An interview with Matt Weber
An interview with Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
RH: tell us about yourself.
MW: I was born in NYC 1958 and studied oil painting with Nicolai Abracheff who was one of Picasso’s contemporaries and a noted cubist as well. Went to Music & Art high school but unfortunately dropped out to pursue “art” on New York’s subways. I am completely self-taught
in photography, although I did use all three of the books written by Ansel Adams (The Print, The Negative and The Camera) I recommend these books to anyone interested in learning photography.
I started taking photos of the NYC streets while I was driving a Yellow cab back in ’84 The things I had been seeing late at night were so intense that I found myself always saying to myself “I’ve got to get a camera!”
Copy right - Matt Weber
Planning
RH: What attracted and inspired you to your current documentary project?
MW: I don’t have any new projects. I just shoot New York City. The projects sometimes reveal themselves when I notice I have been shooting a particular subject over and over again.
RH: Can you talk us through the planning stage for your project?
MW: There is no planning. I just shoot every day, whatever I see.
RH: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
MW: Yes. I wish I had shot a lot more back in the 80s and 90s.
Copy right - Matt Weber
Implementation and Completion
RH: How have you dealt with any challenges and difficulties within your project?
MW: The biggest challenge was switching to digital as I had to learn many different facets of this new media including Photoshop and other programs.
RH: How long do your projects tend to take from start to finish?
MW: In 2003, I started two “projects”. I started shooting Coney Island and the NYC Subway system. The two projects remain ongoing and will probably continue until I die.
Copy right - Matt Weber
Editing and Sequencing
RH: Do have several images to edit of one fleeting moment or do you have one well-constructed precise image that you have captured?
MW: I always look for the best image out of a sequence.
RH: Within the editing stages, have you felt the project has taken on a different narrative than first envisaged?
MW: In 2013, I switched from Black & White to Color photography. My approach has remained the same.
Copy right - Matt Weber
Tips and hints
RH: What would you recommend for people starting their own photographic project?
MW: Pick something you enjoy photographing otherwise it will feel like work.
RH: Does the camera really matter?
MW: No.
RH: Any books you would recommend reading to get the creativity started?
MW: Figments from the New World by Garry Winogrand.
RH: Would you recommend attending photography workshops?
MW: No. It’s all about trial and error. Mistakes are the best teacher as you will hate making them, and become better as you learn to avoid repeating them…
website: http://mattweberphotos.com
Copy right - Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
Copy right - Matt Weber
An interview with Ian weldon
An interview with Ian Weldon
copy right- Ian Weldon
RH: Tell me a little about yourself?
IW: I’m Ian from the UK and I’m a wedding photographer, but don’t really see myself as a wedding photographer. I feel more like a street photographer that photographs weddings.
About 5 or 6 years ago I took the plunge and agreed to photograph a wedding. Before that I was doing family portraits in a studio and was going nowhere fast. I’d become bored and demotivated as my route into photography was through photographers like Elliot Erwitt & Martin Parr, I was unfulfilled to say the least.
So I did it, that thing that I said I’d never do, weddings. In my naive mind it was beneath me. I can’t say that I enjoyed it at first but as I shot more weddings I started to approach them more like a street photographer and was making images of real life, with all of its beauty and grotesqueness.
copy right- Ian Weldon
Planning
RH: What attracted and inspired you to your current documentary project?
IW: I have a couple of ongoing projects at the moment, I’m always photographing something. I’m drawn to different subjects though a mixture of curiosity and duty, I suppose.
RH: Can you talk us through the planning stage for your project?
IW: I’ve never really thought about planning, projects just seem to present themselves and I follow my instinct. I go and photograph and the story will will become apparent, eventually. It’s more about finding my relationship to the subject than it is about executing a plan.
If the photograph was the ultimate goal then what would I compromise on along the way to get there.
RH: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
IW: I doubt that really matters. As long as I approach everything with a pure intent I’ll end up somewhere. Different is not necessarily better, or worse.
copy right- Ian Weldon
Implementation and Completion
RH: How have you dealt with any challenges and difficulties within your project?
