quintessence

2. JOE CURTIN

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:05:00 -0400

So, so sorry for the delay guys! But I present to you, Joe Curtin! His photographs are simply a slice of summer.

Name: Joe Curtin
Age: 15
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Camera Equipment: digital- nikon d40x. film- minolta sr-t 201, polaroid sx-70, polaroid colorpack, holga 120n, and sometimes a nikon n80

What inspired you to start photography?
To be honest, my parents handed me my Nikon d40x for my birthday about a year ago, and I just started taking pictures. I made a flickr and started a 365 and it all went from there!

What is your place in the photography world?
I’m a kid whose passion is taking photos, nothing other than that. Never in a million years would I call myself a ‘photographer’ at age 15

Photography never existed, what would you be doing instead?
Sitting at home, knitting sweaters and scarfs and occasionally stroking a kitten.

Name one thing from your childhood that reappears through your photos.
Cliche as it seems, I think that my photos give off a sense of fun. I was brought up in a household where we learned to live life to the fullest and always have fun. I look at my photos and I think of all of the fun times I had as a child.

What about your home do you love?
I love the fact that my house feels warm and cozy and welcoming all the time!

What do you aim to do in the future?
I really don’t know yet. Hopefully something involving photography, but I’ll see where life takes me.

What’s your dream thing/place/event/anything to photograph?
If you asked me this about a month ago, I would answer with a girl in a field or something common like that… But now I just want to take pictures of anyone in any clothes in any situation, as long as it is taken in either Iceland or Ireland. Those places are so lush and green and beautiful, and it would literally be a dream come true if I could visit either of those countries!

Any artist you worship?
RICHARD AVEDON!!!!!!!!!

If a every company that produced film decided to cut productions, what would you say to them?
I would cuss those idiots out, truth be told ;)

If you could buy any lens in the world, what would it be?
I would buy a new 50mm lens for my Nikon, because I dropped it a few months back and it messes up the left side of my photos. Other than that I’m perfectly content with the lenses I have now. I don’t want to spend all my time focusing on lenses (God I’m so punny!!)

Tell us your favorite photo you’ve ever taken.
This this this this this this this:

I just love it so much!

Now tell us one of your favorite photos you’ve ever seen.
My favorite photo I have ever seen was taken by the incredible Kalie Garrett:

Just looking at it makes me want to cry my eyes out.

Thank you Joe for answering these questions & I hope you guys like. Feel free to leave suggestions for future interviews!

i'd like your questions :)

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:59:09 -0400

wow, thanks for all the new suggestions - i have a list of people i’m ready to feature/interview. (all photographers so far)

i’m also trying to change up the questions a bit - so if you have any questions you think are interesting - send me a message via ASK or just reply to this post. :D i’d be greatly appreciated!

and one other thing, how many interviews/features do you guys want to see per week?

love, julia.

1. ALEXIS MIRE

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:04:00 -0400

i’m pleased to announce my first feature/interview, the ever inspiring alexis mire. (please excuse the formatting, i am still battling with tumblr. i CANNOT center certain images, due to layout limitations.)

name: alexis (usually lexi) mire

age: eighteen

location: the east coast of florida

camera equiptment: Canon Rebel XSi with a 50mm 1.8 lens and a 28-80mm lens, a Canon Ae-1 with a 50mm 1.4 lens and a Mamiya RB67 Professional with a 90mm lens.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PHOTOGRAPHY?

Lots of things inspired me to take photos, everyone goes through that phase where you want to capture everything, the blinds, the flowers in your yard, your friends for their Myspace photos. But what kept me going and what made me more serious about it all was coming across flickr and seeing the work of all of the young photographers, it seemed they were all capable of so much and I wanted to reach that point. I wanted to test and challenge myself to get better and I did. It took a while, but I did.

IF YOU COULD TELL THE WORLD ANYTHING THROUGH YOUR PHOTOS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Something along the lines of, “this is what is in my head, please try your best to understand me.” That’s really my aim most of the time, I wish I could say I would use my photos for good and not evil, but since its my artwork I generally use it for my own selfish reasons, to check to see if anyone else is as insane as I am.

PHOTOGRAPHY NEVER EXISTED, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING INSTEAD?

I would be writing more often, I have been writing before photography was prevalent in my life and I will be writing alongside photography for the rest of my life. It is the only other artwork that feels so natural to me, at one point in my life I was recognized often for writing. But now it is in hiding, I don’t really submit to contests. My writing has changed and I don’t feel like it would be easily understood any longer.

NAME ONE THING FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD THAT REAPPEARS THROUGH YOUR PHOTOS.

My fascination with outer space and with natural lighting. When I was younger the stars would horrify and hypnotize me, the idea that for every star there could be another planet bearing life. That for every star there could be someone looking out at my sun thinking about me. That has existed in a few of my photos, mainly my earlier work. And then, my fascination with natural lighting is still alive in the photos I take today, the way light will come through a window, the way it sneaks around at different angles and creates different shapes. It is just really beautiful and has always attracted my attention, it’s like it is alive sometimes, playing magic tricks allover the insides of my house.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR HOME DO YOU LOVE?

