today in honor of polaroid week on flickr i will be shining the spotlight on another one of my favorite polaroid shooters. she is a photographer/designer from hollister, california currently living in london, england. i find her work so inspiring and i'm very excited to share with you!
it's me pleasure to introduce you to:
1.) what draws you to photography?
light, emotion, expressing myself, i feel as if photography is one way that i can escape....away from everyday life and into this magical world of limitless possibilities...
2.) do you prefer digital or film? why?
film by far! I have to have something tangible in my hands after the photograph is taken, that is why Polaroid is such magic to me. Though shooting with 35mm and medium format is something else I enjoy….the suspense is unbearable, waiting for the processing and printing of the images. With Polaroid I am able to see what my eyes had seen through the camera just only minutes ago. Polaroid also has something so different to other analogue films, the photos are like paintings, one of a kind and cannot be replicated, that is why they are so special to me.
3.) what is your favorite camera to shoot with?
At the moment I have two favorite cameras. My Polaroid sx70, and Polaroid 340. I feel as if they are now just an extension of myself, and have become objects that I cannot live without. I love holding this little magic machine in my hands knowing that I will be able to produce something beautiful out of it, and share with the world what my eyes see through this little camera.
4.) can you share three favorite photos you took & why you picked them?
- The time zero diptych was taken in my hometown, where my parents still live in California. The thistles were just outside their house. And the mission is nearby, a place that I went many times for inspiration and times of mourning. These places fueled my artistic growth through childhood to present day.
- This polaroid diptych is very special to my heart. Very few people can understand the strength of these two photos put together in this way. The one on the left is of the love of my life..and the one on the right has a connection with one of his loves: his grandfather. I can only slightly grasp the bond that was held between these two by the stories he tells me and the emotion I see in his eyes every time he talks about him. The photos were taken in Montevideo, Uruguay, his hometown. These photos combined remind me of that very special day, and many more to come.
- This photo has different emotions attached to it, achieving an ultimate goal is what this represents. This was one of my favourite photos taken at the photo shoot of my first completed collection, 'amor de cuero', that took many years of education and devotion to reach.
5.) can you name a few photographers that have influenced your work?
I would have to say that many photographers have influenced me in some way or another. And I cant say that I have a favourite photographer as I have many favorites. All my teen years to now I have been inspired by the photographs of Walker Evans, partially due to a connection that we share, but mostly to the gripping images that he captured of everyday life. The polaroids he had taken towards the end of his day had inspiring realness to all of the images.
Another photographer would be Andrey Tarkovsky, his polaroids are just as awe inspiring as his films. Both mediums encapture a melancholic side of life and are works of art that go to another level of art. His photos are like paintings, and in his films those paintings come to life.
The last I will mention is Elsbeth Juda. I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing woman just this year. She had taken many incredible images of the beauty in fashion and exasperating activity of the top 'to be' places in the 40's and 50's. One of my favorite series are the images she had taken from the beaches in Brazil. She had told me when I spoke with her, that she 'just loved to take beautiful photos'. Its simple but very true.
jennifer, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and share yourself with my readers. you can find more of jen's beautiful work on her portfolio site & flickr page. here are a few of my personal favorites. enjoy!
