We Are Adventurers #1

WE ARE ADVENTURERS Featuring: Sannah Kvist // Emily Burtner // Jamie Shaw Pam CantĂş // Joe Skilton // Suzanna Zak Olle Strandman // Laina Briedis

#1

November 2010

Hello Welcome to the inaugural issue of We Are Adventurers.

Our goal is to bring attention to the artwork made by young people inspired by the beauty of the natural world and infused with a sense of adventure. We believe that not enough attention is given to younger voices in existing forums.

We don’t aim to change this by joining that milieu. We’ve forgone the jaded critiques commonly found in art magazines; in favor of brief interviews or brief statements by the artists themselves, leaving more space for the images to speak. In this issue we’ve gathered images from around the globe that capture the spirit of exploration and showcase the diversity of nature. These 8 photographers represent the potential of younger artists in contemporary photography.

- We Are Adventurers

front cover Suzanna Zak, before the rain, 2010 back cover Jamie Shaw, untitled, 2010

In this issue: 03

Laina Briedis Long Island, USA

11

06 Suzanna Zak Baltimore, USA

13

17

Joe Skilton Edinburgh, Scotland

Olle Strandman Stockholm, Sweden

Emily Burtner Baltimore, USA

23

28

Sannah Kvist Gothenburg, Sweden

Pam CantĂş Houston, USA

33

Jamie Shaw Glasgow, Scotland

3 LAINA BRIEDIS Is 20 years old; she works as a freelance and portrait studio photographer while attending college in New York.

“I live on Long Island in New York and I couldn’t be happier- I feel incredibly lucky to be in such a versatile and beautiful place!”

HOW DOES NATURE FIGURE INTO YOUR WORK? Ever since I was young, I’ve always felt a very strong connection between myself and nature- as if my heart moves with the seasons, in a sense. I’m endlessly captivated by all the wonderful and magical things that are happening in nature, and I can’t help but reflect this appreciation in my art.

HOW DO YOU FIND THE PLACES YOU PHOTOGRAPH? I suppose it varies- some of the places I photograph have been my favourite places since childhood, others I discover by going on adventures!

DO YOU SET OUT TO CREATE AN IMAGE OR JUST FIND THEM? I think maybe it’s a combination of the two. I’ll plan a day or an adventure and bring my camera along with the idea of taking photographs in mind, but they’re hardly ever pre-constructed in my head beforehand. Most of the time I let myself be inspired by my surroundings, and after that everything else just falls into place

6 SUZANNA ZAK Is a 20 year old photographer; born in Russia, raised in New Jersey and living in Baltimore.

The first time I went camping with my family It rained the entire time. I spent most of the time sitting inside the tent reading books. It was during the summer though, so when I got tired of staying inside the tent I’d run into the river. You can’t ignore water when you’re standing in a river and it’s raining at the same time. At night, I would fall asleep to the sound of the rain. It’s amazing how all your senses are amplified when you’re camping. Those nights were the loudest the rain has ever been.

The first time I slept in a tent not during a family trip was actually on my high school’s football field. We had an event where the entire school camped out on the field. The rule was that by 9am the next day everyone was gone and packed up. I remember waking up and crawling out of the tent to see that we were the only ones left. Our tent stood in the middle of the empty field. It was somewhere around 2pm. The image of unzipping the tent door and appearing outside stuck with me. I’ve been finding bigger & bigger expanses of land to wake up in since then.

My favorite place right now is the Dolly Sods Wilderness area in West Virginia.

I’ve been there twice in the last two months and I have another trip planned.

The idea that my body is in a new place that I’ve never been before fuels me, regardless of what that place is like. I thrive off of constant changing scenery.

“I want my clothes to smell like a campfire forever.”

11 JOE SKILTON Is 21 years old and in his final year studying Visual Communications at Edinburgh College of Art. WHAT ROLE DOES NATURE PLAY IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY? If the main subject of my photo is nature, it is usually to remember what it is i’m seeing; visual aids to accompany my own memory.

Nature becomes a large influence when I realize i’m somewhere new.

If it is unfamiliar I will photograph it. More often than not I find myself exploring nature with friends, at that point the combination of close friends and new territory becomes a target. I like to combine the two.

YOU SPENT LAST SEMESTER IN THE USA, HOW DO THE AMERICAN AND ENGLISH WILDERNESS COMPARE? American wilderness is so unexplored. English wilderness is exciting and beautiful, but in the back of my mind I always know that no matter what happens here, I will be able to do exactly what needs to be done to get home, by myself. In the USA I was completely dependent on others to get to safety at any given time. That fear added excitement to all travels into nature.

WHEN DID YOU START TAKING PHOTOS? I started taking photographs on family holidays to Ireland and the Lake district, My dad’s camera was like the toy that wasn’t mine.

It was a treat when I got to use it myself. Eventually my dad lost interest in that camera, I started taking it out with me one summer.

13 OLLE STRANDMAN is 25 and lives in Stockholm. He grew up on an island off the Eastern coast of Sweden.

The island is “Nämdö”. About 40 km east of Stockholm, part of a vast archipelago. Maybe due to changing climate there hasn’t been a cold enough winter to produce a walkable icecap across the baltic for maybe 10 years. Until last winter that is when the ice stretched wide and almost 2 meters of snow covered everything.

