Tess Roby

Tess Roby

Toronto, Canada

flickr

be wildered: blog flickr group

friends, dripping moments, gleam

A short interview with Tess:

You have a couple of pictures taken in laundry shops. Is this one shop or different ones? If it's the same one, where is it?

It’s the same one! I love the shade of the washing machines. We usually get kicked out when we go in there. It’s in downtown Toronto at Queen West and Spadina.

For long have you been involved in photography, and what made you start?

When I was about three or so, my parents bought me a Minolta point and shoot camera for Christmas. They wanted to get me something that worked as opposed to a toy. When I look back on the photos, it defiantly captured my childhood in a different way than just parents taking photos of their kids. My father also shot film with an Olympus OM-1, I started to get really interested in that in 2008.

Friends are the best models. Do you agree?

Of course. You can capture so much more out of someone if you’re close with them.

The cities your pictures have been taken in are absolutely fabulous. Do you like to travel a lot?

I love to travel. I love the excitement of getting on a plane or a train and going somewhere new. This year I seem to have traveled a lot, sometimes it wasn’t even planned. I feel privileged to have been so many places.

What is the idea behind "be wildered" ?

To be perplexed and mystified by the wild, the wilderness.

One advice you would give someone who has just started to do photography?

When you look through your camera lens, wait till everything in the frame comes into perfect place, then take the photo. Start off taking photos of things you experience in day-to-day life, places you go, your friends. It comes off as much more natural.

What kind of film do you use most often?

Almost all of last year, I used up all of my dad’s old film that had been sitting in my basement. Surprisingly enough, none of it had expired. Now that that’s gone I use this cheap drug store colour film that goes on sale all the time for $6.99. For black and white I use Ilford.

Disposable cameras are great for...?

Nights when you go out and don’t want to risk anything happening to your SLR. They’re also good for concerts and hot summer days. They capture colours so well.

Is there a camera everybody should purchase?

I don’t think so. Everyone is biased based around the cameras they own, so I can’t answer that properly.

In your opinion, is photography a special form of art? If yes, what makes it special?

A photograph can capture so much and speak to some people in a way that other art can’t. It can capture the most vulnerable and intimate moments. You could try and examine a photograph for hours and still not know the whole story behind it. By looking at a photo, it pulls you in and makes you want to know more. I think that’s really special.

Good times in their own colours. Be sure to visit her flickr! Also, don't forget to take a look at be wildered.

Regina Zmuidzinas

Regina Zmuidzinas

Pasadena, CA, USA

flickr

pictures have sounds

I had the chance to ask Regina a couple of questions:

Your first camera?

It was a semi-small canon point and shoot.

The worst nightmare of a photographer?

When you have to photograph a bunch of people or even just one person and you can't figure out how to deal with the lighting.

Who are they?

They are Amir and Sooraj, two of my best friends.

It seems that you really like M.I.A. Yes?

Really? Haha I guess I had an M.I.A. phase and titled a bunch of my pictures with song lyrics that were stuck in my head. Now I'm pretty into Jay-Z and Kid Cudi.

Why would you want to be an octopus?

The octopus is one of the smartest animals, actually. They don't have any type of internal or external skeleton; they're completely squishy. And come on, how cool/productive would it be to have eight legs?

Which artist do you admire the most?

I recently went to the Guggenheim in New York and was really inspired by Kandiski's work, so he's probably my no. 1 right now.

If you would ever get the chance to produce a motion picture, what/which genre would it be?

A ridiculously bad chick flick. Or something along the lines of King Kong. Haha.

You seem to prefer film. What would convince you to work with digital, too?

I preferred film when I didn't have a digital camera...but I finally got a new one and now I'm in love!! But film is pretty great too, I love the surprise when you pick up a roll and don't know what's on it. In a way, it's more rewarding than digital.

If you would combine another art form with photography within a project, which one would it be?

Hm...do I have to choose just one? Whatever inspires me at the moment! I love mixed media and making collages using whatever is around.

Her gallery is packed with charming (colour) surprises, be sure to visit her flickr!

Raquel Fialho

Raquel Fialho

Lisbon, Portugal

flickr

scents, moments and seasons

A brief interview with Raquel:

Your favourite place to be in summer?

I love the beach and the country a lot. Normally I do some road trips with friends, sleep at the beach, see the whole world upon me and all those stars only summer can bring, get up when the sun rises... I love that summer feeling. In late summer, I do a retreat to the country, ride my bicycle as fast as I can and it feels so nice!

What's the best setting for a natural portrait?

Feel comfortable with the person, natural light.

You go on a vacation to Hawaii. Which cameras do you take with you? Would your selection differ if you were going to Paris?

