LOST
FREEDOM
Volume 1 | issue V
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photo by angela wu
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers
This winter seemed to go by a lot faster than normal, and I honestly can’t believe it’s already March. Soon we’ll be shedding our winter coats to welcome spring rains and warmer days. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to see some new life and new beginnings. You may be wondering why I’m releasing another issue so soon - and for those who don’t know, Lost Freedom, is becoming a monthly magazine! I must admit, it’s been a lot of work trying to put this issue together in a matter of weeks, but hopefully this issue provides you with the inspiration you were looking for.
Angela Wu
CONTRIBUTORs editor in chief & layout designer Angela Wu co-editor Natalie Chyi photographers Caiti Borruso Nishat Khan
find us around: flickr: flickr.com/groups/lostfreedom tumblr: lostfreedommag.tumblr.com issuu: issuu.com/lostfreedom facebook: facebook.com/lostfreedommagazine magcloud: lostfreedom.magcloud.com contact: lostfreedommag@hotmail.com
photo by angela wu
CONTENTS 006 010 016 022 028 032 040
Catherina RocĂo 16 year old photographer
Susan Xie
An interview with the 20 year old photographer currently living in London
Nikki Chicoine
Photographer from USA
Anna K. Gregg
16 year old photographer from New Jersey, USA
Sophie Fontaine
Photographer from France
Rosa Furneaux
An interview with the 19 year old photographer from England
Vivian Flores
A collection of writing
044 052 058 064 068 072
The Runaways Cover shoot by Caiti Borruso
Xin LĂ
An interview with the 17 year old photographer from Norway
Paulina Metzscher
16 year old photographer from Germany
Abby Billington
An interview with the 14 year old photographer from Maine, USA
Rebecca Lehmann
An interview with the 17 year old photographer from Germany
Gina Vasquez
18 year old photographer from NY
077 078 084 090 096 098
Music: Listless A playlist by Angela Wu
Ariellah
15 year old photographer from Germany
Marie D端cker
An interview with the 21 year old photographer from Austria
Anna Peters
20 year old photographer from the United States
Meggie Royer A collection of poems
Franziska Ambach An interview with the talented, young photographer
104 112 120 128
Lost Girls
An editorial shot by Nishat Khan
How Strange Innocence
A series shot by Evita Weed
Katherine Thomas
16 year old photographer from Indiana, USA
Staff Picks
A selection of photos from the Lost Freedom flickr group
Catherina RocĂo 16 years // http:// www.flickr. com/catrostu/
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SUSAN XIE 20 YEARS // LONDON // http://www.flickr.com/vignettefade/
LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? SUSAN XIE: I’m 20 years old and living/studying in London this spring. My two homes are in Houston and the Cleveland area. LF: When and why did you first start taking photos? How has your photography changed since then? SX: About one and a half years ago, I bought my first camera, loaded it with instant film, and hastily took photos of everything that struck or moved me. At that point, I was driven by a need to seek beauty outside my day-to-day life and to make those memories and impressions tangible in some way. Since then, I’ve adopted two 35mm film cameras, and my photos have become more personal, focusing more on time spent with friends (old and new), the places my travels have taken me, and my interactions with strangers. LF: What do you try to express through your photos? SX: The life that people imbue in their surroundings, the wonder of exploring places that had previously existed only in my imagination, and the intimacy of familiar haunts. LF: How does photography affect your daily life? SX: Having a camera with me helps me see (not just look), appreciate, and document everything much better than I have been for most of my life, and for that, I’m grateful. LF: Who or what inspires you? SX: Lately, the towering, cold, lively city of London has kept me busy and inspired. Generally, I also enjoy the interplay of solitude vs. loneliness, comfort vs. ennui, and connectedness vs. alienation. LF: Do you prefer digital or film? Why? SX: Film. I end up dedicating more time, reflection, and love to each frame, and shooting with film has allowed me the freedom to experiment with double exposures and light leaks, the elation of flipping through a set of prints for the first time, and the pleasure of new friends and spontaneous conversations that would not have been part of my life otherwise.
