Art My Ass: A brutal interview with Chris

What was the first photography project you ever consummated? I mean created.

“I've been making videos ever since I was a kid (not the dirty kind). However, my passion is in still photography. I love the idea of freezing time and sharing my experience in a single frame with people. My first project was taking photos for the school newspaper when I was in college. It was pretty cool, and opened the doors for a career that I want to make full time some day. My recent projects include, event photography gigs and creating a photo book for a philanthropy company in South Africa that is trying to stop the poaching of Elephants and Rhinos.”

Wow that’s super dope of you Chris, thanks for saving the fuckin world…

What part about photography gets your jollys off?

“I love that photography is so beyond just taking a pretty picture for "the gram". It's a process of discovery.Often times I takes just one photo to convey the story you're trying to capture, and that's what I love about it. Not only do I love the aspect of story telling, photography also motivates me to get out and explore the world in ways I would have never done before. In a sense, the camera is my ticket to seeing the world (kinda cheesy, I know, but it's true).”

What company or person would you like to work for if you could choose?

“Chris Burkard and the Burkard Studios. He was one of the first photographers I came across that totally nailed the story telling aspect of photography. His gallery does a great job in capturing the experiences that him and his team have gone through over the years. In addition, he's just a really cool dude. I meet him in Chicago a few years back and we had a great conversion on what it means to be an effective photographer. So Chris if you're reading this, hit me up.”

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

“I wake up and thank the universe for my good looks and personality. After that, I try and meditate for a little (this helps with focusing and preparing for the day). I then try and get a run in or work out sesh followed by breakfast. All this happens on the perfect day. I'd say half the time I just lay in bed pressing the snooze button till am ready to get up.”

What helps your creativity the most?

“Traveling and getting out of my comfort zone helps to get the creativity flowing the most. When you get outside your bubble of fluffy clouds and rainbows, you start thinking outside the box to try and solve problems. When you travel to new places, you tend to see things in a different perspective. This is perfect for me to try and come up with new ideas.”

What makes you the most pissed when working on a project?

“I'm most pissed when communication in the group of the project totally sucks. Communication is one of the keys to success. If no one communicates ideas or issues, then the project goes no where.”