FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER | ANDREW D MUSSON

BITE catches up with Brooklyn-based photographer Andrew Musson in this week’s feature:

Firstly, thanks for agreeing to the interview. I suppose it’s a broad question - but why photography as your vocation? My pleasure. Photography definitely wasn’t the first thing I’ve considered doing as something more than a hobby. Drawing was first from the very beginning, then music, then photography, and then filmmaking (when I realized it was a combination of all the arts I loved). I sort of fell back into photography as I was studying film and decided I wanted to pursue that before I went into filmmaking. 

Lets talk about the New Familiar series which captures ordinary objects. What does the oxymoronic title mean to you? New Familiar is more meant as a phrase, such as “This is my new familiar” or “this is my new home.” Even though the words are contradictory they aren’t meant to be opposing, but rather a sort of an open and honest title. I photographed this work when I first moved to New York and though the place was very new to me through exploring and photographing this work it became known. So the fact that the photographs of very domestic and everyday landscapes and scenes simply reflects what the title means. It’s not a very deep project in that regard, but it was important to my development as it was a huge undertaking when compared to how I photographed before.

What have been some of your favorite moments in your photography? Maybe this is supposed to be about my own experiences, but nothing I’ve done so far really holds steadfast against events that have happened in the past. Personally, I’d go with James C. Maxwell’s experiments with human perception of color and how that lead him to make the first permanent color photograph using the additive RGB process. That’s cool stuff. 

Your series Company features compositions of two images next to one another; how did you decide which images to juxtapose together? Company is sequenced like this because it was, quite simply, the easiest and cleanest way to show a multi-format project (both 120 and 35mm). The original idea was to have the 35mm photographs as sort of footnotes to the main content and were to be placed after 4 or so medium format images. But once the project was finished and I cut more and more photographs out of the main sequence it was clear it was going to be a smaller project than I initially thought. So the 35mm took a more equalized role in the order in the end and it was only recently that I decided to place two 35mm photographs in one slide (they were separate like the medium format was and still is). All in all, they really were sequenced in a rather normal way , i.e., what looks good next to each other, how a photo leads into the next one, and so on. 

I’m very much a tweaker and my edit of photographs, sequences, and the like is always an ongoing process. I have learned that there is always way to make something work better, even if it means taking away content from a project or reediting a photograph that has been out for a year or more. Nothing else is fixed in time so why should your work be?

What projects have you been working on recently? I’ve been working on a long term project called Broad Way since last year, which is to be a sort of modern pastoral fixated on the southern US (where I have lived most of my life). 

Also there are a couple small short term projects I am photographing at the moment. The most current is titled Umbra and it’s mostly inspired by the physics/transmission of light and camera tricks.

More of Andrew’s work can be found on his website and blog.

Text: Daniel Griffiths

Twitter | Sign up for our monthly newsletter | Facebook

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER | MILES DIXON

Miles Dixon is a young photographer who captures the raw scenes of New York City. His body of work serves as a visual diary of the assortment of characters and incidents taking place in this metropolis every day. BITE interviews him to discover more:

Could you tell us a little bit about your history? When did you first take a serious interest in photography? I was born and raised in New Hampshire on 200 acres of my cousins’ farmland. A pretty “Good ol’ American” sort of thing. I now live in Manhattan with my future wife Dini, who’s an artist, where I freelance and work in television and movies in the Camera Department. I didn’t start taking photography seriously until I went to live with my sister in California when I was seventeen, and discovered her 35mm Nikon. I tried to get a job as an assistant shortly after that, for a pretty big photographer, and he tore me apart about everything I didn’t know. He really laid it on thick, so it hurt, but it was definitely a turning point as far as seriousness goes.

So much of your work is about documenting New York - especially elements that aren’t traditionally seen in the media and tourism - what draws you to the city? Is there a favourite spot in the city for shooting? I like New York because it can always surprise you, and because there is a never-ending supply of material. I shoot a lot uptown, because that’s where I live, but my cameras go where I go. I don’t see much of a point in narrowing where I shoot so I don’t plan on taking pictures in New York City for the rest of my life.

What attracts you to certain people or subjects? Usually I’m attracted to multiple people or things that can form an equation. Colors are also very important. I want a picture to be capable of saying something different through repeated viewings.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen happen on the streets of New York? Most people see a decent amount of “crazy” every day. Crazy is okay, if you can avoid it, and usually just means someone shouting at you manically. Last June I found myself in the middle of the largest shooting/stabbing of the summer, where I sixteen year old girl died from a stray bullet wound. Hundreds of people panicked, and lots of fights broke out. I was so focused on taking pictures of what had happened that I didn’t realize how much danger my girlfriend and I were in by being there. It’s a scary situation; you’ve worked your way in, but you’re not sure how to get out. “Crazy” isn’t the right word for it.

One of my favourite series is ‘Fallowing R.A. Cohen’, which seems somewhat at odds with your more documentary work, could you explain a bit more about this series? ‘Fallowing R.A. Cohen’ is a subjective experiment in storytelling. I want people to be able to follow an orthodox Jewish Man down the street and take whatever they want from that experience. I think that never showing his face is an important perspective. The name “R.A. Cohen” comes from a plaque at the door entrance in the last frame of the sequence.