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Nikki Chic
UNITED STATES // http://www.flickr
coine
r.com/photos/jesuisnikki/
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ANNA K. GREGG 16 YEARS // NEW JERSEY http://www.flickr. c o m / a n n a kay _ /
Photography has brought about an understanding of what people meant when they said “burning passion.” A burning passion is the urgency I feel when my chest contracts at the thought of an upcoming photoshoot, the comfortable, meditative-like peace I experience shooting alone at the park on a cool summer afternoon—just me and some unruly mosquitoes, the unbearable process of thawing out red fingers after shooting in unforgiving winter weather—stinging, aching, “THIS-IS-WORSE-THANCHILDBIRTH” pain.
SOPHIE FONT FRANCE
http://www.flickr.com/photo
TAINE
os/sowildfontaine/
ROSA FURNEAUX
19 years // england // http://www.flickr.com/aida_e/
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LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? ROSA FURNEAUX: I’m nineteen years old. I come from rural Norfolk in England, but I’m studying English, American, and Postcolonial Literature in Canterbury, Kent. LF: When did you first become interested in photography? How have you changed since then? RF: When I was in high school I suffered from really bad acne. Being the one behind the camera was a defense against being in front of it. Once I started seeing through a lens, though, I found a joy in creating images and telling stories through photographs. I started a Fifty-Two Weeks Project for my last year at Sixth Form, became interested in portraiture and worked with clients who had little confidence in their own self-image. A little over a year ago I met my colour-blind boyfriend, who taught me how to use film, and now I shoot most of my personal work with analogue. I’ve also begun to take more of an interest in photojournalism, which combines my two loves photographs and story-telling. LF: Who or what inspires you? RF: Specific photographers, both professional and amateur. I’ve met so many friends from all over the world through Flickr.com, and I’ve also been lucky enough to meet some of them in person. Professionally, I admire Sally Mann, Gregory Crewdson, and Luc Delahaye. Journalistically, Marcus Bleasdale’s ‘Rape of a Na-
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tion’ includes some of the most powerful photographs I’ve ever seen. I used to tear out the middle spread of the Guardian newspaper when it arrived in the college cafe each morning, where they printed a fullpage photograph from a story, and put the images up on my bedroom wall. My experience volunteering in southern Africa last year has [encouraged] me to pursue a career in photojournalism, and to tell the stories of the people who need others to listen most. LF: I noticed that you’ve started a program called “Kids Behind Cameras.” Can you elaborate on that? Why did you decide to begin this? RF: Last year, before I started university, I volunteered at an orphanage in Swaziland. I took twenty disposable cameras with me and gave them to the kids. Most of them had never used a camera before, but they quickly got the hang of how to take photographs. When I came home I had the films developed, and the images - some funny, some sweet, some shocking - were a moving insight into the lives of the children I had looked after. You can view some of them on my website, at www. rosajoy.com.
LF: What does photography mean to you? Photography is an escape, a challenge, a mirror, and a microphone. Photography is a means by which to change the world. LF: Where do you see yourself in five years regarding photography? Until recently, I didn’t want to pursue photography as a career. After Sixth Form, though, and during my gap year, the world got bigger and the classroom got wider. In five years I will have finished my degree and I hope to be working as a photojournalist for a newspaper or magazine, perhaps on assignment somewhere exotic, meeting people who need their voices heard. I want to be finding stories to tell through my lens. LF: What is one thing that you would want people to remember about you? My namesakes, Rosa Parks and Rosa Luxemburg, were strong-willed, politically-minded, brave individuals who stood up for their beliefs in order to change the lives of many. I hope one day people will remember me as another Rosa who showed these qualities.
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VIVIAN FLORES http://autumnfires.tumblr.com
“the daydream”
i will hide under some star or sleep beneath the sun. maybe if i jump high enough i can tuck myself away into the eta carinae until i cough up black holes and stardust. and i’ll keep them at the bottom of my lungs like anchors at sea or tar after sunday morning cigarettes so they take up the space behind my teeth and inside my chest and i’ll never have to say your name again. i’ll crack the ribs inside myself so you can stretch your lying limbs, say you’ll stay because it sounds pretty, because it rings like peeling shoulders and freckled noses—sounds of summer in our ears.
