Lucas DeShazer

 

What is your background in Photography? What keeps you interested?

When I was younger I wanted to paint and draw but quickly realized I was terrible with my hands so I picked up a camera. I started taking pictures on family roadtrips in the west and continue to use photography as an excuse to travel now.


What equipment do you use?

I primarily shoot on a Chamonix 4x5 field camera and almost exclusively with Kodak Portra 400 film. I used to shoot quite a bit on a Pentax 67 but it's been collecting dust since I started feeling in the groove with large format, although these days I'm starting to miss the immediacy medium format provides - there are plenty of photos I can't take because of the setup time large format requires.


Do you take one shot of a subject then move on or will you take several and decide on the best in editing?

With large format I tend to just wander around a subject and make a single exposure, I only take multiple shots of the same subject if I'm worried I won't be able to return and I doubt my original composition after taking it.


What draws you to a project?

My gut, mostly. I've never been a particularly good "project shooter" so I tend to just take pictures and assign them to a project later.


If you could spend a day shooting with another photographer, who would it be?


Robert Adams. After seeing "A Question of Hope" in person I've been entranced by his work in northwest Oregon.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

I'm always looking back at Stephen Shore (mostly American Surfaces), Todd Hido (House Hunting, Excerpts from Silver Meadows), Eirik Johnson (Sawdust Mountain), Alec Soth (Sleeping by the Mississippi, LBM dispatches), and Bryan Schutmaat (Greys the Mountain Sends).


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I'm currently working on finding a large number of murals representing specific things about the west, and in particular Oregon - images of Mt. Hood, the Oregon trail, waterfalls, etc. I'm amazed at the amount of public art in the West, especially how much of it romanticizes the landscape instead of the humans who inhabit it.


Are you exhibiting at the moment? Do you have any plans to exhibit more in the near future?

I have no exhibitions at the moment but I'm always scheming to show work in the future.

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Beat Billson

Where are you from/based now?

I grew up in a relatively small town in Staffordshire. I am currently based in Nottingham, UK.


What is your background in Photography? What keeps you interested?

I first got interested in photography around the age of 17, when I bought myself a Canon 350D with the money I had saved up from a part-time job. I also got into flickr around this time, which really opened my eyes to what could be achieved with photography and helped me to realise the type of photography I really like.

The main thing that keeps me continually interested in photography is consistently seeing new and amazing work on tumblr/flickr and other photography platforms.


What equipment do you use?

Pentax 67 and Mamiya 7, with Portra 160/400.


What do you look for when you are out shooting? What draws you to a project?

I’m not sure I can really say any more than the typical clichés. I think my mind-set and the photographers that I’m into at that point in time subconsciously affect what I’m looking for and how I shoot (for better or worse). I don’t tend to take photos with projects in mind, I prefer to retrospectively group photographs with common themes/feels afterwards.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

The list of photographers is huge, from professional photographers, to loads of people on flickr and tumblr. A few photographers of note who I regularly come back to are Gregory Halpern, Jason Fulford, Ed Panar, Todd Hido and Mark Steinmetz.

Some of my favourite photobook’s are “A” by Gregory Halpern, “Lick Creek Line” by Ron Jude, “House Hunting” by Todd Hido, “South Central/South East/Greater Atlanta” by Mark Steinmetz and “The Citizen” by Dan Boardman. Also “Mossless - Issue Three” is amazing for inspiration.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I have a couple of projects I’m working on that I’m hoping to complete soon. One is based on Swiss landscapes. I’m half Swiss and over the past few years I have been trying to visit and photograph more of this country, which is so familiar to me from childhood holidays. Another is based on Nottingham and the surrounding area, where I currently live.


Are you exhibiting at the moment? Do you have any plans to exhibit more in the near future?

I don’t currently have any plans to exhibit, although I would love to at some point in the future.

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Scott Binkley

 

Where are you from/based now?

I was born in Santa Rosa, CA. I currently live in Vancouver, Washington.


What is your background in Photography? What keeps you interested?

I pretty much learned everything I've come to know through trial and error and while looking at photo books. Years ago, I dabbled in photography, primarily with a borrowed or disposable camera while traveling across country. Photography became a larger part of my life when a friend showed me how to develop film in my kitchen. My interest in taking pictures is maintained through the unfamiliar places and people my camera introduces me too. The images themselves often become nothing more than secondary artifacts. That said, it is gratifying to produce keepers from time to time.


What equipment do you use?

I've been using a Mamiya 7II for the last year or so. I also have a Leica I like to shoot with, but it hasn't seen much use since picking up the Mamiya.


What do you look for when you are out shooting? What draws you to a project?

Lately I've been making an effort to find more open space. I'm also looking for interesting people to shoot. Old cars always capture my attention, but I'm getting better at telling myself no when I see them. Not that there is anything wrong with car pictures. I just feel like I have taken my share.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

William Eggleston's freezer image is the first image I saw that made me think photography could be interesting. I'm still a fan of his work. Stephen Shore's American Surfaces is a photo book I like to revisit. I also like the work of Birney Imes. I guess they all have a similar thing going. I belong to a couple Portland based photo groups, so there's often an opportunity to become inspired by my peers.


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I have a couple things going. One of them has been in a state of perpetual limbo for a couple years. The other involves doing a careful edit of pictures taken while traveling around the region with a group of friends over summer.


Are you exhibiting at the moment? Do you have any plans to exhibit more in the near future.

I currently have work in a drawer at Blue Sky in Portland, OR. One of the photo groups I belong to is the Portland Grid Project, and we have an upcoming group show at the 12x16 Gallery in Portland, OR.

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