SINCERELY YOURS
summer 2012 Volume 2, Issue 4
CONTENTS 4
12
22
32
34
44
54
64
74
82
84
90
96
* Cover Photos by Lindsay Gray
CONTRIBUTERS Founder and Editor-In-Chief ANGELA MARKSBERRY
Co-Editor
LAUREN POTTER
Design
ANGELA MARKSBERRY
Staff
anna gutermuth
Featured Artists AMANDA MABEL FRANZISKA OSTERMANN GIORGIA PALLARO JESSICA HELLER JOHNNY BURNETT kathleen delameter KEEGAN KAPUGAL LINDSAY GRAY MARIA CRISTINA SAVINO MEAGAN MCLENDON MIA DI DOMENICO SAVANNAH DARAS SOFIE OLEJNIK
LAURA BY MARIA CRIST www.flickr.com/photos/fotomacri
TINA SAVINO
//MEAGAN MCLENDON bigclumsy-boots.blogspot.com
Your 'Tight Rope Walker' series is beautifully done, what inspired you to do the circus themed series? Well first of all, thank you! The initial spark came from, of all things, a party. A friend of mine put together a Murder Mystery party with a 1920’s circus theme and from there I grew increasingly enchanted by the culture of traveling circuses. As far as the photos are concerned, I tracked down various books containing daguerreotypes of Circus performers, which inspired the overall look of the Tightrope Walker series. The party itself was pretty fantastic. How much post processing do you usually do on your photos? That’s hard to say because with each set of photos I tend to completely change the editing process as a way of learning new techniques. I enjoy making actions and curves. The one similarity I find between each photo series is the amount of time post processing usually takes. One image, especially the conceptually based sort, usually takes about two hours of editing.
How long have you been doing photography? Since I was a junior in high school, going on five years now. What are some of your favorite books? My favorite question! They’re completely random, some of my favorite books include anything by Barbara Kingsolver and John Green, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, My Life in Paris by Julia Child, and Annie Leibovitz At Work.
You recently posted some film photos on your blog of your time in Italy, how was the time you spent there? I don’t even know if the right adjective exists to describe how wonderful that trip was. I spent everyday with the most extraordinary people, exploring the most incredible places. I can’t wait to go back again someday.
//SOFIE OLEJNIK
sofieolejnik.blogspot.com 'FREE AS A BIRD'
A lot of your photography has a ghostly feel to them, is that something you planned or that came about with your editing? No, I didn't plan to add a ghostly feel to my photos. It might be the editing or I do it unconsciously. It's really interesting how they appear to you or maybe to others as well. Do you have a favorite place you like to shoot in your hometown? I don´t have a favorite spot right now, I look for new places when I'm on a bus or run some errands. Do you work with a makeup artist for your fashion photography or do you do the makeup as well? I do the makeup along with the modeling so far. Next week I will be working with a makeup artist and doing a shoot with two lovely girls.
Who's a fashion designer that you would love to shoot for? I am interested in fashion but not into the well known designer's fashion. It´s a world I don´t belong to, so I don´t know many of them. I like new and not well known fashion from young designers. I personally don't buy expensive clothes. It is a waste of money. What's something you like to do when you have some down time? I love having a good chat with friends and spending time with my boyfriend. I love spending time with my sister who is a wonderful person and friend as well , unfortunately she moved to Berlin so I don´t see her very often.
SPOTLIGHT
AMANDA MABEL www.flickr.com/amandamabel
L
//KATHLEEN DELAMETER
www.flickr.com/photos/kathleenisme
ATHLE
If you could collaborate with any artist, from past or present, who would it be? For me, the best part about the flickr community is the variety of amazing photographers creating all different types of work. One day I will be inspired by someone creating magic with Photoshop; the next I will be completely blown away by a photographer’s ability to capture a moment through a candid shot. That being said, I would have a hard time narrowing it down to one particular artist. There are so many talented people out there! How do you feel you have progressed from when you began photography? After purchasing my first DSLR camera, I remember feeling completely lost and wandering around with it set on auto. Now, I have much more control over the photo that I’m taking. My postprocessing skills have also improved quite a bit. I’m no longer intimidated by more complex ideas and generally find a way to create the image I have in mind.
