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Photographer Interview: Mila, AKA We The People 

“solar nimbus”
“Song of wind”
“green melancholy”
“the sun always comes back”
“Stone of tranquility”

I’m a sucker for golden hour photography, especially with portraits. That’s why I was so drawn to photographer Mila’s work on her Flickr gallery, We The People.

Especially that second shot, “song of wind.” So carefree and honest. That shot made me want to reach out and learn more.

Something I’ve noticed, seeing more and more photography, is all the great stuff coming out of Russia. Talent is world-wide, but there’s something about Russian photographers – they keep popping up in my Tumblr and Instagram feed.

Here’s my chat with Mila.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Mila, and I’m a photographer from Moscow, Russia.

How did you get started in photography?

As a child, I played with Dad’s film cameras. It was the starting point for my interest.

What do you like about your photography?

Photography by itself! 🙂 This is one of the main passions in my life. I’m just happy when I can shoot something.

You take great portraits, but you also explore other photographic subjects. Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

I think creative people draw inspiration from everywhere. Depending on the moment, the mood of different things can cause the need for self-expression through photography.

To be more specific, I’m love nature and sunlight with all my heart. Any natural light, especially at sunrise or sunset, is so beautiful! It’s always inspiring. Photos in this light are always a little magical. Often I see the place first and instantly imagine what theme I want to shoot there.

You capture really great moments with your portraits. How do you get the photos you’re looking for when working with a model?

When I work with a model, the final result is the merit of both of us. With any model, you can always get a couple of good shots, but the work becomes really interesting when the model knows her job and understands what purpose and mood I am pursuing.

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

I really love a free, natural style, with small ethnic and boho elements. I don’t always stick to this theme, but it’s really “mine.”

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

Unfortunately, now my town is in snowy winter, and I don’t like shooting in the studio. Therefore, I have many ideas, and and all of them are waiting for the arrival of spring and warmth.

Check out more of Mila’s work on her Flickr gallery. You can also check out her blog, We The People. 

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Photographer Interview: Kathryn Trattner

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Kathryn Trattner and I write and photograph things. I work full time for the Metropolitan Library, my local library system in Oklahoma City, and when I’m not second shooting I spend the rest of my free time with my two toddlers.

How did you get started in photography?

I started taking photography seriously about a year ago. A very dear friend (@robynicks) is a talented wedding photographer and she needed an assistant. I volunteered and loved it. It’s so amazing to be included in someone’s big day, to see everything come together, and Robyn is amazing and fun to work with. Over time assisting became second shooting, I bought a DSLR, and photography has taken over my life. In a good way.

What do you like about your photography?

I love the details. I make a point of noticing them because so often they’re the first things I forget. I tend to get lost in the big picture stuff so it’s nice to take a moment and notice something that might otherwise be overlooked. Especially at weddings, you remember the faces and the main event, but it’s easy to forget how the flowers looked or the lace on a dress. Those little things add a layer of richness to memory.

Right now I have a three and one year old and I’m constantly taking pictures of their hands or feet, photos of them sitting with their backs to me. I’m always going to remember the big things, like the first tooth or first steps, but the way their hair curled just the tiniest bit after a bath, the little hands no bigger than my palm, I don’t want to forget those either.

You describe your work as capturing details, and little slices of life. Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

Everywhere. I feel like I’m constantly taking pictures in my head, even when I don’t have my iPhone or DSLR handy. Anything and everything can be beautiful or interesting or arresting.

Why is it important for you to capture your surroundings?

Part of my obsession with details in my desire to always add another layer to my writing. I need to be able to paint a picture with words and photographing details feeds my writing. It’s also a nice escape when I’ve sat too long at my computer and it feels like my brain has turned to mush.

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

I’m not sure there are any themes to my work. Maybe someone outside looking in would see a pattern but for me there isn’t one.

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

Over the next year I’ll be second shooting lots of weddings and special events. But the biggest thing I’m excited about personally is my upcoming trip to San Francisco. I’m so excited to photograph a city so different from the one I live in.

Follow Kathryn’s work on Instagram and her personal portfolio site.

