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) She goes by the name {Bright Fizz}. I found her on the 365 group and I was hooked. I am all about natural, candid photos that show who a person really is, and she nailed it for me. I’ve also met many friends through flickr. My friend Micahel Deppisch started doing photography around the same time as me, and wow. He’s pretty amazing. And he inspires me not only in his ability to get good posed photos of people (which I feel I cannot do yet), but just in the fact that he’s moving so fast in his photography. Really talented. () So, yeah. Real people inspire me. Not so much people who I can’t discuss things with.
I notice a strong storytelling element in your work. Do you consider yourself a portrait photographer? What do you attempt to capture in your work when you photograph people?
Yes, I would consider myself a portrait photographer. I’ve tried taking pictures of stuff or buildings. Ha! It just doesn’t work for me. People work. When I’m taking a photo of someone, I do not pose them. I ask them to be themselves, which is pretty funny because once you say that, they can’t. It’s just human reaction I guess. But I am a very silent photographer. Especially at events, weddings, engagements, I might ask for them to kiss or hold hands or something like that, but I try to catch those moments where they are talking to each other, or where something catches their eye, and then capture THAT moment.I guess that’s the best way I can explain it: I am all about capturing a moment. And I want to get a photo that shows a person for who they are and I will stand there still for five minutes, taking five million photos until I get that ONE shot. And I like to call that shot “money”.
I have flipped through both your flikr and your personal sites. I have some favorite pictures but do you have some all time favorites in there and what are they?
My favorites? Hmmm….”Mitch, let’s go sailing” is one of my new favorites.My porch series, I love. And to explain, I have a neat little porch and I take photos of anyone in my life as we sit and have conversations on my porch. And then, we do something silly. And I document it via photograph.
Oh, Megan and her brother. I did these photos for my friend Megan. She wanted photographs for her parents for Christmas and they were the most beautiful things.
These three specifically:
Actually, that last one, I think thats my favorite photograph that I have ever taken in my life.
Besides this self portrait, which I feel vain for saying is my favorite, but it’s definitely #2.
That’s how I want to be remembered.
So I see you also dabble in comic books. I’m a big fan of them myself. I see you have a whole Anti-Canada arc, why is that?
Oh boy. I hate this question. I’m not anti-Canada. I would like to say that I really do like Canada. My comics that “make fun” of Canada or “mock” Canada, were written a while ago, and I drew them because it just occurred to me how little I ever hear about Canada, and yet, it’s such a LARGE country. What are they doing up there? So, I just poked fun at it for a while. No hate. Just jokes.You do know a am Canadian right?
Ah man! Is your dog Canadian too!? I am going to steal your dog.What is your favorite thing to shot? And do you have an all time favorite location?
Kids are my favorite thing to shoot. (I hate how bad that sounds.) Kids are completely candid and totally themselves. They do the most unexpected things. They are perfect for the kind of photography that I am going for. And if I could just do children’s photography, I would. No doubt. Especially in third world countries. THAT would be my ultimate dream.All time favorite location… pretty much, anywhere with lots of color, character and textures. Guatemala is the first thing that comes to my mind. What wouldn’t I do to go to Guatemala right now and take photos?
What made you want to start shooting professionally?
In order to explain this, I have to explain my back story–but I’ll make this as quick and painless as possible. I moved to Seattle for a guy and it didn’t work out. BAM! And after I lost my close friends because of it, I was very alone. And I needed hope. So, I had a point and shoot for a while. My ex and my friend Tyler had sort of encouraged me to get into photography for a while, so I thought, alright. I’ll try. So, I got the camera. And I remember my boss (who is a photographer as well) said “What are you going to shoot?” and I said “I don’t know. Stuff.” This was in May of last year. So, I made some friends and thought “Hey, I should try to do some portraits.” So I asked my friend if I could take some photos of her. I did. I edited them for fun. I posted them online. BAM! Wedding offer. It was pretty crazy. I never expected my photography to go anywhere at all. It just happened and I ran with it.Did I mention your work rocks?
What’s that? I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? I didn’t hear you.Did I mention…wait…I see what you did there….do you carry some sort of camera around with you at all times?
I have this really big bag that I keep my camera, flash and extra lens in. It looks like a diaper bag. I always regret it when I don’t bring it around. Always. Something amazing always happens when I forget it or don’t feel like bringing it. So yeah, I try to always have my camera with me. And who knows, maybe it’s actually doing me good. Maybe guys stay away from me when I have it because they think I have a baby.What inspires you in life?
Are you ready for the most cliché answer ever?Love.
Love inspires me. Most photographs that I take are in the context of relationship, friendship, family, whatever. Somehow, love is always in the mix. Love will bring out the best in you. Love can break you down. But it’s real. I love the reality of happiness, joy and all those things associated with it. To capture emotion, you have to have emotion. And someday, I want to capture the uniqueness of who you are and all the emotion behind it.
Check out Jessica Evalyn Valle’s featured gallery on Playtime Magazine, or head over to her personal photography website or Viyay Comics.
Edited by Tracy McCusker.
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