IW: The only difficulty I come across, more recently, in suspicion. The age of instagram and facebook have made people more aware of the photographs taken. Even as little as 10-15 years ago there was no real perception of where, or how, the photographs would be used. But this goes back to intent. Understanding what, and why, you are doing goes a long way in that reassurance.
RH: How long do your projects tend to take from start to finish?
IW: Everything is always ongoing. Once I feel like I have enough of a body of work to accurately represent the subject then I will naturally move onto something else. I do have a couple of stories within my ongoing projects that will be released as such, but I’m by no means done with that subject.
copy right- Ian Weldon
Editing and Sequencing
RH: Do have several images to edit of one fleeting moment or do you have one well-constructed precise image that you have captured?
IW: I’m certainly not going in with a preconceived idea of how things should look, (I do have a way of shooting that produces a certain aesthetic), so in that sense I will have more than one image of a specific moment/scene. The photograph I want from that scene may not become apparent for some time, but it eventually will.
RH: Within the editing stages, have you felt the project has taken on a different narrative than first envisaged?
IW: I’m trying not to start with an idea of narrative so all of my projects have an unpredictable nature. Some grow into projects, and others fall by the wayside because of waning interest or my inability to connect with the subject.
copy right- Ian Weldon
Tips and hints
RH: What would you recommend for people starting their own photographic project?
IW: Shoot what is of interest to you, not what you think might be of interest to others and, approach you subject with a mature sensibility.
RH: Does the camera really matter?
IW: Only in the sense that it’s the device that captures the image itself.
RH: Any books you would recommend reading to get the creativity started?
IW: I could name 100 books that were of interest to me, but that might not be fitting for someone else. I would recommend that you just be curious, to find something of interest and follow that thread. It could take you somewhere completely unexpected and your learning would be unique to you.
I learned more about photography, and myself, by understanding the motivations of photographers that I ever did by looking at their photographs.
RH: Would you recommend attending photography workshops?
IW: I have spent a long time shooting weddings and that industry is saturated with pointless workshops that promise fame and fortune. I can see this trend in street and documentary photography, too. These, I’m my mind, are nothing but a hindrance to progression. Don’t give your money to anyone that claims to have all of the answers.
Workshops can be incredibly beneficial, and a good teacher can inspire and motivate you. Just do some research, and do it for the right reasons.
Website: http://ianweldon.com
copy right- Ian Weldon
copy right- Ian Weldon
copy right- Ian Weldon
An interview with Stephen Leslie
An interview with Stephen Leslie
Copy right Stephen Leslie
RH: Who is Stephen Leslie?
SL: Stephen Leslie is a writer, film maker and photographer based in London. His films have been shown on the BBC and Channel 4 and his photographs have been used as album and book covers and even on bottles of beer. His ongoing project about the festival of Purim was included in the Unseen London anthology published in 2017 by Hoxton Mini-Press and his first, solo book, 'SPARKS – Adventures In Street Photography' which combines images taken over the past twenty years with original short stories was published by Unbound / Penguin in 2018. Stephen still shoots all of his work on film and occasionally dresses up as giant panda, although it is not thought that these two activities are in any way linked.
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Planning
RH: What attracted and inspired you to your current documentary project?
SL: My current / ongoing project is on the Jewish festival of Purim and particularly how it is celebrated by the ultra Orthodox Hasidic community in North London's Stamford Hill. I was attracted to it mainly because It takes place near to where I used to live, and it only happens once a year and, being Jewish myself but totally un-religious, I thought I'd pop along and have look. That was 7 years ago. It's now the most important photographic day in my year and I'm totally obsessed with documenting it as it's truly unlike anything I've ever photographed before.
RH: Can you talk us through the planning stage for your project?
SL: Initially there was no planning at all, I just turned up and started taking photos. Over the subsequent years I have made a few contacts who I now try and meet up with a bit on the day but the truth is that because it is so concentrated around a single day there isn't that much planning you can do other than to make sure to have you enough film and batteries, wear comfy shoes and pack some sandwiches.