Where does your inspiration for your conceptual photos come from? All over the place. While I was working on my 365 Days project, I noticed that a lot of my inspiration came from the season that I was in. Since seasons and holidays are constantly changing, they helped to provide me with new ideas to work with. I’ve also used events in my life, stories, movies, and other artist’s work as inspiration. Which style of photography interests you most? On one hand, I love photo manipulation and creating scenes that only exist in my imagination. On the other, I’m always amazed at the magic some photographers create just by photographing life as they see it. I’ve only been seriously taking photos for a few years, so I hope to keep pushing myself and finding new projects that will force me to experiment with all different styles of photography.
//SAVANNAH DARAS www.savannahdaras.com
What do you hope to accomplish through your photography? This is something that I am still trying to figure out myself. But I do hope that through my work, I will inspire others in some way, and show them how I see the world. What are some things that inspire your conceptual photography? Everything really. Sometimes I will sit down and brainstorm, trying to come up with ideas, and other times I will go outside and visit a favorite location of mine and wait for something to come to me. Aside from that, I gather a lot of inspiration from other artists.
Have you collaborated with other photographers that you've met through flickr or other social media sites? Yes, I have! I followed Sarah Ann Loreth's work on Flickr for awhile, and then found out she lives very close to me. One day we decided to meet up and we have worked together a couple of times since. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. We are planning a lot of other amazing things that are coming up this summer, which I am so excited for. I am also going to be attending a big Flickr gathering with her in Indiana where we will meet a bunch of other people from Flickr. I can't wait!
avANN
Who are some of your favorite people to shoot with? I absolutely love working with other photographers, especially self portrait photographers, probably because I can relate to them on a completely different level. There are certain things that you do and go through as a self portrait photographer that not many people can relate to unless they take self portraits as well. It's just really nice to work with other creatives in general, it feels like connecting with an old friend. What's one of your favorite things to eat? I love all kinds of fruit, I could eat it all day. And I love Hershey's Kisses for snacking.
//LINDSAY GRAY
http://lindsay-gray.com 'METAMORPHOSIS'
Where did the inspiration for this 'Metamorphosis' series come from? I worked with another photographer, Kevin Davidson, on planning the idea behind the shoot. We're both huge fans of Paolo Roversi and Tim Walker, so the inspiration was taken from both of their work, mainly from Tim Walker's series "The Origin of Monsters," but with more of Roversi's motion and style. The story behind the shoot was that of a butterfly emerging from her chrysalis. We shot the whole thing in our hotel room and just hung sheets and used the lamps in the room for light, so it was a bit difficult, but I'm happy with the way that it came together.
You're 'Dolled Up' series is great too, how did it come about? That shoot was completely spurof-the-moment and horribly unplanned. Kevin Davidson and I had driven down to Houston to spend the weekend with Baohien Ngo and Natasha Wong (two photographers who live down there), and it seemed obvious that we would do a shoot together. Bao found us a model and stylist and Kevin and I started planning the shoot around a doll theme, but the model and stylist both backed out the day before, so Bao and Natasha found us another model, Jessie DeFranco (who was amazing) and we grabbed whatever clothes we could find between me and Natasha to style the shoot. Bao and Natasha knew about the burned house that we shot in, and we thought it would be fitting. You recently started a magazine with a friend of yours, can you tell us about it? Yes! Kevin Davidson and I started a magazine called Motive that just launched on May 20th with the first issue! It's a bi-monthly publication that focuses on the fashion, art, and culture of youth.
