Interview

A friend was organising her relocation and she found an unused film camera hidden in the corner collecting dust. She gave it to me knowing my passion for photography.

It has been a long long time I have not been using any film camera so I started investigating work of photographers that are using film as a photography medium to find some inspiration. I came through this interesting project called Von Vintage from photographer Mark Lobo. He is using a film camera, a literally dying media, to document objects from the past, such a clever idea. He adds that warm feeling to the photo, that atmosphere that the object deserves.

I started checking his website and the projects he is involved. His work has really a wow factor. I contacted him, I really wanted to have him in the Interview Series.

I grew up in Tokyo, where photography is a part of everyday life.  Disposable cameras were, and still are a popular medium used by everyone to document our everyday lives. I went through hundreds of disposable cameras over the years, simply pointing and shooting, and and capturing life growing up in Tokyo.  It was quick and easy and also unpredictable.

Soon came my university years, where I moved from analogue to a 2 megapixel point and shoot. The camera was terrible and was terrible in low light.  But it was compact, much like the disposable cameras that I was used to. I carried on documenting everything that happened and in later years

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I saw Kris work for the first time in the 2013 “Head On” photographic competition when he was selected as a finalist. His photos were part of the Subterrania project, a collection of outstanding photos about the unassuming beauty that can be found in metro stations and subways around the world.

I went to his website to see his work and I was literally hypnotized by the photos he made in the Atacama Desert (Chile). Why? because I really thought they were images of the moon!!

I contacted him in Sydney to talk about his work and how he started

Q. How did you start photography?

I traveled a lot through Europe and began to photograph cities when I was by myself. It just grew from there. I read a lot of magazines about photography and photographed anything and everything. I would take thousands of shots while on holiday. Much to the annoyance of my girlfriend.

Q. What was your initial inspiration? Whose work has influenced you most?

The b&w reportage masters such as Henri Cartier Bruson and Sara Moon originally made a mark in my mind when I was still studying in school. It wasnt until later while shooting that I discovered photographers like Martin Parr, Gregory Crewdson, Andreas Gersky and David La Chapelle.. Chapelle’s work really opened my eyes to a new world of creativity. These photographers have had a huge influence on my work.

Q. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

Always trust your instincts when shooting.

Q. What makes the good pictures stand out from the average?

This is a tough question to answer as each person has their own likes, styles, preferences.. In the end, the photo has to evoke emotion in the viewer – be it through amazing fashion, a ground breaking news story, or just a new style or way of photographing that’s never seen before.

Q. What would you like to say to a person who wants to take up photography?

Keep photographing, keep learning, don’t follow the ‘norm’… learn to crop & edit well! they are nearly as important as the photo itself. Throw away the crap shots and keep the good ones..

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