“broken strings and other broken things”
we kept our heads behind the clouds where the rain touched us first, our toes only grazing the ground when they should have settled into the pavement instead. and we kissed with jaws that quivered and stared with eyes that shook like the wishes we made on stars that never came true. right there, underneath eyelids and lashes. under collarbones that cracked in all the wrong places and between hands that took up all the spaces in our chest. curving and coiling around each rib and squeezing until it hurt to laugh anymore. until we forgot what it meant to shout and scream, until we let the words wither in our throats so no one would know. until we didn’t say anything anymore. i’m looking for my voice, coming across traces of thoughts like pieces of broken string but all i find are empty drawers and the silence that rings in my ears from all the times i tried to love you. and all the times you wouldn’t let me.
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the runaways Shot by Caiti Borruso // Model: Ciara Cornette
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XIN LI
17 YEARS//
NORWAY//
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44669483@N04/ LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? XIN LI: I am a 17 year old girl from Norway. LF: When did you start taking photos? How has your work changed since then? XL: My dad got me into photography when I was around nine years old. I started out with a very simple point-and-shoot camera, and got my own SLR camera in 2008. My work has changed a lot. In the beginning I liked to photograph still life, like just pretty things I found in my own house and while traveling. I still do that, but taking pictures of people are what I love most. It has grown with me and photography has changed the way I see the world. It’s like heartbeats for me. LF: What do you try to express through your photos? XL: I take photos when I’m happy and when I’m sad. I try to visualize my thoughts, how I feel and the way I see things. LF: What impact does photography have on your daily life? XL: Photography has thought me that beauty is everywhere, and it amaze me how one photograph can tell an entire story just by one look. I can’t explain the feeling of running around with a camera in my hands. It’s really something amazing about it. LF: Who or what inspires you? XL: What inspires me? The sunlight, people, pretty things, scary things, old houses, stories, the list could go on forever. The world inspire me.
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Paulina Metzscher 16 years // Germany // http://www.flickr.com/64295722@N06/
“Whenever I create I feel alive. I think the beauty surrounding us can sometimes leave you in awe - but photography means I can hold a little of it in my hands. We are all approaching change and separation from all that we have known in times of growing upphotography means that I can collect my own little treasure box filled with magical reminders.�
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ABBY Billington
14 years //
Rockland, Maine, USA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abby_billington/ LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? ABBY BILLINGTON: Well first of all I’m 14 years old and I live in Rockland, Maine in the USA. I have always lived here. LF: When did you first start taking photos and how have you changed since then? AB: I first started taking photos when I was maybe 11? I was mostly just fooling around with my parents camera. When I just turned 13 I got my own camera and really got into it then. I wasn’t taking very serious pictures with my little point and shoot but I liked to try to take artsy ones. I really started liking it and after playing with some more professional cameras I saved up my money and bought a DSLR. From there I started playing with all of the features and really fell in love with it. I got a flickr account and was inspired by the simplistic and beautiful film photos that everyone has on there, it was so inspiring I bought a film camera. I took a photography class over the summer and made a book just for fun. And now here I am. LF: Who or what inspires you? AB: Fashion, nature, youth and music are my biggest inspirations. I wish I could find more opportunities to take photos in amazing locations like the peaks of mountains while the sun is rising or right in the
heart of New York. Places like that inspire me and the people that inhabit them. Music of course, that’s a pretty heavy influence for almost everyone. Most of my flickr friends inspire me also, I’d love to take photos like the ones in your magazine, I really love simple beauty and portraits, but also nature like I said before. I like to try and portray messages in my photos even if I’m the only one who understands them. LF: How does photography play a role in your daily life? AB: We all have bad days and good days and photography helps me balance out my life. I know this sounds cliche but if I’m having an awful day I really can depend on a trip to the ocean with just my camera to cheer me up. I feel like it’s something that I actually really enjoy, some people have a passion for ice hockey or playing the piano and for me that passion is capturing moments. LF: Do you prefer film or digital? Why? AB: Lastly I definitely prefer film over digital. I love getting back to basics. To me, film is more about what you’re capturing and what you want to get across with the photo rather than the megapixels. I love the anticipation when you drop your rolls off to get developed. I love how every camera has funny little quirks about it and I love it when film does something weird and unexpected–it almost always comes out beautiful. I like how it’s hardly ever perfect, kind of like how life and people aren’t perfect. I just love love love it.
