Fotogrāfs Annabelle Agnew

—Pirmkārt un galvenokārt - kurš Tavuprāt ir labākais fotogrāfs Tavā pilsētā? :)

—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.

—Vai Tu esi fotogēnisks?

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

—Kā tu nokļuvi fotogrāfijas jomā?

—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.

—Kuri, Tavuprāt, ir svarīgākie labas fotogrāfijas elementi?

—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.

—Vai Tu mīli ceļošanu?

—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.

—Kas Tev vislabāk patīk savā profesijā?

—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.

—Kas Tavā profesijā Tev patīk vismazāk?

—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.

—Kāda būs fotogrāfijas nākotne?

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

—Kas ir īpašs fotogrāfijas žanrā, kurā specializējies?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Kā Tu uztver kritiku?

—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.

—Vai fotogrāfijā ir kādas īpašas tendences?

—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.

—Kādi ir kritēriji, kas klientam jāņem vērā, izvēloties fotogrāfu?

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

—No kā fotogrāfējot būtu jāizvairās?

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

—Kādus parasti nepamanītus brīžus var notvert fotogrāfs?

—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.

—Kas ietekmē fotogrāfijas vērtību? Kādi ir tās elementi?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Kurš cilvēks, Tavuprāt, varētu būt 21. gadsimta simbols?

—I have no answer for that!

—Ko Tu vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Vai Tev ir kādi profesionālie tabu?

—I don't think so?

—Ar ko Tu kopā vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

—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

—Par ko Tu satraucies un kāpēc?

—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

—Kas ir Tavas dzīves iespaidīgakais brīdis?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Ja Tu būtu multfilmas, grāmatas vai filmas varonis, kurš tas būtu un kāpēc?

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

—Kas Tevi iedvesmo dzīvē un kāpēc?

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

—Kā Tu definētu veiksmi? Vai to var izmērīt?

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

—Vai Tev labāk patīk tikt mīlētam vai tikt cienītam?

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

—Kas ir lielākā kļūda, ko Tu esi pieļāvis darbā?

—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".

—Kad Tu plāno ceļot, ko Tu ņem līdzi un kāpēc?

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

—Vai kāda ierīcēm (gadžetiem), kas Tev pieder, ir tāda, kuru Tev nebūtu vajadzējis pirkt? Kāpēc?

—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.

—Kā Tu mācies, lai uzņemtu arvien labākas fotogrāfijas?

—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.

—Kuri darbi Tevi kā fotogrāfu ir visvairāk iedvesmojuši?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Kas ir tā lieta, ko Tu būtu gribējis zināt pirms sāki nodarboties ar fotogrāfēšanu?

—Patience.

—Ko Tu vēlies pastāstīt ar savām fotogrāfijām?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Kas Tevi motivē turpināt uzņemt fotogrāfijas?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Vai Tavi vecāki bija stringri vai netik stingri?

—Less strict.

—Ja Tu varētu ceļot atpakaļ laikā, ko Tu darītu savādāk?

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

—Ko Tu domā par dzīvi uz citām planētām?

—It's there probably?

—Kas ir Tavi varoņi?

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

—Ko Tu necieni?

—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.

—Ko Tu dari brīvajā laikā?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Kuru Tavu pusi citi nekad neredz?

—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

—Kad Tu esi pilnībā apmierināts ar savu darbu?

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

—Vai Tu tici tradicionālajam lomu sadalījumam starp vīrieti un sievieti?

—No

—Vai Tu vienkārši sadraudzējies?

—Yes

—Kur Tu vēlētos dzīvot?

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

—Kas ir muļķīgākā lieta, ko Tu jebkad esi piekritis izdarīt?

—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.

—Vai pastāv dzīve pēc kāzām?

—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.

—Vai Tev ir mīļākais joks? Pastāsti to mums.

—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 Tev patīk labāk - kaķi vai suņi?

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

—Vai ir kaut kas vai kāds, ko Tu ienīsti?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Labākā lieta dzīvē ir:

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

—Kaitinošākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—noises like chewing?

—Vai ir kaut kas tāds, ko Tu vēlētos mainīt?

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

—Ko Tu gribētu mainīt sevī?

—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.

—Ko Tu vēlētos mainīt pasaulē?

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

—Kādi būtu Tavi padomi jaunajiem fotogrāfiem?

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

—Ja uz zemes nolaistos citplanētieši un Tu būtu pirmais, ko viņi satiktu, ko Tu viņiem teiktu?

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

—Ja Tev būtu iespēja uzņemt filmu, kāda žanra filma tā būtu?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Rīt es aiziešu un izdarīšu...

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