Each Monday, we’ll highlight one indie photographer whose body of work deserves special recognition. Please enjoy their photography here, and make it a point to enjoy the rest of their work on their website.
This week’s Indie Spotlight will shine on another talented photographer, Star Rush who hails from Seattle, Washington, USA — A casual documentary and street photographer but with diversified interests in every subject and genre.
"If you have a bad photo, delete it. Don't fix it"
Kit:
Having recently acquired a Ricoh GXR coupled with a 28mm lens approximately 2 months ago, Star has been shooting with only her trusted iPhone 3GS for almost 3 years. It is her first serious digital camera, albeit having used a couple other Olympus-made cameras numerous times for different photo shoots. Star also has a growing collection of film cameras that he enjoys working with from time to time.
Workflow:
Star shoots entirely in natural light, most often outdoors. She would post-process her photos entirely via the iPhone 3GS itself, converting colors to B&W using a couple of apps like Film Lab and Photo FX. She prefers a contrasty looks in BW, with deep inky blacks and milky whites. All of her processed photographs will then be stored in Aperture and sent to the printers (the ones meant for exhibitions will be cropped to size beforehand) in Seattle or mpix.com. Photographs taken with her Ricoh GXR are processed to BW in camera and then exported to Aperture for minor adjustments if needed.
"Have something to say and let your photograph say it."
Tips, Tricks and Techniques:
Having to use an iPhone to do a majority of her work, she believes firmly that one should always take the best possible photo (from the right angle) as you can. Do not begin with a desired app or post-processing effects in mind (ex: Instagram effects) but instead, focus on taking a terrific photo — one that speaks for itself and would stand on its own as it is. Naturally, good lighting, exposure, focus and subject placements are as important as it is, regardless of what equipment one uses to shoot.
Star believes that although apps or any kind of post-processing can be fun and some can be considered as creative innovations, but no amount of post-processing on a photo (be it on a mobile nor PC) can ultimately overcome a poor photo shoot to begin with.
In the world of mobile photography, a steady hand and a firm wrist are equally as important as the app you mainly use. Star strongly suggest using a camera replacement app that have the features to control exposure and focus (with the ability to lock focus) independently. Her app of choice? ProCamera.
Star believes that to produce good photos, you need to let the subject to speak for itself. She doesn’t take a lot of shots for a particular subject but instead, only one or two properly planned shots. While she is observing a subject, she would start to ‘think in BW’ — imagining how the photo would be like in BW. To practice this, she would sometimes either use a different camera app that only shoots in BW or use her Olympus film cameras loaded with BW films. “It is important to remember that whether a finished photograph is color or black and white isn’t an after thought, or solely an editing decision. It’s a composing decision.”
"Only the best photograph deserves post-processing."
Lessons Learned:
Having to work with a mobile camera with very limited features and a non-replaceable lens with fixed aperture, Star had to learn how to take advantage of the exposure meter. “It is the key component to consider for me, more so than megapixels and the rest.” She has worked to find the very far ends of what 3GS’ exposure meter is capable of, and she likes the effects that it produces in BW. It works better for BW than color, because what is achieved is a kind of grainy, nearly film looking. The key to achieving a similar aesthetic quality is to watch the light and levels of contrast in the subject composition.
Inspiration:
Star admires a number of photographers but only 2 top her list; Takuma Nakahira & Vivian Maier.
What’s Next:
If given the chance, Star would like to do a photo project documenting specific sights along the Pacific Coast, the small coastal towns, from Sekiu in the upper northwest corner of Washington State, to Imperial Beach, California. She would also like to explore other style of photography in the future, namely directed photography such as portrait settings or studio works.
Links:
Star Rush can be found online via her portfolio website, Google+, Instagram and of course, Flickr.