Steven Brooks

Where are you from/based now?

I was born and raised in Washington State. My family moved around quite a bit when I was young, but I’ve called Seattle home for nearly 30 years.


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

My dad and older brother were into photography. When I was 14, my brother let me borrow his SLR. He gave me a quick lesson about the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and film speed. Looking through the camera while pressing the depth of field preview button, turning the aperture ring and shutter dial together to keep the exposure needle in the middle... it was all fascinating to me, no film needed. That summer I saved up enough money cleaning parking lots to buy an SLR of my own and soon after, my dad and I built a darkroom in our garage. That’s really where my obsession with photography began.


What equipment do you use?

I use a combination of film and digital cameras. I’m currently using a Bronica SQ and an Olympus EP2 and I almost always have a very small digital camera nearby. Currently, it’s either a Leica DLUX 4 or a Sony RX100. I’m a big fan of “serious” compacts and am very excited about the emerging technology.


What are your feelings on film vs. digital?

I think they compliment each other well and I fully embrace the strengths they each offer. It really comes down to the image and the subject matter. Is the photograph interesting? That’s what matters. I will continue to shoot film until it’s no longer feasible, but when I move to an all digital workflow, I anticipate it being an easy transition. I believe the film vs. digital debate is fading and I think that’s a good thing.


Do you have a creative process? Are your shots planned or spontaneous?

I usually head to a specific area or location with an idea of the type of shots I’m looking for, but sometimes I get distracted and end of shooting something entirely different. Those end up being my favorite outings and my best pictures often come from them.


Who or what inspires you?

My inspiration comes from a variety of places, from books to movies to music. Of course, the work of other photographers is hugely influential. I’m a big fan of photo books and have a growing library of books from the likes of Robert Adams, Terry Falke, Peter Brown, and Alec Soth, but I’m also very inspired by lesser known photographers featured on sites like this one. I’m astounded by the talent I stumble upon while browsing the internet.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

There are three books that never seem to make their way back to the shelf: The New West by Robert Adams, Observations in an Occupied Wilderness by Terry Falke and West of Last Chance by Peter Brown.


Are you currently working on a project at the moment?

I’ve actually been taking a break from photography the last few months to focus on other areas of my life. I started a new project last summer called “The Other Side”, which is a series taken entirely in Eastern Washington. The inspiration for the project came from a Carrie Brownstein essay on Washington State in the book “State by State, A Panoramic Portrait of America”. I plan to resume the project this spring.

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Hiromitsu Nakayama

Where are you from/based now?

I was born and raised in Nagoya.
I currently live in Ichinomiya-city, next to Nagoya.


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

I started taking photos when I was in high school. I used to use a mobile phone to take photos back then.
The quality and the resolution of the photos were really poor but the ease of it got me into photography where I could take photos of my friends or the scenery whenever, where ever I wanted.


What equipment do you use?

I use two cameras, FUJIFILM GF670 Professional and contax T3.

What are your feelings on film vs digital?

I feel that I am very lucky to have a choice between digital and film.
Both of them obviously have pros.
I prefer film now but the functionality of digital cannot be ignored.
The popularity that digital now has is because of that.
However, the situation for film is severe. Some film has been discontinued since I started taking photos.
I have not been using films long enough to have a particular belief but I feel very sad that certain film can no longer be used.
As long as there are opportunities to use film , I will use it.

Do you have a creative process? Are your shots mostly spontaneous?

I tend to take photos as I go.
I tried to plan and instruct models precisely in the past but I'm rarely satisfied with the results.
If I have an idea and I try to create it exactly it can end up being too obvious/directed. Sometimes I think too much so I try not to be so intense now.


Who or what gives you inspiration?

My inspiration usually comes from daily life.
Commuting, neighborhood, and so on..these becomes interests of mine without my intention.
Also the times I could not take photos for some reasons, like when I don't have a camera, or the situation was too sudden to take photos, those memories are so sharp that they motivate me to take new photos.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

The photo books of William Eggleston, Joel Sternfeld, Yoshihiko Ueda, Noriko Kawauchi get me inspired, especially "Uncommon Places" by Stephen Shore.
Flickr is a good site too. I can check the new work by my favorite photographers around the world.


Are you working on a particular project at the moment?

I used to use other professionals to develop or print my photos but recently I had a chance to learn how to do it myself.
I am curious about how my negative can be developed.
When I can develop and print myself, I think it will be a good opportunity to see my work from another perspective.

ご出身は？現在の活動の拠点は？

日本の名古屋市で生まれ育ちました。
今は隣の一宮市に住んでいます。


写真をはじめたきっかけは？中山さんの写真家としての略歴を教えてください。

私が写真を撮るようになったのは高校生の頃からで、カメラ付きの携帯電話がその機材でした。
当時、携帯電話のカメラは画質や機能において粗末なものでしたが、ポケットから出してすぐに撮れる気軽さが好きで仲の良い友人とか景色とか、気になったものを色々撮りました。それが楽しかった。
この頃に写真を撮ることが身近になった気がします。


機材は何をお使いですか？

現在、二つのカメラを使っています。
FUJIFILM GF670Professionalとcontax T3。


中山さんはフィルムとデジタルについてどのようなお考えをお持ちですか？

フィルムとデジタル、性格の違う2種類の方法を選択できるなんて、いい時代に写真を楽めているなと思います。私が言うまでもなく、それぞれにいい所がある。
フィルムの描写が好きで今はフィルムカメラを使っていますが、デジタルの機能性もとても魅力的です。そもそも写真が身近になったのもデジタルのその使いやすさのおかげでした。
しかし現状、フィルムを取り囲む状況が厳しくなっていることは感じています。実際に私がフィルムを使うようになってからも既に何種類かの生産が中止になりました。
私は特定の考えを持てるほどフィルムを使い込んだ訳ではありませんが、このままフィルムが無くなっていくのはとても残念に思います。
使い続けること以外にできることがあれば応援したいです。