RH: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
SL: Not really, it's a very closed community which I have minimal access to – even though I am Jewish I'm nowhere near as Jewish as the people I'm photographing and so, weirdly, it's me who's treated as being unusual by them, which I quite enjoy. So I don't think I could get much closer. I relish the public element of it all and this helps fit with the style of street photography and street portraits I like to take.
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Implementation and Completion
RH: How have you dealt with any challenges and difficulties within your project?
SL: The main problems with this project are really all practical, to do with time and physical space. It only really happens one day a year (there is some stuff going on at night too but I'm not overly keen on flash) so it's a frantic burst of activity for one day a year and then nothing else for another year. Then there's the fact that Stamford Hill is quite big and spread out with thousands of people going back and forth for the entire day and so I'm running about with up to three cameras trying to cover as much as possible. So it's a physical problem as much as anything else.
RH:How long do your projects tend to take from start to finish?
SL: No idea. Most of my other work is 'conventional' street photography that is ongoing and can take as long or as short a time as I wish. This project is different because (as I might have mentioned already) I can only do it one day a year. So, even though I've been doing it for 7 years now, it's effectively only really one week's work. Although because of the amount I shoot it has also splintered in to mini-projects taken from within the greater whole.
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Editing and Sequencing
RH: Do you have several images to edit of one fleeting moment or do you have one well-constructed precise image that you have captured?
SL: I don't shoot like this and can't shoot like this because I'm still on film. I always try to look for content and a story that can be conveyed by a single image, shooting a sequence of images just isn't my style. Also it's virtually impossible (for me at least) to do on a 50 year old medium format camera!
RH: Within the editing stages, have you felt the project has taken on a different narrative than first envisaged?
SL: Yes, as explained above, I have started on several mini-projects that have arisen from recurrent themes I've noticed over the years. I've got a series of people in windows and another of people in cars bioth of which are motifs that I've noticed over the years and then returned to again and again. So it's an organic, living thing. Plus I anticipate doing this for many, many more years so I'm hopeful it will change and grow over time.
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Tips and hints
RH: What would you recommend for people starting their own photographic project?
SL: Find something you have a link to. While anyone can (and does) shoot Purim, I feel it has helped me understand my own heritage and this community a lot better. In a not too different world, I could be one of the Ultra Orthodox people I'm photographing and having that connection, no matter how slight, has definitely informed my approach.
RH: Does the camera really matter?
SL: Yes and no. Obviously different cameras and lenses can help you achieve different things. For this project I've been shooting both medium format and 35mm. I tend to do formal-ish street portraits with the medium format and more candid street stuff on 35mm. This is important to me because I think the two different styles of photographs I'm getting reflect the huge variety within both the day and the community.
RH: Any books you would recommend reading to get the creativity started?
SL: My book, SPARKS, obviously.
RH: Would you recommend attending photography workshops?
SL: Again, yes, but only ones run by me. Honestly, I think that workshops can be brilliant but no workshop can transform your photography in two or three days. At best they can start you thinking in different ways and help you to push yourself but there are many other (and cheaper) ways of doing that besides workshops.
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Copy right Stephen Leslie
Copy right Stephen Leslie
An interview with Christian Reister
An interview with Christian Reister
copy right- Christsian Reister
RH: Who is Christian Reister?
Christian Reister has been living and working in Berlin for almost 20 years. The city and its inhabitants are the main inspiration for his photographic work which sits somewhere between documentary, street, and portrait photography.
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Planning
RH: What attracted and inspired you to your current documentary project?
CR: My Berlin Nights series started when I switched from color to black/white photography around the year 2011. I chose film and simple point+shoot cameras and tried out a lot in the beginning. I always had the small cameras with me and took a lot of pictures at night. After a year or so I realized by looking at what I got, that this may be my “new project” and I focused more on my night photography.
RH:Can you talk us through the planning stage for your project?