This early morning was especially beautiful as a thick, white haze lingered and glittery frost covered the trees.

It’s also where I grew up, quite lonely and isolated.

17 EMILY BURTNER A 21 year old designer & photographer. She spent the summer exploring Maryland’s Pretty Boy Reservoir.

TELL US ABOUT PRETTY BOY I went to prettyboy reservoir a lot this summer most of the time, I was accompanying new friends or new acquaintances. prettyboy is an easy thing to do when you want to entertain people for an afternoon. (unless they’re crust punx apparently) this has also made prettyboy into a place for “getting to know” in general. I went to several new spots over the past few months so going to new spots with new people was a fun challenge, I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to find the new spots, or if there would be anything good there or if they would be really crowded with baltimore county folks.

WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO YOU LOOK FOR TO PHOTOGRAPH? That’s really hard to say, I sound stupid saying things like this, but taking photos is really intuitive. it’s just kind of an automatic reflex for me. but I guess when I go back to look at my photos, I’m particularly drawn to things like light and texture and when people are in my photographs, the actions and interaction they’re partaking in.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING PHOTOS? I took my first photography class during my sophomore year of high school. it was a black and white darkroom course at a local community arts center I had volunteered at. during my senior year of high school, I started obsessively taking photographs of everything I did with my friends and I don’t think I’ve stopped since then.

I probably got into ~photography~ because I started taking photos of this abandoned steel mill in my hometown; Bethlehem Steel, sadly it’s now a casino,

I just got really excited about documenting all these busted old warehouses and offices and blast furnaces because people didn’t normally get to see that kind of stuff. I don’t really remember looking at photographers work much in high school, except for maybe rob dobi (which is kind of embarrassing now). he took a lot of photos of abandoned industrial structures and I thought they were really rad when I was in high school.

“when I go back to look at my photos, I’m particularly drawn to things like light and texture” PLANS FOR SUMMER 2011?

My plans as of now for summer 2011 are seeing how I fit into baltimore without MICA as an excuse for being here; finding a job maybe, maybe a job that would use my design education. moving out of bolton hill/mt vernon. and of course, lots of swimming at prettyboy.

21 SANNAH KVIST is a freelance photographer studying for her BFA in Gothenburg. She is photo editor for the music magazine Novell.

“I write in Swedish, but I photograph in all languages.�

26 PAM CANTÚ is a 21 year old photographer living in Houston, texas, usa She plays keyboards in the band the eastern sea.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING PICTURES? I have been taking photographs since I was 15. My mom got me my first DSLR when I was 16, which is when I started actually taking photography classes in school.

There’s just as much an interest as there is curiosity in photography, for me. You definitely see the world differently through a lens as you’re limited to a certain space.

There aren’t any peripherals; just trying to capture the moment.

WHAT CAMERAS ARE YOU USING RIGHT NOW? Canon Sure Shot (35mm), Diana Mini, Lomo LC-A+.

Experimenting with light by introducing a ring flash into the equation; it can be really fun!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PHOTOS? As I haven’t taken a single digital photograph since March of 2010, and have shot too many rolls of film to count since then, I am pretty analog. I scan in my own photos which allows me total creative control. There’s more satisfaction that comes out of taking a good analog photograph that way. Also, I don’t like thinking things through. And I really just don’t care for black and white. Always, color!

WHAT ROLE DOES NATURE PLAY IN YOUR WORK? Finding simplicity in nature because it’s too much of a complex and beautiful thing to really understand.

29 JAMIE SHAW lives in glasgow, scotland. He likes exploring abandoned places with his friends and a camera.

WHY DO YOU TAKE PHOTOS? Taking photos is something that you can never win at, it never ends, and there will always be better photos, and more exciting things to document. I started taking photos when I was maybe sixteen, since then I have taken a lot of photos but a lot of them have come down to chance, being in the right place. I like the feeling of knowing that you’ve taken a good photo even before its been developed. I also like the feeling of getting a roll of film back and pictures you had forgotten you had taken have come out better than expected. Its exciting, a photo can be something spontaneous or it can be well thought through but either way, it the excitement of taking a good photo that keeps me going. It is definitely the depth of exploration and creativity that make me take photos.

WHAT IS NATURE’S ROLE IN YOUR PHOTOS? Well...I take photos of me and my friends doing dumb stuff all the time, but when that dumb stuff involves nature it acts as a catalyst and drives me to take more care when taking a photo. Be more selective I guess. I love natural light, I think it’ s really what makes a good photo, and it is something you can manipulate very simply to create a nice image. I think nature inspires me to control what I am doing and be a better photographer.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR ADVENTURES AND YOUR PHOTOS? Actually the adventures that I go on come from a number of things, my dad is one of them. He has always travelled a lot, he has been to a lot of obscure places and he always comes back with the most amazing photos. The other thing is that since I’ve been taking photos and adventuring around, I have met a lot of interesting people, who share this same thirst for adventure and of course its always fun to go on adventures with friends, so I guess the more adventures I go on the more photos I take!

“Taking photos is something that you can never win at, it never ends, and there will always be better photos, and more exciting things to document.”

– Jamie Shaw