Fotograf Annabelle Agnew

—Po prvé a predovšetkým - koho môžete vymenovať ako najlepšieho fotografa vo vašom meste? :)

—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.

—Ste fotogenický?

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

—Ako ste sa dostali do fotografického priemyslu?

—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.

—Aké sú podľa vás najdôležitejšie súčasti dobrej fotografie?

—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.

—Máte radi cestovanie?

—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.

—Čo máte najradšej na vašej profesii?

—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.

—Čo sa vám páči najmenej na vašej profesii?

—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.

—Aká bude budúcnosť fotenia?

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

—Čo je výnimočné na žánri fotografií, na ktorý sa špecializujete?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Ako zvládate 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.

—Sú nejaké trendy v oblasti fotografie?

—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.

—Aké by mal mať zákazník kritérium pri výbere fotografa?

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

—Čomu sa určite vyhnúť pri práci?

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

—Aké detaily, ktoré zvyčajne prejdú bez povšimnutia, si môže fotograf všimnúť?

—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.

—Čo ovplyvňuje hodnotu fotografie? Aké sú jej prvky?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Ktorá osoba môže byť podľa vás symbolom 21. storočia?

—I have no answer for that!

—Koho chcete fotografovať?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Máte nejaké profesionálne tabu?

—I don't think so?

—S kým by ste chceli fotografovať?

—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

—Čoho sa obávate a prečo?

—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

—Aký bol váš najpôsobivejší okamih v živote?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Ak by ste boli animovaná, literárna alebo filmová postava, kto by ste boli a prečo?

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

—Kto vás vo vašom živote inšpiruje a prečo?

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

—Ako definujete úspech? Ako ho meriate?

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

—Boli by ste radšej obľúbení alebo rešpektovaní?

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

—Aká je najväčšia chyba, ktorú ste kedy v práci urobili?

—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".

—Keď cestujete, čo si so sebou beriete a prečo?

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

—Existuje niečo, čo by ste si boli radšej nekúpili zo zariadení, ktoré vlastníte? Prečo?

—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.

—Ako sa vzdelávate, aby ste robili lepšie fotografie?

—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.

—Koho práca vás ovplyvnila najviac ako fotografa?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Jedna vec, ktorú by ste chceli vedieť, keď ste začínali s fotením?

—Patience.

—Čo by ste chceli povedať cez vaše fotografie?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Čo vás motivuje v ďalšom fotografovaní?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Mali byť vaši rodičia menej alebo viac prísni?

—Less strict.

—Ak by ste sa mohli vrátiť v čase, čo by ste urobili inak?

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

—Čo tak život na druhých planétach?

—It's there probably?

—Kto sú vaši hrdinovia?

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

—Kto nemá u vás žiadny rešpekt?

—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.

—Čo robíte vo svojom voľnom čase?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Akú vašu tvár nikdy neukazujte na verejnosti?

—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

—Kedy ste úplne spokojní s vašou prácou?

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

—Veríte v tradičné role mužov a žien?

—No

—Získavate ľahko nových priateľov?

—Yes

—Kde by ste radi žili?

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

—Čo je tá najhlúpejšia vec, na ktorú ste kedy pristúpili?

—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.

—Existuje život po svadbe?

—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.

—Máte obľúbený vtip? Povedzte nám ho.

—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.

—Máte radi psy alebo mačky?

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

—Koho alebo čo nenávidíte?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Najlepšia vec v živote je:

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

—Najviac znepokojujúca vec v živote je:

—noises like chewing?

—Existuje niečo okolo vás, čo by ste chceli zmeniť?

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

—Čo by ste chceli zmeniť na sebe?

—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.

—Čo by ste chceli zmeniť vo svete?

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

—Môžete dať niekoľko tipov pre fotografov, ktorí práve začínajú?

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

—Keby prišli na našu planétu mimozemšťania a vy by ste boli prvou osobou, s ktorou sa stretnú, čo by ste im povedali?

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

—Ak by ste mali natočiť film, aký žáner by to bol?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Zajtra pôjdem a urobím...

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