The people inside of it and my bedroom. We have a tiny family, It is my dad (commonly known as Popsicle), my little brother Cody, my dog Bear and me. We have been through a lot together and we usually get along pretty well, we have a happy balance. My bedroom just reeks of everything that has ever happened to me, the good and the bad, and after certain experiences in my life I change it to the point where it is unrecognizable to a stranger who would see it. It evolves when I do, I adjust it to how I am feeling, so I am always comfortable here, always at home.

WHAT DO YOU AIM TO DO IN THE FUTURE?

I am to work in graphic design, I want to travel all over the place photographing strangers and learning their stories, I want to live in California and I really want Ryan to stick around because he always makes the future look better.

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM THING/PLACE/EVENT/ANYTHING TO PHOTOGRAPH?

I have two and they are polar opposites, to photograph models jumping from an airplane with extremelly long dresses trailing behind them like tails would be beautiful, it would be sky diving and we would all have parachutes, it would just be this very extreme view on high fashion, it could be so much fun. And the other would be traveling to another country and photographing the everyday life, the children and their mothers, somewhere poverty stricken so when viewed, my photos could speak for other people. (For once). I would love to photograph for National Geographic, it would be my dream job.

ANY ARTIST YOU WORSHIP?

Worship? Maybe not, whenever I find an artist I really like I try to keep it in my mind that they are human and that if they are capable of something this brilliant, so am I. When I find an artist like Damien Hirst who preserves animals in time to convey his messages I am wildly inspired because I know I will reach that point in my career one day, I know I am able to create something so brilliant, I just have to find it, or it has to find me.

IF EVERY COMPANY THAT PRODUCED FILM DECIDED TO CUT PRODUCTIONS. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM ABOUT THE MEANING OF FILM?

I would probably write a very long letter that mentioned the word ‘nostalgia’ often and talked about how film has been carried on into my generation and I don’t want it to die out, I would talk about the importance of each frame in a roll of film because it is so limited, and the great lengths young people today go to to get a decent film SLR so they can create beauty with a dying art form.

AROUND HOW MUCH POST PROCESSING DO YOU DO PER PHOTO?

It varies greatly from photo to photo. Some things I find to be perfect as they are, and others I feel need a little help. I generally just mess with the curves and call it a day.

FAVORITE PHOTO YOU’VE EVER TAKEN?

This is difficult to answer because it changes all of the time, but when I think of a photo that defines pride in my work, it would be a tie between these two photos, from the same shoot, because they just liberated me to no end.

NOW TELL US YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO YOU’VE EVER SEEN

Every imagine from this shoot by Chadwick Tyler (click to go through)

The model’s name is Elizabeth and the photos are so haunting and whimsical at the same time, I have an odd fascination with nude modeling and photography so these shots inspired me so much.

ONE WISH (and no, you cannot wish for more wishes & you have a 24 hour limit) WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

My wish would be, “I wish Ryan and I were in Ireland for the day traveling on foot and my public transportation all over the countryside, making friends, photographing things and having a beautiful day.”

thank you lexi mire for answering these questions - and i hope you guys enjoyed this feature/interview.

so i've got three people

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:07:00 -0400

i’ve listed to be interviewed and featured - and since it’s summer i’m choosing people with more summery work. *intelligent i know*

but right now i’m looking for some more new brilliant folks, so if you guys have recommendations please suggest here. or just reply to this post.

hopefully if all goes well i’ll have the first one out by the end of this week.

introduction, of sorts

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:18:00 -0400

if you’re reading this - you probably know who i am already. if not, well then - my name is julia wang and i’m a sixteen year old photographer.

lately i’ve really wanted to make a blog that features artists not just because their work is “pretty” or they are “popular” but for the passion they really show in their work. to be quite honest, when i see people who are widely recognized and their work is (for the lack of a better term) flat, it really bugs me. button clickers.

so i made this blog to showcase and present the talent (that i feel) is in great need of exposure or just recognition. i hope to feature photographers, painters, and artists of every media. because passion and stories surmount the media or the pixels on the screen or the paper it’s printed on.

or maybe they don’t have to be any of those - just someone who puts thought in their photos, or just tickles my mind and makes me wanting for more. because sometimes it’s kind of hard to always tell a story. i just want to find people that aren’t shutter clickers and prove that they are the artist. (hard to explain)

feel free to suggest and recommend artists you feel are worthy (even yourself *i won’t tell anyone*), and i will check them out.

i hope to interview and feature at least one artist per week. of course i’ll ask all the usual questions, but i’ll also ask a couple of my own or questions that “fit” them. :) maybe i can make a list of artists i want to feature, and have reader suggested questions….i don’t know yet!

i chose tumblr as my platform because most of you guys have tumblrs, and sharing and “liking” is easier then commenting.

the best way to contact me is via the tumblr ASK button. (located under the arrow that is under the header image)

*side note* this is all based upon my OWN opinion and view. it is not always right, and we might not always agree.