Fotograf Annabelle Agnew

—Po pierwsze i najważniejsze - kto według Ciebie jest najlepszym fotografem w Twoim mieście? :)

—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.

—Czy jesteś fotogeniczny/fotogeniczna?

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

—Co sprawiło, że zajmujesz się fotografią?

—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.

—Jakie twoim zdaniem są najważniejsze czynniki decydujące o dobrym zdjęciu?

—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.

—Kochasz podróże?

—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.

—Co najbardziej lubisz w swoim zawodzie?

—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.

—Co najmniej lubisz w swoim zawodzie?

—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.

—Jaka będzie przyszłość fotografii?

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

—Co wyróżnia rodzaj fotografii, którym się zajmujesz?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Jak radzisz sobie z krytyk?

—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.

—Czy w fotografii panują jakieś trendy?

—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.

—Jakie kryteria powinien przyjąć klient przy wyborze fotografa?

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

—Co jest absolutnie niedozwolone podczas sesji?

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

—Jakie zwykle niezauważane szczegóły może uchwycić fotograf?

—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.

—Co wpływa na wartość zdjęcia? Jakie są jego składowe?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Jaka osoba może być twoim zdaniem uznana za symbol XXI wieku?

—I have no answer for that!

—Co chcesz fotografować?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Czy masz zawodowe tabu?

—I don't think so?

—Z kim marzy ci się fotografować?

—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

—Co cię martwi i dlaczego?

—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

—Jaka była najwspanialsza chwila w twoim życiu?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Gdybyś był/była postaci z kreskówki, książki lub filmu, kto by to był?

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

—Kto inspiruje cię w życiu i dlaczego?

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

—Jaka jest twoja definicja sukcesu? Co jest jego miarą?

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

—Wolisz, aby cię lubiano czy szanowano?

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

—Jaki był twój największy bąłd zawodowy?

—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".

—Co zabierasz ze sob w podróż i dlaczego?

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

—Czy masz jakiś gadżet, zakupu którego żałujesz? Dlaczego?

—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.

—Jak uczysz się robić lepsze zdjęcia?

—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.

—Czyje prace miały na ciebie największy wpływ jako na fotografa?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Czy jest coś, o czym warto byłoby wiedzieć, zaczynając karierę w fotografii?

—Patience.

—Co chcesz przekazać poprzez swoje fotografie?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Co motywuje cię do dalszej pracy w fotografii?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Uważasz, że twoi rodzice powinni byli być bardziej czy mniej surowi?

—Less strict.

—Mając możliwość cofnąć się w czasie, co być zrobił/zrobiła inaczej?

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

—Co myślisz o życiu na innych planetach?

—It's there probably?

—Kto jest twoim bohaterem/bohaterką?

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

—Do kogo nie żywisz szacunku?

—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.

—Co robisz w czasie wolnym?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Jakiego aspektu twojej osobowości nie ujawniasz publicznie?

—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

—Kiedy twoja praca w pełni cię zadowala?

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

—Czy wierzysz w tradycyjne role mężczyzny i kobiety?

—No

—Czy łatwo się zaprzyjaźniasz?

—Yes

—W jakim miejscu dobrze by ci się mieszkało?

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

—Jaki była najgłupsza rzecz, którą zgodziłeś/zgodziłaś się zrobić?

—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.

—Czy istnieje życie po małżeństwie?

—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.

—Masz ulubiony żart? Opowiedz go.

—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.

—Wolisz psy czy koty?

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

—Kogo lub co nienawidzisz?

—Too complicated to answer.

—W życiu najlepsze jest:

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

—W życiu najbardziej irytuje mnie:

—noises like chewing?

—Czy jest wokół ciebie coś, co chcesz zmienić?

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

—Co chcesz zmienić w sobie?

—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.

—Co chcesz zmienić w świecie?

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

—Czy możesz udzielić kilka wskazówek początkującym fotografom?

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

—Jeżeli na Ziemię przybędą kosmici, a ty będziesz pierwszą osobą, która ich spotka, co im powiesz?

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

—Jeśli poproszono by cię o nakręcenie filmu, jaki byłby to gatunek?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Jutro pójdę i...

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