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Photographer Interview: Kris Matheson

Kris Matheson is a Tokyo-based photographer whose urban and abstract work has been a lot of fun to watch. Kris and I both participate in the On Taking PIctures podcast G+ group, and he keeps an archive of the show’s Photographers of the Week and Weekly Assignments.

What I like about Kris’s work is his exploration of different photo subjects. You’ll see him venture down a certain road, project-wise, and then change gears and create totally different work. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

Where are you and what do you do?

I’m from a small town in Northern Ontario (Canada) but have been living and working in Tokyo for the past nine years. I currently work as a freelance English Language Instructor, and walk around a lot with my camera.

How did you get started in photography?

I got into photography to document my experiences in Japan for family and friends back home, this was way back in 2006. It wasn’t until 2012 that I shifted focus onto what I wanted to photograph to show how I see the world around me. So really, moving to Japan is what got me into photography.

What do you like about your photography?

If I am open and honest, I walk a fine line of having a love-hate relationship with my photography. It’s taken sometime to find what I am interested in rather than shooting to please other people. I like just being able to take my camera with me day after day to explore. I often revisit the same areas — when I have breaks at work I go out, so I’ve been walking some of the same streets for years now and still manage to find something that interests me.

Your photo work is varied and exploratory. Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

Most of my inspiration comes from what I see on the street as I walk around. This past year I started using Instagram and have found it to be a great source of inspiration. I am also inspired by the work of Dennis Hopper, Saul Leiter, and Uta Barth.

What I love about your photo work is that you’re always giving yourself little projects, or themes to explore. Talk about why you feel the need to keep yourself “photo busy.”

Probably one of the best things I started doing in recent years to help keep myself busy is having an Idea Journal (full of terribly bad ideas). This helps me to keep track of places to revisit (and “why”), I also write down interesting things I listened to or read, and things I’ve seen, it’s also a place to write out ideas for images or a project I would like to explore. Some of these ideas get turned into mini-projects, most don’t get posted online since they die shortly after I start them (some live and die inside the pages of my journal). Having this journal is great because I can look back for old ideas and inspiration, and can re-explore when I want. I feel its important to constantly explore the world around me, and having small projects engages and pushes to always be out photographing or thinking about new things.

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

I explore a lot of urban scenes and more recently abstraction, often with the focus more on colour and geometry. As a side project I have also started exploring memory and destruction in photography, there’s a personal project I’ve been working on around that theme and hope to expand it in the coming year — the theme of destruction in art has really been interesting, creating something and then destroying it is fascinating to me, it’s a little more difficult in digital photography but still intriguing to explore.

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

This year I will continue exploring abstraction in photography, and try to incorporate portraits into this theme. I am also working on some collaborations with other photographers and artists, hopefully see what that brings as the year progresses.

See more of Kris’s work on his personal site, and follow along at his Instagram profile.

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Photographer Interview: Tiffany Cornwell

This one is personal – Tiffany Cornwell has shot my family, engagement, wedding, and maternity photos (and my current profile pic)! She’s a family and wedding portrait photographer, local to Jackson, Michigan, who is super fun to work with.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Tiffany Cornwell and I’m the owner and sole photographer of Tiffany Marie Photography LLC. I received a bachelor’s degree in photography from Saginaw Valley State University in December 2011.

How did you get started in photography?

I was about eight or so when my grandpa would come visit from Arizona. On his week-long trips, he would buy me a couple of disposable cameras and tell me to go to town and document whatever I wanted while he was there. Before he left, we would get them developed and we’d check out my photo treasures together. Ever since, I had been known to always have a camera of some sorts all through middle school and high school!

What do you like about your photography?

My own photography excites me. I love that I can capture a moment that turns to a memory. Of course then, through post processing, I’m able to put my own artistic spin on the image to make to my own piece of art.

My favorite pieces have lots of color or emotion in them. I get a sense of joy and pride when I look at images where I shot exactly what I was looking for. I’m also a huge advocate of getting work printed! To see the hours poured into an image, then having it printed seems to bring the moment back to life!

Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

I’m 95% a happy person, so I tend to lean towards images I can produce that emit that same feeling. That could be why I love shooting weddings…the love and happiness in someone’s big day brightly shows in their images.