We want for it to focus on artists as much as possible, showing their processes. We're trying to make it very interactive, as well, so that it's more of an experience than just a magazine. We're obviously in the very early stages of this, but we're hoping for it to go far and to feature artists that a lot of people, and that even we, would not have discovered otherwise. Have you worked with agency models before, and how have your experiences been? I have. It really depends on both the agency and the model. Some agencies are really unorganized and you don't even know if your shoot is for sure planned practically until the model shows up, so that can be really stressful, and sometimes the models are either new or are just somewhat uncomfortable with you, and it definitely shows. But for the most part, my experience with agency models has been very good. I like working with new people, even if the shoot doesn't go as planned. It's nice to get out of the comfort zone of my regular models and try new things with new faces.
l
What is something you'd like to accomplish with your photography? There is so much that I'd like to accomplish, and I know that it might not be possible for me, but I can't help myself from dreaming. It's strange how much things have changed for me in the past year. Photography was just a hobby for me then, and I always thought of it more as documentation, whereas now, I want to create worlds and characters and emotions that wouldn't have existed without me. I'm so much more into the fashion side of it all, and I'd just like the opportunities to work with more models and stylists and designers and hopefully work my way up. Ideally, I'd like to shoot for some of the big fashion magazines, but for now, I'm happy with shooting for little clothing stores and things like that.
linds
//JESSICA HELLER
www.flickr.com/photos/52371085@N02
How do you feel you have progressed in your photography from when you first began? Every day since I first started out, I have learned something new that would help me with my photography. I never stop learning, and I never want to. In fact, I can't ever seem to learn enough. Whether it's a new editing technique, or something I learned in math class, I can relate photography to anything. What would you say inspires you most? I am inspired by so many things in our world. I can't ever decide what inspires me most. It is always changing. I suppose that change could be, what inspires me most.
Do you like working with models over self portraits? I like working with models, but "selfies" seem to mean much more to me. When they go completely wrong, I will be devastated. Yet, when they turn out splendidly, it is something I will always cherish. A regular self portrait won't affect me, but when I have meaning behind them, they definitely do.
If you could work with any model, who would it be? I would chose the girl who has no confidence. The one that hides from the camera. I would show her that she is beautiful like nobody else in the world is. What's your current favorite song? "Springsteen" by Erich Church. It's one of those songs that makes me stop and appreciate life for all its ups and downs.
TRUE FAITH BY KEEGAN KAP
MODELS: ASHLEY MOLESSO, MADISON ARREBELLA & MIA PARLATO HAIR/MUA: KRISTIN VON DIETRICH, STYLING: KEEGAN KAPUGAL www.KeeganKapugal.com
PUGAL
O
SPOTLIGHT
FRANZISKA OSTERMANN www.flickr.com/photos/lichtspiele
//MIA DI DOMENICO
www.flickr.com/photos/amelyphotography
Do you ever shoot any film photography? No, I don't. I hope to have the opportunity one day to do so. Do you listen to music to get ready for a shoot? To get ready for a shoot, I need silence and to see other pictures to feed my own imagination. Who would you most like to photograph? I would like to photograph interesting and unusual faces with their stories and styles.
What piece of camera equipment would you love to have? Canon 5d mark II is my forbidden dream. What would your dream photo shoot be? I would like to take a photo shoot set in the 50's. I would like to recreate a vintage atmosphere and freeze it.
BY JOHNNY BUR MODEL & STYLIST: VICTORIA DIAMOND
WWW.FIFTHBLADE.COM || TWITTER: @JOHNNYBURNETT
RNETT
//GIORGIA PALLARO www.giorgiapallaro.com
You're processing skills are excellent, how long have you been working on your editing? First of all, thank you. It depends... from five minutes for a single portrait, to six hours for conceptual photos. What's one of your favorite places to shoot? I really love to take photos in a little lovely woods that is very close to my house (I fortunately live in a region of Italy where I can find trees and woodland everywhere.)
G
Do you have any future shoots coming up? Yes, absolutely. I'm actually working on two very different projects... The first one is related to "spleen", the word that Baudelaire used to talk about boredom and depression. The second one is still growing up in my mind, but I know it will have to do with a kidnapping, a long travel and some strange characters. What kind of camera equipment do you use? I finally bought just some days ago a Canon Eos 60D, but until two weeks ago I took photos with my dear 1000D, that is also the camera I used for the last four years. Who's a photographer you admire? Sara Lando. She changed my way to see, live and take photos.
GIORG
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