Interview: Brooks Reynolds

We Are Sleeping Giants von Brooks Reynolds ging bereits Ende letzten Jahres durch die deutsche Blogosphäre, die Photoserie ist aber vor kurzem auch nochmal in meinem Feedreader aufgetaucht, und sofort war ich wieder gefangen in der Atmosphäre, die so wunderbar passt zu den ersten Frühlingstagen. Im Interview konnte ich ein wenig mehr über ihn und seine Hintergründe erfahren.

Jeriko: Hi Brooks, thanks for taking the time! To start things off, please introduce yourself in a few sentences.

Brooks: My name is Brooks Reynolds. I'm a 22 year old photographer from Canada.

Jeriko: When did you start with photography?

Brooks: I started photography as a random highschool course. It wasn't like I found my calling from a past life or anything but it was enjoyable. When I was done the class, I wanted to keep shooting photos for fun so I bought a camera and started going to concerts and the skatepark with it. Things kind of just evolved from there.

Jeriko: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Perhaps there are other artists who influence you as well?

Brooks: Cop out answers suck but I really do draw influences from everywhere. Lately I've been really into artists and painters. Esao Andrews is great. Movies are a big part of it too. Fight Club is really the best movie ever made but I recently saw Brick and it was incredible. Obviously other photographs are a constant influence/inspiration as well.

Jeriko: How do you find your subjects?

Brooks: For the majority of my personal work, I use friends as subjects. The shoot doubles as a chance to hang out and have some fun which is cool and a much more relaxed way to work. Sometimes I'll have trouble finding the right person so I move to fringe friends or acquaintances but they usually end up becoming friends post-shoot.

Jeriko: What kind of equipment do you use?

Brooks: I use a camera, a bunch of prime lenses (no zooms!), and a bunch of random lights from strobes to old school bare bulb flashes. I love variety and have a growing wish list of stuff I need to get.

Jeriko: When you photograph, do you have a theme in mind?

Brooks: Sometimes I have a theme for a series or whatever but most of the time, I have an idea for a photo and it's just trying to make that come to life. I'd really like to do more involved theme work. It's enjoyable and challenging.

Jeriko: Many of your photos - b/w as well as color - have a kind of melancholic and yet glossy, shiny element. What role does light play for you in your photography?

Brooks: Light is super important. Just playing with light is so much fun. I don't think that will ever get boring. It makes a photo look the way it does, creates mood and tells so much of the story. From really clean looking Wes Anderson-esque stuff to The Blair Witch Project, the lighting really becomes a huge catalyst in what is going on.

Jeriko: For the portraits, how do you approach the (probably rather different) people? How does such a process look like?

Brooks: A portrait can be thought up months in advance or a quick assessment of the location and the person then working from there. It's important to try to vary what you do. Well maybe that isn't true. Platon or Avedon have such a distinct style and use that so well for what they do. I would feel so insecure without being able to change and progress.

Jeriko: Let's talk a little bit about We Are Sleeping Giants, how did you came up with the idea for it?

Brooks: With We Are Sleeping Giants, I thought of a couple photo concepts (like the dude in the pool) and then start realizing there was a common denominator with them. I love summer nights. The series wasn't a stretch to tell stories and express aesthetics that I search for as frequently as possible. With that in mind, I really worked on planning photos or just getting out there with way too much gear and making it happen.

Jeriko: Everlea's song is, in my opinion, a perfect fit for the series. Is it important for you to give a "complete experience" to your audience? I mean, audio as well as visuals?

Brooks: Thanks! The dudes in Everlea are great friends of mine and after hearing them do an acoustic version of the song. I knew it'd be really cool to try to combine the visual and the audio without it just being a music video. Most of the time when you merge images and audio, that is what happens, but this is very much a photo series with a soundtrack. I don't know if that had been done before but we were excited to work together. Now that I've done it this way, I feel really stuck in wanting to do another series with music but unless they really do co-exist so well, it may be too much of a stretch.

Jeriko: You’ve obviously got your portfolio and there's also Vow To Remember for wedding photography. Any other presence on the web you’d like to publicize? Maybe social networking?

Brooks: I have 3 web sites right now. One is being redone and will be really soon. I'm trying to get a bit off the web, starting a magazine soon and making some posters to mail to really sweet people everywhere.

Jeriko: As you use the Internet to showcase your photos, are there any other websites you feel have influenced you, opened your mind or shown you new ways or techniques?

Brooks: All the sites that got me stoked and going with photos aren't really around anymore. A Photo Editor and Too Much Chocolate are some of the best reads for current photographers. There is a few blogs I keep up with and they really direct me to lots of cool stuff out there. I think it's called Loved Photographs, but they just find cool photographs, show a couple photos and link to their site. I love that. I'm probably suffering from some modern day over stimulus but I eat it up and love it all. It is scary and humbling how many people are doing amazing things out there but it really is inspiring and amazing too. So much to take in!

Jeriko: Of all the pictures you've taken, or at least the ones showcased on your website, can you name a couple or one that you have a special love for or connection to?

Brooks: My favorite photos are the ones I can tell stories about or put the most work into. I've been sitting on some photos that I'm really proud of and those will be cool to show to people. There is one I took of a dude with a giant scarf. The scarf is really packing paper that came from a keyboard and was just so excessive. If I didn't find a handful of amazing uses for the paper I would have been pretty mad at the company that shipped it. The photo appears somber and moody but I was having such a good time shooting it. The paper was blowing around while I had fishing line trying to keep it in place. In the end, it all worked out really well though.

Jeriko: Your last news entry on your website states that this will be your last post and new things are to come. Maybe you could share some information about it?

Brooks: Well one big thing is a new website. The one I have now is so outdated, I'm embarrassed by compliments regarding it. As I type this my web dude is moving buttons and captions around. Pretty stoked on how it's coming. There is a couple other things that may or may not work out, such is the nature of things, but if they do, I'd be so excited. My new site will have a much more active blog! I hope, hahaha.

Jeriko: Thanks a lot for the interview. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Brooks: Nothing really to add, just keep checking for that new site any day now! And thanks for asking me questions. I feel exhausted from so much work yesterday but I hope they answers were decent enough.

Jeriko: Last but not least, do you have a question for my next interview partner?

Brooks: Who is your next interview partner? Hahaha. [Jeriko: Actually, that's a very good one!]

Jeriko: My last interview partner was Sergey Steblina from the Ukraine, his question for you was "Can you work when you're angry?"

Brooks: Angry... sure, I can work when I'm angry. Really hungry, not at all though. I don't like to eat before shoots but there is fine line and then I just become unproductive.