Rebecca Lehmann
17 YEARS // GERMANY // http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigfatgreycat/
LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? REBECCA LEHMANN:I am 17 years old and I’m from Germany LF: When did you first start taking photos? How has your photography changed since then? RL: I started taking photos in 2008, my photography changed in that way that I now take less photos as I started and I pay more attention to the motives. Also I now take more photos of humans, when I started I tried to capture every little thing. LF: What do you try to express through your photos? RL: I think of my photos as a kind of diary, i try to express how I feel in these photos. I want to hold good and maybe not so good moments. And I want them to be true, maybe that’s a reason why i don’t really like to edit them. LF: RL: me. the
Who or what inspires you? There are so many things that inspire Other photographers, music, dreams... life.
LF: Do you prefer film or digital? Why? RL: I prefer film, I like to wait for the film until it gets developed and with my analog camera I pay even more attention to the motives compared with the digital and I think that the colours of the analog photos are just better.
Gina Vasquez
18 YEARS // NEW YORK // http://www.flickr.com/ginaballerina
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listless a simple, quiet playlist that you’re never get sick of. to play late at night when you’re reminiscing and drinking tea.
1. SEASIDE // The Kooks 2. So Contagious // Acceptance 3. Michicant // Bon Iver 4. To build a home // The Cinematic Orchestra 5. I WIll FOllow you into the dark // death cab for cutie 6. drunk // ed sheeran 7. make believe // the graduate 8. bruised // jack’s mannequin 9. I can feel a hot one // Manchester orchestra 10. float on // modest mouse 11. mistaken for strangers // the national 12. heart in your heartbreak // the pains of being pure at heart 13. cough syrup // young the giant
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Ariellah 15
YEARS
//
GERMANY
//
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariellah/
“
“
TO me, Photography means painting with light
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Exhibit #98
Marie Dücker 21 // Austria // http://www.flickr.com/marieduecker
It’s A Twister
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The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep
Of A Extraor
LOST FREEDOM: When did you first start photography and how has your work changed since then? MARIE DĂœCKER: I remember how my dad gave me my first camera in my childhood years which I absolutely loved and would take occasional snapshots with. I picked up photography on a more serious level in 2009 again. It took me a while to apply editing techniques I was eager to learn about, and I am glad to say that today I am able to achieve the style I want my photos to look like in post-processing. Moreover, my work has most of the times a message to it which was not the case when I first started out. Back then I took pictures for the sake of doing photography while today I sit down, draw outlines for my upcoming shoots, and write down how I want the final results to look like. So, there is a lot more planning involved today which, I think, has helped me improve and take a couple of steps closer towards that distinctive style I am about to find. LF: What do you try to express through your photos? MD: Usually I try to make people looking at my work aware. Whether it may be personality traits that we come across in life in people surrounding us, or issues that need to be dealt with in society, there is usually a
rdinary Mind
The Collector’s Misery
message behind what I take photographs of – may it be more or sometimes less evident. With “The Collector’s Misery” I, for example, wanted to urge people not to close their eyes to the beauty that is presented to them every day wherever they go, may it only be the little things in life, but there is always something to be happy about and thankful for even though we sometimes get caught up in our thoughts about how miserable our lives are. “It’s A Twister” is mainly about the importance of friendship and relying on other people in times of need and appreciating having loving people around us. These are just two examples, but I think you see where I am going. LF: Who or what inspires you? MD: I am mainly inspired by how I picture fictional worlds and characters to be like which I read about in books. Many of my conceptual portraits are inspired by fictional characters, for “Exhibit #98” I recreated a scene fictional Cecilia Lisbon of Jeffrey Eugenides’ “The Virgin Suicides” could have found herself in. Other than by literature I am heavily inspired by dreams as I dream every night and most of the time remember. I therefore usually find it easy to build a concept around those “nightly adventures”,
