Saturday, January 29, 2011

interview: james june park




Your name, and where you live?

James June Park. I currently live in Portland, Oregon.

First thing that came into your mind this morning?

Earl gray tea and the looming weather.


Why Photography? What brought you to it?

Photography to me embodies many of my interests at once - cinema, music, language, and the uniquely human capacity to express and experience the world through reflections of ourselves. I can definitely say that cinema played a large part in my initial interest in photography. Whether it was a visual quality to a scene in a film or a subjective and emotive experience in the narrative, I remember wanting to somehow capture this on my own. So I picked up a vintage camera and started from there. I see it now as taking "stills" from my own movie.

The Cinema-Look is a huge trait i see in your photos. Are there any movies in particular that inspires you? Overall, what does inspire you?

My taste for films is pretty wide ranged, but some good examples are: 'The Mirror' by Andrei Tarkovsky, 'Un Homme Qui Dort' by Bernard Queysanne, 'Stranger Than Paradise' by Jim Jarmusch, 'La Double Vie de Veronique' by Krzysztof Kieslowski, 'Zentropa' by Lars Von Trier, 'Mother and Son' by Aleksandr Sokurov. As far as my overall influences, I think it all comes down to a few seconds at any given moment. The light, something fleeting that catches your eye. This is why I carry a camera with me almost everywhere I go.

What equipment do you use?

Exakta 35mm, Ikoflex TLR, Pentacon Six TL, Hasselblad 500C.

Film dominates your stream. Why not Digital?

Well, I think that digital technology is great in general; it's convenient. But I just prefer the look of film. There's a warmth and depth to analog which lends well to the images that I want to create. I like it because it's never really perfect. I'm even a big fan of analog synth bands of the late 70's and early 80's for the same reasons. I also like the fact that the basic process of photography hasn't changed since it was invented. I will never stop being fascinated by the idea that I am catching an image via light through a mirror in a little box, and that it then gets transformed by chemicals to make the picture. It's magic!

Is there anyone your dying to shoot, famous or someone you know, dead or alive?

Isabelle Huppert.


Your house is on fire! you can only take one thing: your camera or computer?

Computer. This way I can immediately start looking for a new house and a new camera!







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Monday, January 17, 2011

Sunday, January 2, 2011