CR:There isn't much planning. I just had the camera with me wherever I went and took a lot of pictures. I had a wild mixture of documentary photography, city scapes, portraits, blurry abstract thing etc. The most creative part for me is always the editing process when I throw out tons of images to get the core and create a good series.
RH: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
CR: No. I may be doing things differently with other projects and series but it is always a learning by doing process and that's essential. I believe, you learn the most by making mistakes and not being afraid to fail.
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Implementation and Completion
RH: How have you dealt with any challenges and difficulties within your project?
CR: The series took many years and I was putting together several exhibitions and books with that imagery. When you are working such a long time with your own images, it is good to involve other people along the way. People whose work you like and who are better than you in different fields (designers, curators, publishers...)
RH: How long do your projects tend to take from start to finish?
CR: Between 3 days to 10 years (and still going....)
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Editing and Sequencing
RH: Do have several images to edit of one fleeting moment or do you have one well-constructed precise image that you have captured?
CR: Both. And anything inbetween. It depends.
RH: Within the editing stages, have you felt the project has taken on a different narrative than first envisaged?
CR: The project was always developping and changing, that's why I do it. It's all in flux. An like I said - there wasn't much planning anyway.
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Tips and hints
RH: What would you recommend for people starting their own photographic project?
CR: Take your time! Good work takes years or decades. Try out a lot, make mistakes and learn from them. There is no need to hurry.
RH: Does the camera really matter?
CR:You should be happy with your working tool, whatever it is. That matters I think.
RH: Any books you would recommend reading to get the creativity started?
CR: It really depends on what project and style you are working on. I always learn a lot by looking at other people's work, exhibitions and books. The big names of course, but also the local scene, people working in other fields of art, underground stuff.
RH: Would you recommend attending photography workshops?
CR: Yes. Especially in the beginning and at the hobby stage it can help you lot to learn from good teachers and to get to know like-minded photographers. If you take it more seriously you should look for long time seminars on photo schools. I had a 2 years course with Andres Rost and 2 years seminar with Ute Mahler/Ostkreuzschule Berlin about 15 years ago and I think I still profit from both. Both, photographically and personally.
My links:
https://www.christianreister.com
https://www.instagram.com/christianreister
NEW BOOK:
Christian Reister - Berlin Nights
https://hoxtonminipress.com/products/berlin-nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
Copy right-Christain Reister- Berlin nights
An interview with Daniele Dainelli
An interview with Daniele Dainlli
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli
RH: Who is Daniele?
DD: Daniele Dainelli approached the world of photography in the winter of 2012, when he bought his first reflex camera just for fun, as almost everyone does. His focus is on street photography, since Florence offers some of the most beautiful settings ( and faces ) in the world.
He started to discover the pleasure of wandering in the cities of the world, catching with his eye, every kind of possible beauty.
He toured lots of Europe nations and USA bringing back some important photographic project.
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Planning
RH: What attracted and inspired you to your current documentary project?
DD: India has always attracted me, there is a spectacular feeling about traveling so far away from home looking for new cultures.I’m really happy about the final result of my project “Struggle For Saints” and the printed zine that I’ve made. I’ve seen so many classic and famous photos about India, sadhus, colours and stuff like that.For this reason I wanted to create a project with a new/non-common point of view, creating a dualism between ordinary life and religious life. People aim to the after life ,that’s the most important thing to reach in their lives, and this thing really impressed me. Life in India is very tough and rude, people work 15 hours per day, they only rest few hours and then they are ready to start again his job. But they don’t mind, that’s life.
RH: Can you talk us through the planning stage for your project?
DD: My girlfriend Irene, helped me a lot planning this trip and this photo-project, city after city. I decided to stay a longer period in Varanasi during the Shiva Festival ( and I’m really happy to made this choice :) ), because that city could offer me lot of magic sets and incredible faces. My whole trip to India lasted one month, full of positive things and negative things, like my food poisoning ehehe! I toured India with trains, flights and also a car ( that brought me through the countryside far away from big cities), what a great experience !