To a destination like Hawaii, I would take my lc-a+ with the krab of course. Maybe just one camera. (Which is very rare in my trips, but I do not plan on going to Hawaii that soon ahah) To Paris I would definitely take more cameras, both 35 and 120mm, automatic, slr's and polaroids.

120 or 35 mm? Which one for what?

35mm for still life, 120 for more planned photos. But sometimes it does not happen that way, I just go out with both and then I decide at that moment with which camera I want to photograph.

Whose portraits are those?

I don't know, they are in a cozy café I use to go called vertigo with a vintage style. I love to go there and drink some tea.

Do you ever feel the urge to photograph one item with several different cameras?

Sure. Ahah I do that most of the times, because I always have different film, and each camera and lens is unique.

For an event like, let's say, a wedding, would you prefer video documentation, lots of photographs or simply images in your head? Or all of them?

Lots of simple images :)

What do you think of digital photoframes?

I don't like digital photography, I have to use it for work unfortunately. I still think that digital could never reach analog photography in so many ways.

What is photography to you personally?

It has become a part of my life. I need to capture every moment and every single detail.

What other art forms do you like and would like to experiment with yourself, but haven't had the chance to yet?


Video. I've tried it before my love for photography appeared, most in skateboarding but then I began taking photographs only. I really want to buy a video camera soon. There are some things that I consider essential in life like sound and music that my cameras could not capture yet :p

Raquel's flickr is a wonderful selection featuring unique colours from all those seasons you rather feel than see. Be sure to visit the gallery!

Patrick Kuhre

Patrick Kuhre

Salt Lake City, Utah

flickr

your world of wonders

What did Joe do to the chicken?

Joe is an ardent vegetarian; he probably just tossed it aside. The chicken is doing well.

What about Eric Wright?

Eric Wright, more commonly known as Eazy E from NWA is a very extreme figure in my mind. As a young boy in the 90’s, he seemed an almost holy, infamous warrior hailing from some strange, perplexing culture that I’ve never known, and never will. With that, I must say, I’m interested in circumstances that contain elements of nearly total, absolute contradiction, which is exactly what this is. Taking two, both very extreme subjects, and somehow uniting them in myth or legend. The idea means to imply some sort of fantastical mishap in which Eazy E manages to cause some considerable damage in a distant, perhaps mystical kingdom. The arctic wolf is sent as a masterful assassin to seek revenge for his kingdom. Most importantly, it’s meant as a joke. It’s very funny, and especially stupid. Such things would never realistically be considered for serious or popular literature; which is why I like the idea. It’s not at all healthy for artists to adhere to established and preceding traditions, and I hope that is apparent in my photographs.

Who are all those kids?

They’re mischievous Mormon teenagers. Kids in the neighborhood where I shot those photos like to gather around a certain strip mall/ grocery store and mess around. It’s a strangely versatile location. I didn’t know them, but we all had mutual acquaintances. I’m in a constant search for bygone reminders of my childhood. I used to be a little prep jock like them. So it was quite a beautiful incident for me. I noticed some peculiar antics arise in response to my presence. Things that my younger self would have likely done if approached by an older homie with a camera. I tried my best to document them.

If you got the choice: one DSLR or a huge package from Lomography?

It depends, I don’t like either of them aesthetically, and it depends on what came from Lomography. If it were favorable, I would choose that. But if it was just a load of goofy shit, I’d choose the DSLR; use it for practical reasons; dogs, family, certain projects, etc. Never would I use digital in the same way I use film; my art would die.

Would you consider living in the woods?

I’m glad you asked this. The answer is yes. I have a profound affinity for nature. But I was raised a materialist, an element that is becoming increasingly difficult to extinguish. Living in the woods, for me, would require a serious rejection of material being. But beside that, it is very possible, and maybe inevitable.

What is going on here?

That is a mechanical gorilla on a ride at a theme park. Again, another attempt to rekindle old nostalgia’s. I seek to explore those dormant, youthful terrors that taunt our child selves. This was one. It horrified me as a boy.

What made you start taking photographs in the first place?

I started over four years ago. Very quickly it became an obsession, I realized I was tortured by the grief of watching beautiful images escape my camera. So I decided to carry one everywhere. In high school I took pictures of fights and sticks and bones and shit. In the beginning I was slowly discovering my photographic vision, taking inspiration from everywhere, then eventually I began to hone my skill. Which I think is really an endless process, but at a certain point, ones’ craft really must start to mature. I’m still working.

It seems that you have been travelling through Europe in 2009. What has been most remarkable to you?

The pulse of different lands and peoples was to me, a revelation. It only made my return that more breathtaking. I returned home, and for once in my life felt a dear affinity for my country. I felt, in a way, patriotic. That was really a surprise. I learned to love my people with great compassion and concern; it was very powerful.

A tribute to what you can see around everyday and the other day. Be sure to take a look at his flickr!