何か創作活動において、いつもやっていることはありますか？それとも自然な流れのなかで創られますか？

なるべく自然の流れの中で撮るようにしてます。
構図を作り込んでみたり、モデルに細かく指示してみたり以前は試みたこともありました。
しかし、自分に合わないのか納得のいく仕上がりになることはほとんど無かったです。
それからは興味を引く被写体に向き合う時は、それに興味を持つに至った自分の目線を少し考えてみるようにしてます。見たままの目線を。
ただ、それも考え過ぎるとそれすら故意に演出したような写真になって返ってくるんで、最近はあまり考え過ぎないようにしようと考えながら撮ってます。


何かインスパイアされることや、人がいらっしゃいますか？

日常生活で見る色々な場面の記憶から写真に繋がることが多いです。
通勤路や家の近所、普段気に留めない場面が不意に興味深く感じるようになったりします。
また、様々な理由でシャッターを押せなかった写真。カメラを持ってなかったり、あまりに突発的だったりして撮り逃してきた写真たちは、強く頭に残っています。
その記憶は、新たな写真を撮るモチベーションになっています。


インスピレーションを求めていると、ふと手に取ってしまったり、訪れてしまったりする特定な写真家や、場所、写真集等はありますか？

William Eggleston、Joel Sternfeld、上田義彦、川内倫子、その他写真家の写真•写真集。
中でもStephen ShoreのUncommon Placesは好きで何度も開いてます。
それとFlickrは非常に面白いサイトです。PCはもちろんiPhoneを持ち歩いてさえいれば、私の好きな世界中の写真家が撮影した最も新しい写真がいつでもその中に飛び込んできます。


現在、何か始動している、始めようとしているプロジェクトはありますか？

今まで現像やプリントは写真屋に全てお任せでしたが、初めて手焼きプリントについて学べる機会をいただきました。
自分の撮ったネガ上にどのように情報が焼き付いているのか興味があります。
実現すれば自分の撮影方法を見直すいい機会になるのではと期待してます。

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Isaac Sachs

Where are you from/based now?

I'm originally from Oakland, California, and I recently moved to Portland, Oregon after eight years in the Midwest.


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

When I was a little kid, perhaps four or five, my parents gave me a toy camera. I remember being really excited about being able to capture specific moments as I saw them - at the time I had a mild obsession with finding ways to lengthen the persistence of memory. I quit taking pictures for a while after a bad experience in which I wasn't sure if I'd loaded my film properly and ended up exposing the entire roll to daylight. In high school I picked it up again when I took photography classes in which I used a traditional black & white darkroom, and I was thrilled by the whole process of being able to take an image all the way from exposure to print. Aside from the two high school classes I took, I have no formal training. The Internet has made it a lot easier to find information - there's a lot of things I was able to read about or even watch videos of instead of having to figure them out by trial and error.


What equipment do you use?

Most of my recent work was made using my Chamonix 4x5 field camera. I also sometimes use a Mamiya RZ67, an Olympus XA, and a Canon 5D Mark II. I use whatever makes sense for the picture I want and the circumstances in which I'm taking it. I almost decided not to take the 4x5 to Iceland when I went last year because I thought it might be too cumbersome for a trip in which I wanted to be as mobile as possible. In the end I decided the possibilities outweighed the inconveniences, and I'm glad I did, because the result was very rewarding.


What are your feelings on Film Vs Digital?

Film and digital sensors are just tools that we use to carry out our vision. It doesn't matter what tools you use as long as you get the end result you want. All you need for photography is a light-sensitive surface; in some cases you don't even need a light-proof box.

I usually choose film, but that's only because the results I get from film are the ones that best suit my vision, and I appreciate the slow, deliberative nature of working with sheet film. I find the idea of restricting myself to one or the other medium silly, to be honest - there are advantages and disadvantages to every method.


Do you have a creative process? Are your shots planned or spontaneous?

The best shots, for me, are a result of both planning and spontaneity. Every photograph is the result of a particular arrangement in time and space, but a lot of planning can go into being prepared to capture that particular moment. I often have ideas in mind about subjects, about framing or spatial relationships, and about light. Where the spontaneity comes in is in finding the right combination of those things to make a photograph that says something to me.


Who or what inspires you?

On a daily basis, my inspirations are numerous. The world is a beautiful, ever-changing place, and there's beauty even in places you don't expect to find it. Living in the city gives me constant opportunities to explore the relationship between the natural and the human-constructed landscape.

Often the best way to find new things to photograph is to go out and find them. I also like to browse flickr to expand my visual vocabulary, and I like to talk about photography with people who share my interests, like my friend Lucas DeShazer and my girlfriend Amy Santee.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

In 2004 or 2005, I saw prints from Alec Soth's "Sleeping by the Mississippi" and while not realizing at the time how influential they were to my later work, they really opened my eyes to the narrative possibilities of a set of photographs. Later I also discovered Todd Hido, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld, and Ed Ruscha, all of whom have had a tremendous influence on my conception of the urban landscape. Many of the photographers you've previously interviewed have also influenced me with their vision - among others, Patrick Joust, Lam Pok Yin, Jordi Huisman, and Sander Meisner.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

Not at the moment, given how recently I've moved to Portland. I also have a huge backlog of film from the second half of 2012 that I need to finish scanning. I've got a lot of ideas floating around, but I definitely intend on continuing to explore the themes in my recent work, especially with regards to how urban space evolves, and how artificial light fills that space.
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