Welcome to Classics Magazine, it’s an honor to have you as our very 1st featured artist, please introduce yourself to our readers. Where are you from originally, where is home now?
Thanks for having me. I’m originally from Peru - born there to a British father and Peruvian mother. I live in Brighton on the South Coast of the UK not too far from London.
What inspired you to shoot with film?
A friend loaned me his Olympus OM-1 just before I was taking a trip to Peru in 2016 and it went from there really. Film was always a consideration, but when shooting digitally, with its ease and convenience, it's hard to justify a change that carries with it an ongoing cost.
Tell us about your journey into photography. Do you recall the first picture you ever took?
Sadly not the first - it was probably terrible though. I shot video for years, but became disenchanted with the inability to realize a vision i had in mind - due to budget, time etc. Photography began as an outlet, but in understanding it more and more, it has become my main focus.
You say photography is about exploration, both technically and aesthetically. Can you elaborate?
I think I said that a while ago, where I still felt like both things were still something I was struggling to bring together seamlessly. I do still feel I’m at the beginning of my journey - and I can see that, purely but how much i learn from each time i fire my shutter, or get negatives back. I think there are things that you learn as you go along that you didn’t even think of at the beginning - things like the relationship of color to mood, or the type of light and how it makes you feel. In order to achieve the right feel for your photography, you have to understand your equipment and tools fully.
Can you talk about patience in film, as you mention in your blog?
I think it teaches you more about the finer details. I think it's become a cliche to say that it forces you to slow down - which is true, but it's more about what that means. You just become more finely tuned and hyper aware - the fact you can’t check your LCD puts you in a different state, where you have to take more care. Negs come back underexposed? Well, you either learn to expose correctly or you give up. Hopefully, the former, haha!
How would you describe your style?
I’m not sure, things change quite a lot with me - I think it depends on what I’m doing, but I like unusual things - things that make me stop in my tracks. Sometimes its purely aesthetic, but the best things are those things that make you wonder - How? Why? When? or Who? With ARCADIA, my most recent work, it's this framework, but focused on the UK and it’s peculiarities. However, this is also a very personal work at its core.
Do you have a favorite photograph?
I’m sure I do, but in recent times i tend to get more joy from seeing a body of work and how I'm being told a story rather than the power of a single image.
Who are your favorite cinematographers and photographers?
Photographers: I was recently wowed by Robin Friend and “Bastard Countryside” - an epic, telling and very beautiful body of work. Rosalind Fox Solomon comes to mind, Harry Gruyaert, Luigi Ghirri, Sabine Weiss, the list is almost never ending. With Cinematography, I’ve always loved Roger Deakins and his ability to make you feel lie he hasn’t lit a scene - so you can concentrate on the storyline rather than pointing out the cinematography. Others would be Jordan and Jeff Cronenweth, Frederick Elmes and Vittorio Storaro to name a few.
Who is you favorite filmmaker?
A tough one, but I always seem to gravitate towards anything by David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson and the Cohen brothers.
What is your favorite camera?
I’m not sure I really have one, they all serve their own unique purpose. I guess my Mamiya 7 II still wows me for what it can do time after time. It always, without fail, supersedes my expectations.
What inspires and influences you today?
Not a lot, haha! Ive taken a break from consuming culture recently - I’m working off my reserves, haha! Really though, i’m not too plugged in at the moment, I consume information but no so much film and TV at the moment. I’m sure that will change, but for now, I’m Ok working off what I’ve learn and been influenced by throughout my life.
What is your creative process?
I tend to research things a lot online - lots of google street view, and various other sources to find locations with a likelihood to yield the right images.
Where in the world would be your dream location to shoot?
It used to be the US - to be able to go back to live there and use it as a vast photographic playground. But, things change - now, my viewpoint is that I’d like to go to lesser explored places and becoming embedded in order to figure out what the vibe is - not just the top- notes. That means lots of walking, lots of talking and lots of thinking.
What are your favorite publications & websites?
ItsNiceThat is always a great source of inspiration, aintbad, Aperture magazine and Loupe have been favorites for a while.
What is your favorite book, feature film and music album?
I’m not sure I have a favorite anything, but I wouldn't have a problem with saying that Gabriel Garcia Marquez “A Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is a fave, film I guess “Paris, Texas” and music album - John Fahey’s “The Yellow Princess”.
Any upcoming projects we can look forward to?
Yes, my new book ARCADIA is taking pre-orders now and will begin to ship in mid-March.