More of Miles’s work can be found here.

Text: Daniel Griffiths

Twitter | Sign up for our monthly newsletter | Facebook

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER | ROSLYN JULIA

New York-based photographer Roslyn Julia’s photography explores human existence and memory through her exploration of perspective and filters. BITE interviews her to find out more about her artistic practice:

Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself and your history. What lead you to study photography? I am from a small town in Western New York. At the age of four or five I got a Polaroid instant camera for christmas and I’ve had a sense of comfort with a camera ever since. When I was growing up I would have a camera with me everywhere I went, taking photographs of my friends, family and surroundings. I remember being a sophomore in high school and really pondering what I was going to “do” when I left high school. I had a strong liking to photography but it had never clicked before that I could actually use my talent and make it a profession. After achieving my two year degree in Fine Arts & Design at the community college in my home town I applied and got into the BFA program at The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. This fall I will be entering my senior year. 

A lot of your work looks at perspective - either as a passenger or from the sky in the ‘Above’ series - what draws you to this? All of my work embodies seeing something through my eyes. I have a strong interest with how people perceive their surroundings and how we all take in information and filter it in different ways. My images show in a way how I feel about my own place in the world. By putting this out for other people to see I hope to provoke the viewer to contemplate how they perceive or feel about their own existence. 

An interesting feature of your photography is the hazy-quality - especially in the ‘Fleeting’ series - which almost suggests that the camera can’t quite capture that moment or memory. Is this something that you wished to convey in this series? Yes, that is exactly it. I’d like the image to show a fleeting moment, which is similar to a memory in that it will never be remembered in its full clarity. I think that a camera can simulate reality but will never be successful in showing the totality of what is there. After all it is a two dimensional representation of what we see, why should it attempt to emulate reality? The hazy quality could represent how people see through different filters and layers (either literal or figurative), hopefully it can also open up interpretations and evoke an emotion or thought in the viewer. 

Which artists/photographers have greatly influenced your work and aesthetic? Although I am inspired by many impressionistic painters and several photographers, my work is influenced more by nature and the people around me. Artists that I really enjoy are Todd Hido, Uta Barth, Richard Misrach, Claude Monet and Georgia O’Keefe

Could you talk through the ‘Passenger’ series for us? My favourite photographs are the ones where the landscape is so distorted from the rain that they’re almost like photographic impressionist paintings. Beautiful! The ‘Passenger’ series started out with experiments of shooting through the windshield of the car at night, exploring with light and distortion. I started to do it more in the daylight, and from there I discovered the different shapes and colors that could be created by focusing on the immediate foreground and abstracting the background. Focusing on the window and raindrops allows for something to be in clear focus while creating the look of a painting (thanks for noticing!). Exploring landscapes while in a moving vehicle, looking through glass allows for the impression of being in or interacting with the landscape without actually doing so. This represents a barrier between the viewer and the nature that is beyond.

Are there any projects that you’re currently working on, or planning to in the near future? Yes, I am planning to start doing a series of portraits of the people closest to me over the summer along with various other side and continuing the projects I already have.

More of her photography can be found here.

Text: Daniel Griffiths

Twitter | Sign up for our monthly newsletter | Facebook

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER | ZARA PFEIFER

Although German photographer Zara Pfeifer has not been actively photographing for a lengthy period of time, her documentation of her personal life through her work shows a deft handling of light and perspective, with a keen eye for interesting details of everyday life. BITE interviews her to discover her influences, history and relationships.

Firstly, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your history? I’m currently based between Berlin and the Austrian woods with both living in a big city and coming to pure nature characterising my life until now. I’ll be finishing my architecture studies soon.

What was the first moment in your life when you realised that you love photography? It was a trip to Morocco with my father for Christmas 2010 and I used his old camera so it was the first time I shot with film. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and the camera felt like the tool I always desired to handle my emotions. When I saw the results it gave me a huge rush.

Who would you regard as some of your biggest influences, both in your work and beyond? Everything influences me; everything that gives me emotions influences the photos that I take. It could be my dearest friends, my uncle who lives in the mountains, an awkward situation, a dog or a music piece. It could be a talk with an old friend, interesting forms of ordinary things or just unfamiliarity, although my mother is the most influential person in my life. 

A lot of your photography documents your life, do you use it as a type of visual diary? Until recently I haven’t planned what to shoot, so the photos are pure, emotional captures of situations in my life and from the people that surround me, so yes, it is a personal diary. Lately I started giving me more defined topics as I am interested in creating a strong visual image and feel the urge to be more courageous.

What interests you the most about people? Their idea of living and how they handle situations. Their gestures and little secrets. Habits. How people arrange and move themselves in space. Communication between people and awkward situations in everyday life.  I like getting to know people and learning from their detours to figure out life. I am interested in sharing and leaving traces in each other’s lives. 

Tell us a little bit about the Zara and Paul Tumblr. Why the separation from your other photography? Zara and Paul is a blog I have with my love Paul. He also is a photographer and surely one big influence for me. It was our need to have a visual board for us to share the situations we experienced together.  The combination of photos in two columns allows us to give it a narrative aspect.

More of Zara’s photography can be found on here (Z) and here (Z+P). 

Text: Daniel Griffiths

Twitter | Sign up for our monthly newsletter | Facebook