INTERVIEW #4 - AUGUST 2015 FOR YES WE ARE MAGAZINE
J.T. MILLS aka JTM PORTLAND -PHOTOGRAPHER-Tell us more about your vision of square photography. What does it bring, what does it take off ; how does it have an influence on your vision ? Like many people, I spent countless hours of my childhood sprawled on the floor, listening to music and staring at album covers. Maybe my love for the square format comes from that memory. Admittedly though, this square format has become a bit of a gimmick with me. Once you’ve shot thousands of little square photos, it’s challenging to go back to a traditional aspect ratio. I have found, however, that it forces me to consider the entire frame, both negative and positive space, and make most of the line-of-sight. I’m attracted to symmetry, both real and implied, and a square allows me to explore this. Still, the fake Polaroid border is something I’d like to move away from. I keep all unedited originals on backup drives, so perhaps at some point I’ll replace them online. Or maybe not... life is really very short.
-Give me your definition of technique. I love the notion of finding beauty in the mundane. With careful consideration to framing and composition, nearly any subject can be interesting at least, and beautiful at most. I try to spend a couple hours walking around each day, camera at hand. Even when I’m lacking inspiration (which is often, if I’m honest), I can usually find something worth documenting. On the other hand, I don’t do ‘pretty’ very well. When I find myself delving too far into lovely landscape territory, I’m inclined to retreat to a gritty alleyway. Of some note, I suffer from a mild form of deuteranomaly which is commonly known as red-green colour blindness. Rather than shoot everything in black and white, I tend to compensate colour shots by increasing the saturation, sometimes way beyond what is actually there. Colour accuracy is a murky science anyway. As with any artistic endeavor, it’s easy to get caught up in the tools of the trade. I’m far less interested in the technology than I am the end result. While I have a full-frame DSLR with multiple lenses, more often than not I’m shooting with an iPhone. It’s all about the convenience.
-Do you feel very American, personally and artistically ?
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-What does Yes We Are Magazine bring you ? Yes We Are Magazine has been a fantastic supporter of my work. I first came to Tumblr about 5 years ago, mostly because I found it to be an easy way to quickly build a photography portfolio. I didn’t receive a single ‘like’ on any of my photos until late last year. Somehow ‘Yes We Are’ found my site and traffic increased immediately. But more than that, I appreciate Basile’s insightful comments and criticisms. I remember a particular photo that had a small ribbon of sky above an industrial building, creating a horizontal ‘crown’. This was absolutely intentional on my part, even though it looked like it could have been a mistake. Basile recognized this, and encouraged the viewer to look at the photo without that narrow band and consider whether it works as well. The photo suddenly became unbalanced and top-heavy.
Another time, he noticed a photo with a bit of a tree on an otherwise unblemished expanse of sky. He messaged me directly as soon as I posted it, correctly pointing out that it would be a much stronger photograph if I cropped out that bit of tree. He was right. I could see that too. But I’m occasionally lazy & rather stubborn and couldn’t be bothered to fix it. Still, I appreciated his thoughtful opinion. The ‘Yes We Are’ site is a wonderful resource for creative vision. I’m very often inspired by the work of others, following paths I wouldn’t necessarily take otherwise.
Interesting question. Do I feel very American? Not particularly, no. But then I’ve always felt like a square peg in a round hole. Like most Americans, I came from somewhere else. In my case it was the UK, but I grew up in Texas and currently live in Portland, Oregon. I attended St. Martin’s College in London, studying as a painter. Did I feel very American then? Nope. But I also didn’t feel very English. A misfit by nature, I suppose. Having said that, I am influenced by American photographers such as Stephen Shore, Ed Ruscha, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, etc, and the American west presents a vast and varied landscape that is difficult (though certainly not impossible) to find elsewhere.
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