South Africa, Eastern Cape
You write that your blog aims to present a
"smooth flowing hub of the people" you "encounter at various
stages" of your life. How did you come up with this idea?
It would be
incredibly dishonest and counter productive to claim that that idea was
uniquely mine, or even that it stays a constant. Firstly, my blog began as a
way to express my voice and to connect with people. Photography was still new
to me when I started, but blogging was not. I knew that I had to adapt to a
working format, and apply some kind structure to my wildly enthusiastic but
naïve vision. So if I had to relate it to anything, or investigate where the
idea came from, it would most likely be the ongoing humans of New York project.
But even then, I would say that my blog is different - just as it is now from
it’s past self. I’d like to say that I follow a direction in which I want my
blog and thus my work to go, but there are other factors involved that are
always ever changing. This often results in the evolution and change in both my
work and personal philosophies; for example I moved from Cape Town, where my
blog was originally based, to Rhodes University to study journalism. I can only
control my life to a certain degree, and the rest I kind of tackle as it comes.
With that said, I still love being able to meet and connect with different
people from all walks of life, something my photography truly has allowed me to
do. And despite my involvement in other works and projects this is something I
wish to hold onto for the rest of my career and life.
You also use the blog as a 'voice' to communicate with
others and to document your development as a person and photographer. How
'open' do you feel you can be in this 'conversation’ with your readers? Where
do you draw a line?
This is quite a long response so I am going to try
organizing my thoughts under subheadings.
(1) Honesty regarding my art and success
I feel that complete and absolute disclosure is
paramount to my success both as a human and an artist. I want all my life’s
works – in my case journalism in particular - to revolve around honesty. It’s a
big goal to have, but I totally believe that if I start now and build my
foundations on openness and honesty, it will only continue to flourish and grow
in that respect, and thus I can also create a career around it. With that said,
there are certain exceptions or barriers that must be temporarily created for
various reasons, mostly for clarity and structure, but also because sometimes pieces
or photos just don’t fit at those times. Yet, at later stages, I may pop them
in or rework them. But then all of this isn’t just about me. I don’t just want
to be honest for my own personal interest, I want to create a medium, or at
least contribute to the development of one, where honesty is not only
encouraged, but it’s an adaptable and viable option in a journalistic format. I’m
not saying that this idea doesn’t exist, I know that all ideas are just regurgitations
and modifications of past ideas, but I want to make my own contribution. Gonzo
journalism is a huge factor in this style, but I don’t think I will live up to
the ability of the late Hunter S. So instead I will refer to him as the
complete inspiration, but not as the idea or format itself.
(2) Honesty regarding my self-expression and growth
This one also goes much, much deeper than that, at
least from my point of view. My blog is a medium for expressing myself, and my
photography has provided a lot for my personal development, and for my
intelligence or competence as a human being as well. So if I can initiate a
complete and utter network where all my inward problems, achievements and
choices become public, I think I could grow in immense ways, and hopefully grasp
my personal identity to every single degree. Thus far, I feel that my art, the
blog, and the sum of all the things these two entail, have allowed me to know
myself well already.
(3) Honesty regarding my personal life and barriers
I referred to barriers earlier and I most recently
encountered one when writing a piece - ‘Hudson River pt. 1’ on co-mag.net. It
is a photo/story piece about my ‘panic attack’ - well I really don’t know what
to call it, mental breakdown is too dramatic, but panic attack seems too
trivial. Anyways, I was under the influence of pot (something I have quit now
as a result), and I basically took down all the strings that attached my life
together, and pulled them apart. I saw everything - my life, my career, my
relationships - falling apart. For me, it’s about as close as I have ever
gotten to a near death experience. During this time, I ended up photographing
myself, I guess that’s just because of my weird nature. I figured that if I was
‘going to die’ I might as well capture it. In order to maintain closure for
myself, and to better understand what had happened, I ended up writing the post
I mentioned. At first I was going to post it anonymously, so as to not
negatively affect my name, but then I decided that this was a complete and
utter opportunity to take a step towards absolute honesty. If I couldn’t be
honest about myself, how could I be honest about and to other people, both in
reality and also on my blog? With this thought, the issue became less about me
and more about my audience. I felt like I was taking ‘beautiful’ photographs,
and despite trying to be open and honest, I thought that I was creating ‘fairy
tales’ with my work. I started to wonder about how people perceived these
‘tales’, and if the posts even received the exposure they deserved. After
thinking about it all, I chose to submit my story to co-mag. I think I did this
in association to the shift in the core ideals of my blog. This new sensibility
has become absolutely life altering to me, and the work ethos of my blog has
spilled out into reality.