if you want to call them like that. I look up to many photographers, may it be Annie Leibovitz, my one great role model and favorite photographer, or the many others I came across over the past two years. In general I would also have to say that I see inspiration every day, whether I come up with ideas for shoots when listening to a song and paying attention to its lyrics, or when taking a train ride, observing people and imagining what their lives might be like. I think that inspiration is to be found everywhere you go and look – one just has to pay attention. LF: What are the main things you do when editing your photos? MD: My editing process depends on what kind of end result I am going for which I usually think of before stating to edit. For a heavily manipulated concept I build up an entire image on a blank canvas, putting together parts of the image almost like a puzzle. While most of my photography is manipulated and therefore heavily edited, I make sure my simpler portraits are not changed too much in the post-processing and kept rather simple. What I always do, however, is working a lot with curves for contrast and tones adjustments. I also came to find that layer masks are the most useful thing ever invented, and I usually throw in a couple of levels or selective color layers if necessary while I also play around with saturation and sometimes hue. LF: Where do you see yourself in 5 years regarding photography? MD: By then I am going to be a college graduate and hopefully working in a job that enables me purchasing all the photography equipment I today cannot afford and only dream of. On a more serious note though, I will photography wise hopefully have found my own style my work will be distinguished by. I also most likely have purchased a camera with a full frame sensor by then, enabling me to finally work on all the shoots in low light I have piling up in my notebook of ideas I cannot manage to shoot today due to a lack of equipment. Other than that, I might have done my first book by then which is a dream I will make come true one day. But who knows, thinking in 5 years ahead of time is hard, the only thing I know for sure is that photography will still be my greatest passion and the one thing I will always have the opportunity to come back to to help me express what words cannot say.
Red Riding Hood
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ANNA PETERS 2 0 / / U N I T E D S TAT E S / / h t t p : / / w w w . f l ic k r . c o m / i a m m y m o t h e r s o n ly o n e / h t t p : / / c a r g o c o l l e c t i v e . c o m / a n n a p e t e r s
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MEGGIE ROYER http://www.flickr.com/photos/62614242@N03/
“moon knees and comet eyes”
my mother used to say that the backs of knees were like half-moons and that the gentle curve of the spine was a bent tree limb she found beauty in every part of the body, compared them to the sky, comets, glass jars, cigarettes, cameras. i never knew someone who could make sense of the body like she did, and when she died i kept on looking at the body the way she used to. whenever a boy walked into the classroom i would look at the hollowed-out scoop of his cheekbones and compare them to the craters of a planet i fell in love with the things they stood for, the things they reminded me of. not their bodies, not them, but what they meant.
“bike dreams”
On one Saturday morning bike ride through the leaves spirals of cold air sliding in your mouth and out your spine Ribs clenched tight like shuddering broken wings feet on the pedals up and down the hill across the path through the quietly sleeping graveyard and its dreams. Out through the tunnel and into the window A glass mouth waiting to smile the bike is parked against the door silence in the neighborhood with everyone in bed.
“Youth, Defined”
The world when you are young is one open burning year in which time never stops and in the beginning is hidden the end strangely clocks never tick and things seem to swim in slow liquid tides your parents’ happiness, the ease, the laughs and shining glass are all taken for granted. and soon the world is one wounded gash on the surface of something bigger which seems to be never-ending but isn’t really your shadow begins to follow you cigarettes burn on both ends driveways all stand empty the children are gone. growing up is the rift stretching between you and that old life and you can’t reach across. think things will be better and new but it can no longer be ignored, that clock; it does work after all and it’s counting down your life in quick dark seconds ripped away like bandages from tripping on the sidewalk suddenly you just want to go home home again.
