Natalie Tischler

photograph by Nico Lopez-Alegria

Interview by Nigel Telman II

How has photography helped you engage with the city? I know you’re from Woodstock; that’s a very different environment!

Yes, I think it makes me explore for things more. Sometimes I want to do a photoshoot at a specific site that I think is really cool, or at a concert with a little band so I can be like ‘hey, do you need a photographer?’ which isn’t something I would normally do. It definitely gives me a better appreciation for the city. I feel like I look through a lens of photography - imagining everything as being a photo - and it’s interesting. It’s subconscious at this point.

How do you want people to perceive your work?

I honestly don’t know. I think there are different types of photography for different purposes: expository photography, journalistic photography, photography that’s trying to make a statement. I don’t think that my photos are like that, but I definitely think I would like to do more things like that, that have a purpose or serve to send some sort of message of evoke something. I think in just my regular work portraits or photos of my friends, I don’t know. It’s just aesthetically something to look at. I don’t know what that does for other people. The important part is I like it. There’s no pressure on it for me, so I think it’s nice that I have something I objectively value. I can keep it if I like it and discard it if I don’t. It’s like I’m carrying a journal. Photography is really just for me.