RH: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
DD: No there’s nothing I wish I had done in a different way from mine.There’s only one thing that make me sad : when I was in Jodhpur, I got a terrible food poisoning, and I’ve missed 3 days of my journey in the blue city. I was waiting for a long time to wonder through the little blue alleys, but in that case, luck wasn’t walking with me !
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Implementation and Completion
RH: How have you dealt with any challenges and difficulties within your project?
DD: My biggest challenge about my “Struggle For Saints project”, has been to do the edit of my whole pack of pictures. I had to cancel lots of good pictures, but in my personal opinion they didn’t fit into the message and idea of my project. You have to choose only the essential, every single piece of the puzzle has to be a part of you story. I also have to say thanks to some great street photographers that helped me into the creation of this project and then the zine that I printed, like Salvatore Matarazzo, Gianluca Morin and Lorenzo Catena.
RH: How long do your projects tend to take from start to finish?
DD: I don’t exactly know how long my project will be. It’s a choice that I plan during my trip, shot after shot. it could depend on various things. I decided to stay one month in India, and for me it was ok. It would have been so difficoult to stay more, I was so tired when I returned home. I’ve also been working on another project for 3 years, about my city, Florence, and that’s is a different way of taking pictures and planning the storyline of a project. I don’t know when it will be ready, I think it will last 2 or 3 years more maybe…
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Editing and Sequencing
RH: Do have several images to edit of one fleeting moment or do you have one well-constructed precise image that you have captured?
DD: In India I had a different approach with people, I decided to stay a little bit far from the subject than I usually do with my tipycal flash portraits, in order to involve the smell of the city, the chaos of the alleys, the holy rivers. I enjoyed a lot the changeling of my style for that month. I was with my camera every day, shooting at every single hour. Don’t get distracted by “common places” typical of India.
RH: Within the editing stages, have you felt the project has taken on a different narrative than first envisaged?
DD: Yes, while the editing was going on, the project was getting more “powerful”. I think it’s a common thing for every photographer who try to create a story. It is impossibile to create a project without a deep touch of editing. As I said in the previous questions, some photographers helped me a lot . That’s the beauty of street photography, to share the passion! The editing of my whole pack of pictures lasted more than one month. Then I started to plan and create the photo-couples, that are the guideline of my “Struggle For Saints” project.
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Tips and hints
RH: What would you recommend for people starting their own photographic project?
DD: I’d recommend to read books, learning from other photographers. Another important thing to know, i wanna tell to all the people who shot street photography, follow your heart, don’ take pictures for fun, do it with a personal idea. First You have to plan something, and then you can plan the shot ! Shot everywhere , city, countryside, seaside. Try to re-inspire you buying some new photography books or zines. In street photography there are no rules, every photographer has its own style and how to approach the strangers , don’t be scared and keep your eye trained.
RH: Does the camera really matter?
DD: Camera it’s not important. To me the most important thing is to be comfortable, I shoot with Fujifilm xe2, it’s old but it is very light to use and to keep on the shoulders for many hours! Now I know “her” very much, and it’s hard to separate each other ehehe :)
RH: Any books you would recommend reading to get the creativity started?
DD: I’ve got some books to recommend :
1) The eyes of the city - richard sandler
2) Open at noon - Marc Alor Powell
3) Charles Traub - Dolce via
4) After the off - Bruce Gilden
5) Nick Hannes - Mediterranean. the Continuity of the Man
6) Wim Wenders - Written in The West
7) Martin Parr - Life’s a Beach
8) Harry Gruyaert - Morocco
9) Dougie Wallace - Road Wallah
10) Alex Prager - Silver Lake Drive
RH: Would you recommend attending photography workshops?
DD: Yes of course, photo workshops are useful to start creating your way of thinking, your way to create, your way to catch the decisive moment, your way to start to understand what will your photographic style will be.
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
Copy Right-Daniele Dainlli - Struggle For Saints
DD: checkout my Instagram and Website
instagram : https://www.instagram.com/daniele_dainelli/
website : https://danieledainelli.carbonmade.com