Fotograaf Annabelle Agnew

—Ennekõike - keda sa nimetaksid parimaks fotograafiks oma linnas? :)

—Excluding myself, I admire the work of a lot of talented photographers globally. In Montreal: Brent Calis, Laura Regev, Ella Mack & Micheal Beaulieu are some of my favorites. In Ottawa: Agatha Rowland, Joel & Justyna, Rubicon and Age of Indie.

—Kas sa oled fotogeenne?

—At the right angles and if I'm not being a goof... yes.

—Kuidas sa sattusid fotograafiamaailma?

—My mother is a painter, my step-father a theatrical and architectural lighting designer. I was surrounded by art, artists, and so forth my entire life. My mother's best friend is a professional photographer and I remember taking my first "real" photograph at 8 years old with my mother's Olympus Rangefinder. Even then... it was a very circuitous route, even after I got my BFA in Photography at Concordia. But I am very certain of my path now that I found it.

—Mis on sinu arvates hea foto kõige olulisead komponendid?

—Light is the most important — then composition. After that comes artistry and understanding how your settings can capture moments that evoke how they felt. Sharpness and bright lighting are over-rated and feel unnatural to me a lot of the time.

—Kas sulle meeldib reisida?

—Yes. Adore it. One of my favorite trips that I ever took was to Nicaragua. We go to Ireland (at least prior to the pandemic) yearly because my husband is from there. The last place we traveled to prior to the pandemic was Mexico.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige rohkem meeldib?

—I love that what I do captures some of the most important moments of a clients' lifetime and that the history of that photo will shift over time to mean different things. I know how valuable my family photo albums have been for me and that's my driving force for every wedding I photograph.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige vähem meeldib?

—I'm a workaholic, it's hard to turn my brain off and find balance, being passionate about my craft verges on obsessive. It's important to hit pause, look back and appreciate work that I have done and so I've learned to do this — rest is equally important to make good work.

—Millisena näed sa fotograafia tulevikku?

—Just like anything else, it will evolve and yet it's essence will remain the same.

—Mis on sinu fotograafiažanris erilist?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Kuidas sa suhtud kriitikasse?

—I went to art school where our work was critiqued daily — so I am open to it and frankly wish I heard it more often now in my professional life. It's important to get external feedback in order to grow. That said, I am probably my own worst critic.

—Kas fotograafias on teatud trende?

—Lots of them. A lot of photographers buy presets and apply them to their work – I find this makes their work all look the same. The standouts always have a strong sense of color, light, composition and a connection with their subjects.

—Millised peaksid fotograafi valides olema kliendi kriteeriumid?

—Connect with the work and the photographer.
Ask for full galleries.

—Mida pildistades kindlasti ei tohiks teha?

—Too much posing, going to "hotspots", shotlists that are formulaic to wedding pinterest boards.

—Mis võiksid olla need detailid, millele tavaliselt tähelepanu ei pöörata, kuid mida fotograaf võib märgata?

—It's the in between stuff. For instance — this summer I photographed a wedding where I did a giant group photo of all that attended. Once the group dispersed the bride & groom each took a big swig of their drinks in hand (which I took a photo of) and then each realized that it was too big (which I also took a photo of) — this sequence brought a lot of joy to all of us later.

—Mis teeb fotost väärtusliku? Mis elemendid on olulised?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Milline inimene on sinu arvates 21. sajandi sümbol?

—I have no answer for that!

—Keda sa sooviksid pildistada?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Kas sul on teatud ametialaseid tabusid?

—I don't think so?

—Kellega koos sa tahaksid pildistada?

—Erik Madigan Heck; Annie Liebovitz; Roger Deacon; Joel & Justyna; Samm Blake; Leann Weston; John Dolan; Cinzia Bruschini; Sarah Falugo; Corbin Gurkin; Danijela Gorley; Thierry Joubert; & Jamie Beck

—Mille pärast sa muretsed ja miks?

—Equipment functionality – having something breakdown in a wedding is possible and you need backup strategies in place
Data Storage – you need a lot of storage and backups in place when working on photographs, losing something would be horrible
Money – who doesn't worry about this?
Health – it's very important to my wellbeing and my job

—Mis on olnud su elu kõige kõige muljetavaldavam hetk?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Kui sa oleksid tegelane multikast, raamatust või filmist, siis kes sa oleksid ja miks?

—A lot people liken me to a cross between Tina Fey, Elaine Benes, Winona Ryder and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

—Kes sind su elus inspireerib ja miks?

—That's too hard to define. I am inspired by a lot of things – art, comedy, movies, friends, family, landscapes etc.

—Kuidas sa defineeriksid edu? Kuidas sa seda mõõdad?