Still, I don’t believe that my blog is anywhere near
where it should be just yet with regards to openness. This ‘openness’ on the
web has allowed me to be more conscious and reflective about my identity, and
also to be extremely open to new things and experiences. It’s not like I no
longer have any self-control and don’t know when to say no, it’s just that by
being honest and open I am able to experiences things that I could only dream
about. And that is why I without a doubt will always push these boundaries of
truth, so that this growth remains constant, and so that I can do my part in
spreading some small part of it to other people. This doesn’t mean I won’t ever
keep things to myself, because although my striving for openness may be good
for me, it still might negatively affect others. I know that I have no right to
reveal private information of others and I never will.
You study journalism; does your blog also serve as a
'playground' for you to experiment with writing in and for the public?
Yes and no. My writing ability, ethos etc. will always
change and alter according to where I am and what I am experiencing. My
courses, especially in journalism, allow me to think more laterally and
formally before writing, publishing etc. It also allows for me to tweak my
current format on the blog. However, I feel that no matter how much I grow or change
personally or in my work, my voice will always remain the same, but that it
will be more refined and clear. In the end, that’s actually all I want, and what
I have been searching for my entire life also before photography: Absolute certainty.
I feel that photos and writing are always illusory, and despite one’s best
efforts, feelings and thoughts about particular pieces will always be different.
Still, I have this thing that I want the viewer(s) to absolutely know what I am
talking about, and literally travel through their monitor into the world that I
have created with my photos and writing. Now, I know that’s a cliché, and I’m
sure many people strive for this, but I am absolutely passionate and very
driven to achieve this goal.
You always feature a photograph of the persons you
introduce and write a little about them. In your opinion, what do photographs
add to the little portraits you put together?
Generally speaking, the pictures I push out are
extremely planned and thought out. When I meet somebody for the first time or I
make their acquaintance again or whatever the circumstances are, I begin by
taking their pictures. I usually know from the start if I want to take their
picture or not, but it generally takes me a while to get the one shot that I
truly want. I do believe in coincidence - and boy does it sometimes treat me
with great photos – but, for me, taking a good portrait requires more than just
a little luck. When I take the photo I knew I wanted, I become disastrously
excited: I feel that I have succeeded in capturing a moment so special and
unique and that I was able to place a friend or stranger inside this bubble. I
never show the final picture to the subject, though. I proceed by packaging the
image in words, maybe even poems, and showcase it on my blog. Therefore, I
think that the portraits always come after the photos. In the past, I used to
write about those people in general, but as I have refined my trade, I have
begun to draw heavily from the experiences and instances I have with those
people during the times that the photos were taken. Now, although these are
gifts meant for the world, I guess that the pictures will always be more
special to the person photographed and me. Often I feel that portraits create a
strong connection between the person photographed and the photographer, because
only they know the whole context of the picture. That is also why I feel that
my blog is both personal and impersonal at the same time. I stand above it like
a super charged rabbit, publishing and pushing things around, but in mere
moments I fly right close up to each individual picture and I find ways to
relate it to both myself, and the people involved. Don’t get me wrong, I am not
saying I feel like a grand wizard or master or anything like that. I will
always be a naïve novice and, in a way, seeing these connections and contexts
rather allows me to stay grounded. Because as much as my art and ideas change, I still can
frame everything with these glassy dreamlike eyes. Writing helps me
contextualize my works for both the viewers and myself and I always end up
posting something uniquely different from what I had planned. Now that I think
of it, this is quite a paradox in my work, as my photography is often the
complete opposite.
What do you
enjoy about writing?