I love a lighter feel in images. The grungy, dark, mysterious images tend to make me feel anxious, so I shy away from styles that could evoke that within someone else.

For ideas within a session, it usually stems from the person or couple I’m photographing. Seniors tend to have their own sense of style and their own passions, so we try to collaborate for at least a few quirky and unique poses that really shows their personality. One senior played drums for marching band, so we thought it would be cool to put glitter on them so that as she was playing, there would be clouds of glitter flying up. It was captured pretty nicely!

Your work focuses on families and couples, with some portraits in there. How do you get comfortable working with people on these intimate photos?

Meeting with them first beforehand has helped tremendously! Having in-depth discussions about their desires for the session, wardrobe choices, their likes and hobbies, and what they wish to accomplish from their session is key. It breaks the ice for seniors and couples alike to know I’m interested and invested in them. They tend to open up more during their session because they also invested the time to have their session be great and they know what the end goal is.

I’m also a bit quirky, so if they’re still a bit jittery during their session, it doesn’t take long for them to laugh at my clumsiness! Little kids are a bit more work…I tend to get a workout in from jumping around getting them to look my direction and maybe unlock a smile!

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

Love, closeness, growth, future. All things that tend to strengthen a family or a person. As I stated above, I love capturing special moments! I love helping seniors find confidence and strength in themselves through having their portraits done with me. The excitement and relief in a mother’s eyes when she sees I got not one but many great images of her three amazingly independent children make me beam with pride. I adore my brides when they’re crying tears of joy seeing the love between her and her new husband in their photos. I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do for them knowing I did my job to the best of my abilities so they can have memories to cherish forever.

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

I would love to set up a fun bridal shoot with multiple women in bridal gowns and accents of a wedding day to showcase what I love, and perhaps it even becoming a promotional piece for those involved. But it has barely been put to paper so plans are still in brainstorming mode.

I would also love to continue my ferris wheel series throughout 2016. I have three or four favorite images I’ve taken and would love to create a series of fine art images focusing on the ferris wheel that people can purchase as a collection or separate pieces.

You can view more of Tiffany’s work at her Tiffany Marie Photography Facebook page, and her Instagram profile. 

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Photographer Interview: Adam King

If you’re a landscape photographer, it helps to live in a gorgeous part of the world – like Adam King in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I’m always a sucker for mountains, especially the Rockies, so it was great to learn about Adam’s work.

Where are you and what do you do?

I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I’m currently a second year student at Macewan University, taking my Bachelor of Science, hoping one day to get a job in the computer science field! All that aside, I also have a pretty serious artistic side that I like to express mainly through photography nowadays.

How did you get started in photography?

I remember taking my first photograph at the age of 8. I was in Drumheller with my family which is located in the Southern Alberta Badlands. This is an area which is known for its rich fossil deposits and important dinosaur related discoveries. Badlands are landscapes that are intricately eroded, steeply sloped, and largely devoid of vegetation. This area was so new and different to me I remember wanting to capture every little detail about the trip while we were there.

My family eventually noticed how much interest I had in photography and let me take some photos that trip. When we finally got the photos back from the local drugstore, I was given the photos that I had taken in a little scrapbook, which I still have to this day. I must’ve looked through them all a couple dozen times alone that first day. Ever since then, I’ve been interested in documenting and recreating important trips and events in my life through photography.

What do you like about your photography?

I guess what I like most about my photography is being able to return to a certain point in my life through a collection of photos. Getting back into the mindset of 13 year old me, for example, and figuring out why the subject of the photo was important to me is something I find myself doing often while looking at old photos. On a more superficial level, I feel really fortunate to live so close to the Rockies and share them with the world.

You live in very photo-worthy part of the world. Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

I gather inspiration everywhere I can. My time in the National Parks of Alberta are usually spent just walking around (or hiking the side of a mountain) with one or two friends and taking photos of whatever I come across. One of my biggest inspirations when I first joined Tumblr a couple years ago was man-and-camera.com. I really felt the artistic approach behind his work, and it really motivated me to attempt to recreate something similar with my own perspective. Other than that, there definitely isn’t a shortage of great Alberta-based photographers out there to follow.