—Good sleep, peace of mind. Someday living by the ocean.

—Kas sa tahaksid, et sa pigem meeldiksid inimestele või et nad austaksid sind?

—Respected. Too hard to make everyone like you – and I am not sure I'd want everyone to like me.

—Mis on suurim viga, mida sa töötades oled teinud?

—Underselling myself. Doing a lot of work for too little. Not noticing "red flag" clients — I've learned the signs and avoid these types now. A word of advice: don't go into meetings with photographers assuming we're trying to "rip you off".

—Mida sa endaga reisides kaasa võtad ja miks?

—My camera, my kindle, and a lot of earrings and shoes.

—Kas sul on mõni vidin, mida sa omad, aga sooviksid, et poleks ostnud? Miks?

—That's a constant thing — right now I am considering selling the only zoom lens I have. I never use it. I also have too much lighting equipment I never use.

—Kuidas sa ennast koolitad, et paremaks fotograafiks saada?

—I have a degree in film photography, but now I take online courses through Creative Live; Masterclass; Youtube and so on — sometimes it's photography or business related, but other times it's just something I am interested in. I'm convinced that external interests influence your work in a lot of beneficial ways.

—Kelle töö on sind kui fotograafi kõige rohkem mõjutanud?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Mis oleks see üks asi, mida sa sooviksid, et oleks teadnud enne fotograafiaga alustamist?

—Patience.

—Mida sa oma fotodega öelda soovid?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Mis motiveerib sind fotograafina jätkama?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Kas sa arvad, et sinu vanemad oleksid pidanud sinuga olema rangemad või leebemad?

—Less strict.

—Kui sa saaksid ajas tagasi minna, mida sa teeksid erinevalt?

—I would not have strapped some lighting equipment with a bungee cord. It's a very long story.

—Kas sa arvad, et teistel planeetidel on elu?

—It's there probably?

—Kes on su kangelased?

—My Mom; My husband & kids; and then a lot of other artists, writers, comedians, politicians, scientists and so forth.

—Keda sa ei austa?

—I don't think it's a Who, but rather personality traits: those who feel entitled; who are not open to listening/do no ask questions; choose fear.

—Mida sa vabal ajal teed?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Millist poolt sinust avalikkus kunagi ei näe?

—I can be hyper-focused in a way that's detrimental to life balance; I talk to my cat like he's a real person; I need hugs

—Millal sa oled oma tööga täiesti rahul?

—Generally right after shooting and the initial edit. Before my critical brain starts to micro-inspect and take over in the edit.

—Kas sa usud meeste ja naiste traditsioonilistesse rollidesse?

—No

—Kas sa leiad kergesti sõpru?

—Yes

—Kus sa tahaksid elada?

—I'm going to retire someday and live along some rough coastline either in Eastern Canada, Ireland, or the South of France.

—Mis on kõige rumalam asi, mida sa kunagi oled nõustunud tegema?

—A coffee drinking challenge one night when I was a waitress in a diner in Banff. There was a snow storm and we were young, stupid and bored. I ended up calling poison control because "I won" the competition and boy did that feel bad.

—Kas pärast abielu on elu?

—Yes, it's pretty good too. I won't lie — it's work — but I would take this over a lot of connections without depth.

—Kas sul on lemmiknali? Räägi see meile.

—Too many. I am a comedy nerd/junkie. My best friend is a standup comedian and in school I used to drop in to the club on Open Mic nights to watch my friends tell jokes.

—Kas sulle meeldivad koerad või kassid?

—I like both, but I have a cat named Steve.

—Keda või mida sa vihkad?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Parim asi elus on:

—good food, laughter, sleep, the water, sunsets, fresh air, snuggles.

—Kõige ärritavam asi elus on:

—noises like chewing?

—Kas sa näed oma ümber midagi sellist, mida sa tahaksid muuta?

—I mean, yes. But hey, life is a process.

—Mida sa iseenda juures tahaksid muuta?

—A lot of things, like I said, life is a process — and I have learned recently that accepting myself is just as important to changing.

—Mida sa maailmas tahaksid muuta?

—Fast fashion; greed; hustle culture; the direction of the climate

—Kas sa võiksid anda mõned näpunäited alustavatele fotograafidele?

—Show up everyday, take a lot of photographs and edit them. Rinse and repeat. And look at other Art, not just other photographs.

—Kui Maale saabuksid tulnukad ja sina oleksid esimene inimene, keda nad kohtaksid, mida sa neile ütleksid?

—Hello? I haven't given this much thought.

—Kui sul oleks võimalik vändata film, siis mis žanrist see oleks?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Homme hakkan ma...

—Website editing; run; laundry; help my kids with online school