Photo artist interview #3 - kc! Bradshaw
• In 1 word, what do you shoot?
Texture
• What’s your weapon of choice?
iPhone (or my trusty Canon Digital Elph). Basically, I prefer cameras that are pocketable. I rarely set up a “photo shoot” and then “take photos”. Most things I capture are found objects in-the-moment, and carrying around a huge, beautiful DSLR is just not an option.
• How long have you been shooting?
I have owned “real” cameras for at least 20 years, but the first memory I have of recording anything on film was when I got a Fisher Price PXL-2000 video camera for xMas when I was a kid. It recorded on audio tapes at a quality that resembled those old jumbo-trons at baseball games… really, really grainy. I know that is not technically photography, but I went out and shot all these cool artsy movies and had a great time.
• Where do you reside?
I spend most of my life online, but I physically reside in San Francisco, California, USA and absolutely LOVE this city!
• What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
I rarely eat breakfast, and this morning was no exception. If anything I will have an Odwalla bar and a Redbull.
• B&W or Color?
With digital I almost always shoot in color. Back when I was shooting 35mm and developing prints myself, it was almost exclusively B&W.
• Film or Digital?
These days shooting with film just doesn’t make financial sense (for me). I tend to get 1 or 2 good photos per roll of film and so I fill a LOT of rolls—which ends up costing a pretty penny. I do love the Lomos, Holgas, and funky plastic cameras of the world, but until there is a way to convert them to digital, they sadly sit on my shelf unused.
• Sleep or Eat?
Both are favorite things for me. I think if I had one addiction it would be eating. I LOVE to eat delicious food. Then again, sleeping is an equally wonderful undertaking. Secretly, I have always been a little jealous of insomniacs… they seem to get so much more done with their day! I rarely have trouble getting to sleep …sometimes to the detriment of my work. Tyler Durden is clearly my hero!
• Tom or Jerry?
Don’t you mean Ben and Jerry’s? Oh wait… I was still stuck in the food question! (HA!) I think I identify a bit more with Tom… the less-smart one who thinks he cleverly figures shit out and ultimately gets bested by the more crafty Jerry… but always comes back for more!
• Macro, Fisheye, or Telephoto?
I love macro. I bought a $9 RadioShack magnifying lens for my iPhone (
link here) so that I can shoot things really close-up. Not completely elegant, but it works well. You can see some examples of my experiments as page backgrounds in LEGENDmag issue 23
link here and in the Wired Wiki
(link here) . As far as telephoto goes – even on cameras that have zoom, I rarely use it. I much prefer to be right there in the middle of things. I have a really cool plugin for my iPhone (CameraBag by NeverCenter:
link here) which adds a fisheye lens—among other great camera effects—but I reserve that for rare occasions and for goofing around. When I look at purchasing new cameras, macro and night photography are always top priority on my list… oh wait, looks like I am getting ahead of myself a bit…
• Do you prefer shooting at night or day?
I love shooting anything interesting, wherever I am. But I tend to do a lot more night-based things, so I often take low-light photos. I like the way artificial light ads, shifts, or completely changes the subject matter (especially on craptastic cameraphone lenses) …so I suppose this is my element.
• What’s the story behind the photo below?
(IMG_0478.jpg) A street scene featuring some text that says “KC”, some nice graffiti letterforms, and a reflection of me taking the picture. Taken during the day, but I love how all the random elements are playing off each other to create the final composition.
• Photographers that inspire you?
Trevor Traynor for sure. As all the readers here already know Trevor is a hustler, bigtime! No B.S. either… his work ethic, and attention to detail, inspires my daily life on many levels. Next—As the Creative Director for LEGENDmag, I get to work with a lot of amazingly talented photographers like Tyler Mussetter (
link here) and Amanda Lopez (
link here). I am privileged to get to work with this caliber of talent on a daily basis. Additionally: As a graphic designer, I find inspiration from many sources that unfortunately go unnamed. I keep a volume of scrapbooks in my library featuring photos and designs I love from magazines, books, and flyers. I guarantee there are some famous photographers in my collection, but most of them remain anonymous to me. Nevertheless, I am grateful for anyone out there creating inspired images for fun or work. Lastly, I love what Flickr has done for photography. It gives all of us a chance to post our personal art online for the world to see, and opens up a community of photographers to each other to share and comment on the work. One Flickr set that I find myself referring back to often is TunnelBug’s Neverland photos. An erie set of beautiful, long-exposure, night photos taken on Michael Jackson’s abandoned Neverland Ranch (
link here). And although they don’t really hold a candle to Tunnelbug’s flicks, you can view my camera phone experiments on Flickr as well (
link here). Make sure to also check out my contacts, as there are some wonderful shutterbugs listed like Kelly Lee Barrett (
link here), She Saw Things (
link here), and Twinmama (
link here)!
• Any future projects or travels?
Headed to Seattle and Vancouver for the holidays to visit family and friends. I plan on hitting up either Alaska or Iceland in the near future to witness the Aurora Borealis. And I’m definitely going to make a trip to the tropics soon. As far as future projects, I just launched BR4DSH4W (
link here) which is a personal website dedicated to inspiration and creativity. And along with running LEGENDmag (
link here), I also work as a freelance designer for Exkclamation (
link here).
• In 1 word, last thing you’d say if time stopped right NOW?
Honestly, I have been sitting here pondering this question for a while. Thinking to myself, “should I say something snarky or inspirational? What should it be….?” But immediately after I read the question, my cat piped up with a loud “MEOW!” This, after laying on the floor silent for the better part of the morning. So I think I will just let him have the final say.
Photo courtesy of the artist "kc! Bradshaw"
thank you
T2