Writing actually came before photography. I had a blog
on tumblr, where I used to feature poetry and the like. I still like to write,
and read, and I do really try hard to refine those areas, but I would be a liar
if I said that it always comes easy to me. Before photography and filmmaking I felt
like I had no complete connection between brain and hands and that I couldn’t
fully realize my potential. As it turns out, this actually is a literal affliction
that prevents me from fully carrying out and processing the clouds of thought
swimming around and in my head. Ironically it affected my perception of shapes
and geometry, too, which, as I see now, is why I was never able to fully
realize my dream of being a painter, too. Painting was a passion I had developed
even before writing, but I simply couldn’t make the complete connection between
ideas and reality.
How do the people you write about react to these
portraits?
Always in the affirmative, but to varying degrees. It’s
a running gag that all my friends use my photos for their profile pictures. To me,
nothing beats their initial reactions though. Upon seeing a post that I had
published they sometimes put a lot of time and effort into sending me messages
or carefully packaged gifts. This really makes me happy and excited about what
I do. It’s the thought of being able to have some form of impact on someone
else’s life, no matter how small, which always gets me and encourages me.
What do you pay attention to the most when
photographing people?
Oh boy this is a tough one, too. At the beginning I
approach the ‘portraiting’ from a point of view that could be viewed as street photography.
This is where I initially started out as a photographer, but I never was truly competent
in this regard. For me, shooting portraits thus is still a little hard to do,
even though I love the challenge and I am happy when I’m successful. But in
general I like to take photos of how I perceive a person. Sometimes it’s the
other way around and I discover how I actually perceive somebody by looking at
the pictures I took. Finally, I also want to capture the moments that the
people are involved in and portray them in a way that they never saw
themselves.
When you're finished with your studies, how do you
picture your work as a journalist?
I am really pushing to take a step into the ‘world of
journalism’ now. Whilst I am studying I want to delve deeply into journalism. I
see it almost like a practice run before I am out ‘in the wild’. I want to
focus mostly on community work and relief efforts - I did a post on the
anti-poaching efforts, for instance, though that barely scratched the surface,
I have to admit. I want to further my ability and opportunities into helping
other people in any way possible. I am not sure where or how to start yet, but
I know where I want to go. I admit that my work is barely objective and maybe
too artistic at times, but I will never let go of that sentiment. I think that
journalism is incredibly important in all areas of life, but because of the de-sensation
of media, it’s hard to get people’s attention and it’s even harder to make them
care for more than five minutes. I want to change that. Or at least try to
contribute to the grander scheme of that sentiment.
Do you sometimes think that pictures are being misused
in the media?
Absolutely. Some people have no f---ing clue what they
are doing. Another issue about pictures is that pictures can be so contextual
and individualized, that sometimes they are too blank. This is not to say they
aren’t powerful, though. And other times pictures used are too overwhelming. Now
images get spread and pushed everywhere, meant to shock and stun the viewer,
but after a while sensation becomes common and imagery loses its impact. Not to
say that these efforts aren’t positive and admirable, they often are, but in my
opinion, imagery could and should be ‘sold’ to people in a better way.
In your opinion, do visual representations add
objectivity or rather subjectivity to news reports?
It always is contextual. Generally speaking, in formal
institutions, the visual representations that are produced will always be
extremely succinct and objective, but with the rise of self-mass communication
- that is ‘citizen journalism’ in the form of cell phone videos etc. - it’s
getting harder for news organizations to control how those visual
representations affect their final package in news stories. However, some video
reports use subjectivity in the affirmative as a way to interest people and to
maintain a connection with the viewers, so that although the videos have a
personal feel to them, they are still regarded as pieces of journalism. Such an
example are the vice documentaries which are taking over the internet, and
rightly so, as far as I am concerned. Because although at times some of these
stories are extremely niche and targeted at specific audiences such as myself,
most of them are undoubtedly relevant and full of impact on journalism as a
whole. By the way, I really, really love vice. Hire me, please?
What are your plans for the summer?
Well, our holidays are actually different from yours,
and my summer is the second vacation coming up. But I will take this as an opportunity
to answer about both holidays. In September I shall be interning Raya Rossi,
editor of a fashion friend, most likely fetching coffees, but also delving
behind the scenes in a lot of fashion shoots and such. In December/January I am
will work at the production of a series of short films in Mpumalanga, depicting
the anti-poaching efforts from many different perspectives, for instance those
on the foot patrols, those involved with the welfare of the rhinos themselves
etc. I can’t reveal too much, because truthfully I haven’t got very far in the
planning process.
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