I notice you do a lot of your landscape work in portrait orientation, which is not typical. Is there a method behind your technique?

I honestly lean towards it out of instinct nowadays. My preference for portrait orientation is definitely heavily influenced by my high school communication technology teacher. He was an outspoken advocate of experimentation with your art and remembering that you can turn the camera on its side and shoot that way too. Since then I find it easier to create interesting compositions with the added vertical space.

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

Documenting nature in all of its forms. Mostly landscapes of Alberta and British Columbia, however I am going to be posting some shots from my trip to London a couple years ago. Fitting an overarching theme isn’t something I’ve really thought too much about. I just find myself always drawn back to nature.

Something I want to do in the upcoming year is diversify a little bit and try out some portrait work. I feel like learning the nuances of a different theme and bringing those ideas into your photography can be really beneficial.

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

As I mentioned above, I definitely want to try some portraits and see how I can integrate that in with my current focus. I also just started as a volunteer at @lensblr-network, helping the team find the best in original photography here on Tumblr. I couldn’t be more excited at this opportunity to broaden my artistic eye and share the best this site has to offer with such a wide audience. It’s a really great feeling finding someone that is more than deserving of recognition for their work and having a hand in facilitating that for them. I’ve already found at least a dozen of artists that I’ve really fallen in love with since starting that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have found!

Follow @adm-kng here on Tumblr for more of Adam’s work, or catch his stuff on his Flickr account. 

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Nicole Cure

Artists In Jackson: Nicole Cure

“I don’t like to be pushy with my art. If they want to come look, they can come look and bring their own viewpoint.”

Call Nicole Cure a natural. She never studied art, never felt like she worked hard at it, and even took a 10-year creative hiatus when her kids were born.

“I never worked hard at it. I was just born with a natural talent,” she says.

That talent is paying off now that Nicole runs a drawing and interior design business out of her home studio. She named the studio Ardis J Studio after her grandmother, Ardis Jane, from whom she inherited some of her artistic ability. 

That natural talent does not mean Nicole doesn’t work hard on her sketches. She often spends 10 to 20 hours on each piece. 

Her customers are now asking for more and more of her custom pieces and original work.

“It’s been fun and crazy busy,” Nicole says. “And I have more work than I thought I’d ever get.”

She says word of mouth is what works. After trying the art show scene for a few years, Nicole found it to be a slog, even if she got a custom job or two. Now, she’s called it quits on art shows, and her workload is still doing just fine.

Nicole works in her small studio in Hanover, which she built a few years ago as her kids went off to school. She found her basement studio cramped, and her handy father-in-law built it in no time flat. Nicole’s studio hosts little tots drawing lessons during the summer, where she teaches basic drawing techniques to first through seventh graders.

“It’s a blast,” she says. “You can usually tell within the first session if the child has a natural ability.”

For her work, Nicole draws inspiration from the world around her: kids, family, animals, and the rural setting. Customers ask her for lots of animal drawings, like horses and dogs.

“I think I’ve done every breed of dog 10 times,” Nicole says.

To experiment, Nicole dabbles in other creative projects, like furniture and interior design. The furniture thing came about because she likes to make her own pieces.

“I would rather not pay top dollar for anything. Furniture is really fun to me,” Nicole says. “I garage sale like bonkers. I love it – it’s a total addiction.”

In fact, if she were to do it over again, Nicole would concentrate on interior design work. She does a few projects here and there, using a style she calls “modern shabby chic,” but she really wants to redo an entire house.

“I use crazy colors. I just have an eye for it,” she says. “Like, my kitchen’s a bright teal. People wake up when they go in.”

Nicole’s kids have an eye for art, too, she says. Two may be better than she ever was. Take her oldest daughter, who draws all the time. Nicole calls her “phenomenal.”

Maybe there’s an art gene in there after all. Take a look around Nicole’s studio, and you will see four pieces hanging up created by her kids. 

“I’ll never take them down,” she says.

Buy the Artists In Jackson book | Ardis J Studio on Facebook

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