“Oranges are Poisonous”
I remember peeling oranges with you in the dead of winter outside of the school. our mouths were sticky sweet and you pressed your cold hands to my face breathed your citrus snow deep into my lungs while I buried each seed one by one into the frozen ground. yes, I remember how we made snow angels in the dark till our minds went numb and the bell had already rung the cars passing by in chains of light like DNA from the peel I cut up with my teeth. you told me you didn’t want to die but it’s alright I’ll stay with you in the car the door closed and the lights off in the garage until the poison fills our minds. we can go together while the oranges are rotting on the ground.
Franziska Ambach
18 YEARS // GERMANY // http://www.flickr.com/58339012@N08/
LOST FREEDOM: How old are you and where are you from? FRANZISKA AMBACH: I’m 18 years old and I’m from Germany. LF: When did first start photography? How has your work changed since then? FA: At the age of 8 I got my first camera from my uncle and so started taking pictures of animals and later on of flowers. However when I grew older, I became more and more interested in taking pictures of people. About two years ago I started to do photography seriously. Since then I’ve learnt a lot about colors. LF: What do you try to express through your work? FA: I want to show beauty. In my opinion there is so much beauty in this world which I try to capture through my photos. I want to show the persons that I’m taking pictures of in the way I see them. Generally I want express my imagination and the way I see things and people around me. LF: How does fashion play a role in your photos? FA: I love fashion! And I’m really into beautiful dresses. Therefore I love to give them a big role in my photos. LF: What three words would you say best describe your work? FA: Dreamy, colorful, expressive. LF: Who or what inspires you? I’m very inspired by other artists like Tim Walker or Richard Avedon but also by photographers on flickr like Rosie Hardy or Karrah Kobus and Eleanor Hardwick. However I am also inspired by the people I am taking photos of, the nature and lights which surround me, as well as music, stories, colors, locations and movies. I think you can get inspiration from everywhere, just be attentive. LF: If you could photograph one person, dead or alive, who would it be? FA: I always wanted to photograph Lily Cole, but the Queen would be awesome too!
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Lost Girls An editorial shot by Nishat Khan
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How Strange Innocence by evita weed
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“I feel safe, I feel whole knowing that it wasn’t your fault or mine I’ve felt the change in the colors in leaves the color of dreams time passing in sleep and the spring will leave this room for now and the spring will leave this room hands down and the spring will leave this room for now and the spring will leave this room for now”
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K AT H E R I N E
THOMAS 16
years
//
indiana,
USA
//
http://www.flickr.com/Lookthroughmylense/
“
Photography is to my soul what blood is to my veins. It started out as something to do, then turned into a way of life. It’s my lifeline, and without it I am nothing.
“
Interested in being a part of Lost Freedom? We are always on the look out for talented young artists! Whether you’re an aspiring photographer, or writer, or painter, or such, we would love to take a look at your work and include you in a following issue. To submit your work, send an email to lostfreedommag@hotmail.com with the following information: 1. Your name, age, and location 2. A few examples of your work (i.e. photographs, writings, paintings, etc.) 3. A short statement as to why you believe your work should be featured in Lost Freedom Magazine Please keep in mind that not all submissions will be featured. If your work is chosen to be included, some interview questions will also be asked to be answered. If you’re interested in being a staff editor, photographer, or writer for Lost Freedom, applications are currently open! For more information on how to apply, read this: http://lostfreedommag.tumblr.com/post/14719907881/staff-applications *By submitting your work, you are agreeing to allow your pieces to be included in Lost Freedom Magazine, both online and in print form.
staff picks
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Credits (Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
Evan Booth // Allyson Jean //Sarah Evers //Calgero Cammalleri // Birthe Berger // Lena R.autenhaus // Giulia Alfarano // Allison Pham // Carly Hildebrandt // Victoria Young // Joel Sosa
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lost freedom
M a g a z i n e