Fotografo Annabelle Agnew

—Prima di tutto - chi puoi definire come il miglior fotografo di Montréal, Canada? :)

—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.

—Sei fotogenico?

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

—Come sei entrato nell'industria della fotografia?

—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.

—Secondo te, quali sono le componenti più importanti di una bella foto?

—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.

—Ti piace viaggiare?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di più nella tua professione?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di meno nella tua professione?

—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.

—Quale sarà il futuro della fotografia?

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

—Cosa c'è di speciale nel genere di fotografia in cui sei specializzato?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Come gestisci la critica?

—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.

—Ci sono determinate tendenze nella fotografia?

—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.

—Quali criteri dovrebbe utilizzare un cliente per scegliere un fotografo?

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

—Che cosa non è ammesso durante la ripresa fotografica?

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

—Quali dettagli, che solitamente passano inosservati, riesce a notare un fotografo?

—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.

—Che cosa influisce sul valore di una foto? Quali sono le sue componenti?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Secondo te, chi può essere considerato simbolo del XXI secolo?

—I have no answer for that!

—Che cosa vorresti fotografare?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Hai qualche tabù professionale?

—I don't think so?

—Con chi vorresti fare una sessione di ripresa fotografica?

—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

—Che cosa ti fa preoccupare e perché?

—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

—Qual è stato il momento più impressionante della tua vita?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Se tu fossi un personaggio di cartone animato, libro o film, chi saresti e perché?

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

—Chi ti ispira nella vita e perché?

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

—Come puoi definire il successo? Come si misura?

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

—Preferiresti essere amato o rispettato?

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

—Qual è stato il più grande errore che hai commesso nel lavoro?

—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".

—Preparandoti per partire, che cosa metteresti in valigia e perché?

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

—Tra i gadget che possiedi, c'è qualcosa che vorresti non aver comprato? Perché?

—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.

—Che formazione professionale segui per fare fotografie migliori?

—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.

—Il lavoro di chi ha avuto la maggiore influenza su di te come fotografo?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Qual è l'unica cosa che vorresti aver saputo iniziando a scattare foto?

—Patience.

—Che cosa vuoi dire con le tue fotografie?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Qual è la tua motivazione per continuare a scattare fotografie?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Pensi che i tuoi genitori avrebbero dovuto essere più o meno severi?

—Less strict.

—Se potessi tornare nel passato, che cosa faresti in modo diverso?

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

—Che cosa pensi della vita su altri pianeti?

—It's there probably?

—Chi sono i tuoi eroi?

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

—Per che cosa non hai rispetto?

—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.

—Che cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Quale lato di te non è mai visibile al pubblico?

—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

—Quando ti senti completamente soddisfatto dal tuo lavoro?

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

—Credi nei ruoli tradizionali di donne e uomini?

—No

—Fai facilmente amicizia?

—Yes

—Dove ti piacerebbe vivere?

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

—Qual è stata la cosa più stupida che hai accettato di fare?

—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.

—Esiste la vita dopo il matrimonio?

—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.

—Hai uno scherzo preferito? Raccontacelo.

—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.

—Ti piacciono i cani o i gatti?

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

—Chi o che cosa odi?

—Too complicated to answer.

—La cosa migliore nella vita è:

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

—La cosa più fastidiosa nella vita è:

—noises like chewing?

—C'è qualcosa intorno a te che vorresti cambiare?

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

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare in te stesso?

—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.

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare nel mondo?

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

—Puoi dare alcuni consigli ai fotografi alle prime armi?

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

—Se gli alieni dovessero arrivare sulla Terra e tu fossi la prima persona ad incontrarli, che cosa diresti?

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

—Se dovessi essere invitato a girare un film, di che genere sarebbe?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Domani vado a fare...

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