KISSING EYES MAGAZINE

KISSING EYES MAGAZINE.Photography.Art.Music

Leo Postma
















































Where are you from/based now?

I'm based in Delft, a small village in the smoke of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It's central, within the hour I get in the center of every bigger city of Holland. But many of my photos are also across Europe.


What is your background in Photography? What got you started?

I don't really know what my background should be, other then my mom gave me a camera at the age of 10, so I started to take photos of my friends skating etc. The subjects and equipment have grown with age I suppose. My brother and me started to take lot's of photos and it started to get more serious along the way.
I'm studying fine art right now, with photography at it's basis.


What equipment do you use?

I almost only use my mamiya 7, because its easy to take with you. And the 6x7 format is good affordable quality. Sometimes i use a hasselblad 503 if the subject needs it, but it also often witch one i got by hand. I'm always planning to use the large format camera more but it's heavy and expensive.


What is your creative process? Do you have a planned approach or is it more spontaneous?

I always start to take photos (I already started once) and then there's one that doesn't fit in a series but it got me thinking, so I try to find places that can make a series together. So I roll from one series in to the other and often I take a photo afterwards that fits with a series from before. I hope it's a never ending story.
I take my camera along and try make as much trips as possible. Try to pass places that would be fit for photos.
I analyze what i've done and try to make work from there.


What drives you to keep taking photographs?

The first drive was getting better, getting more attention for my photos. After that getting reviews and selling, but the best drive is the amount of people who are seeing the photos, visiting my website etc.
Nowadays mostly the conversations I get with a wide viarity of people.


Who or what inspires you?

Of course I get inspiration from famous photographers such as Martin Parr, Alec Soth, Thomas Ruff etc. I've also met some good photographers through flickr, in the past. Who've kept me going back. But the best inspiration would be the photos I just missed. I travel a lot because it gives me time to think. If you see something from a train you're always to late but you got lot's of time to think about why you would have taken that picture.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I'm working on a project based on objects, objects who've lost their meaning in there surroundings.
For the first time I've started with a title and based a series on it. There were other assignments where I needed to collect a few headlines from the papers and there was one that caught my attention. "Tussen cowboy's nazi's en planten" That would be "Between cowboys nazi's and plants" or "among Cowboys nazi's and plants" in english. Both are fine. I started to make suggestions that could stand in between those 3 and that's a lot. The first draft of the series will be posted on my website soon, or maybe it's just been done.

Alex Cretey-Systermans


















































Where are you from/based now?

I'm based in Paris, where you can find me at home in my studio most of the time when I'm not shooting outside. I live with my lovely wife Sidonie and my 1 year old wonderful daughter Lili.


What is you background in photography? What got you started?

I studied art and got a BFA (french equivalent) in photography and a MFA (french equivalent) in painting and photography. I'm more a painter, formerly. Photography first started as a tool to bring back documents for my personal work. Back in my art college years, my photography was more 'conceptual' at this time. Today I try to work as much for my personal projects as for editorial assignment. Note that I still have my brushes and oil colours in a drawer close to my cameras...


What equipment do you use?

I use film cameras as much as I can. Medium format film cameras are my prefered tools.
Also, even if I don't like it, I always bring DSLR on assignment, but the best pictures always come from film. I'm very anxious about the future of film in photography.


You seem to travel a lot, where has been your favourite place to shoot? Is there anywhere
you particularly want to go at the moment?


I did an awesome trip aboard the mythical Eastern & Oriental Express train through Malaysia and Thailand in october 2011 but my recent trip to Burma was unforgetable.
The country is dramatically changing at the moment and democracy is showing up, hopefully.
But it was mostly still untouched by globalization, which is weird today and feels like a time travel. People here were extremely friendly and the landscapes are sublime.
I'd like to go to rural China for a project I 've had in mind for ages . I'm also working on a collaborative project about Mongolia, hopefully a book project. We managed to raise funds for it but It looks like we haven't time for it for the moment.


What is your creative process, do you plan what you want to shoot or is it more spontaneous?

I'd say both. Some projects involve a very slow process, meticulously planned and patiently built, (I could wait for good light for ages) While some of them are very spontaneous when being shot.
I spend hours sequencing and editing the work, though. I'm very obsessive when it's about selecting and sequencing the work. Note that on assignment, I just have no time at all to work properly. I always have barely few minutes to shoot a place and good light conditions are just an unreachable dream.
My dream assignment would be the one with time. A lot of time to plan the work, to think before shooting, to frame, to wait for the good light.


What drives you to keep taking photos?

I am a picture person. I've always been. And other photographer's work always drives me. I am a photobook collector : whenever I return to one of my prefered books, I always feel the urge to shoot again. Also, I still find good photography is somehow magical. Everyone knows that famous quote by Garry Winnogrand : "I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed". Which is exactly my feeling.


Who or what Inspires you?

I cannot tell exactly what inspires me, as inspiration is irrational, subjective, spontaneous.
What I know is that I am inspired by good light in reality and good work in art.
Or more precisely, when reality makes me think of good art I know and when good art reminds me of good moments from reality, I can feel very inspired.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I'm still editing my recent travel work for a few french magazines and my personal work is always, day and night, on my mind.

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Peter Currie













































Where are you from/based now?

Nova Scotia, Canada - 20 years old.


What is your background in photography? What got you started?

What got me into shooting photos was skateboarding, and the culture that surrounds it. Reading skate magazines like Transworld, and Thrasher growing up, and just the curiosity of it all. Then shooting experimental rolls of film through my dads old SLR. Which snowballed from 35mm, to medium format, and it's been escalating ever since. As for formal experience, not much. Just learning through the internet, and experimentation really. Though I'll be attending Concordia University this fall for photography - so that will be a huge step in learning, hopefully for the better.


What equipment do you use?

For my 35mm photos, I use a Minolta X-370, but the majority of my work is shot with a Pentax 6x7 - and just recently I added a Mamiya RB67 to the collection.


What is your creative process, do you plan what you want to shoot or is it more spontaneous?

It is mainly spontaneous. Sometimes I'll plan lists of photos I'd like to try and find, or keep some form of theme going. But other than that it's just my camera, in my car at all times to stop where ever, for whatever.


What drives you to keep taking photos?

For me, I like having hard copy evidence of things that are going on, whether it be past or present, so that's a big part of all this. Which is why I prefer film, over digital. Sure you can print a digital photo, and it becomes hard evidence you can hold, or show. But with film, it's just the idea of the negatives - and physically making the picture.


Who or what Inspires you?

There is countless photographers that could be named, but right now anything large format I'm really down for. I've always been a huge fan of , and fellow Canadian, Edward Burtynsky. His Manufactured Landscapes pictures/documentary is just too good. And actually another Canadian, out of Calgary, named Stephen Harper. Just daily life too, just to keep going with this.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

Right now, just shooting, and getting stoked on the coming summer here on the East Coast. I'm really trying to get to Cape Breton eventually as well, to shoot a series on the Highlands, but everything is up in the air. Also I've put together something with my ongoing experiences in Wentworth, Nova Scotia, called 'A Valley'. This is just something to add onto all the time, nothing extremely formal just yet. Other than that, just going to continue on with it. Stay positive, and try and make some decent photographs.

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