentive and feel distracted more easily.

But at the end, in shape or out of good shape, it’s all the same to me. If something catches my eyes, I’ll snap it.

© Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

Who or what inspires you?

I guess all the good photos I’ve looked at through zines, books, exhibitions, websites, and blogs are stored in a corner of my brain and unconsciously inspire me when I come across a subject that is worth being photographed.

All the films I’ve watched about masters and influential photographers who share secrets and allow us to discover the way they work have had a strong effect on me too. They opened my mind.

Curating Underdogs helps me to get inspiration. I learn a lot from others and truly believe that keeping a fresh eye isn’t just about seeing, it also comes from talking. I gain much from the dialogues I have with other photographers.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

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?

It’s a tough question! There are many. But here’s my short list: lately I came across the strong documentary work of Stacy Kranitz, which I highly recommend checking out. I’ve also been a big fan of Albert Elm since I discovered his raw work in the British Journal of Photography. And, because I love car pictures, I enjoy the series “Waiting for the Sun” by Josef Hoflehner.

 Isa Gelb
© Isa Gelb

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

Interview Photography