(TEN) J. Wesley Brown

I first found out about this photographer via his "We Can Shoot Too" blog where he covers the west coast photography world. A breath of fresh air as most of the photo blogs I read seem to come from the east coast - A Photo Editor, What the Jackanory... there seem to be more of an online community there than here....and in a way, Wesley inspired me to move what I was doing from the MySpace/Facebook to a blog format.

I'm starting a new feature today. It ain't exactly new and folks have used the same formula before but it is a simple question : what are ten things that inspire you. No need to put them in any order, this isn't a top 10 list. Just simply what motivates, pushes you and kicks you in the butt to make you do what you do.

I shot him an email a few days ago, here's what I got back.....


1. David Lynch - I don't really have to say anything here, as it's all been said before.

2. Red Wine - I usually bring some along on every photo shoot. Relaxes the model and me and makes the eyes see the light a little bit better. Not that I don't or can't shoot without it, but why would I really want to?

3. Animal Collective - I like editing to it and I'd be very happy if my images could have the same dreamlike feel to them as their music.

4. Nature - Now I know my shots don't have too much nature in them ,being a city boy and all, but I really am impressed with nature and contantly look around at the little bit of it that surrounds me. Corny but true. This is partly why I left New York some years back. The other part was the cold. It didn't make sense to me that the mere act of being alive and walking around in the world should physically hurt.

5. My Day Job - Yeah, I know, but the fact is my day job is at a major encyclopedic museum. This allows me to not worry about shooting something that will get me my next paycheck, giving me complete and total freedom to shoot only that which interests me in the way I want to shoot it. Most day jobs would allow an emerging artist this type of freedom, but mine comes with the added luxury of being surrounded my art on a daily basis. I have an MBA so getting an MFA is not a financial reality for me. Just yesterday, though, I read some photo books at my desk that I'd checked out of our research library, went on a staff tour with the curator of a new major exhibition we are having, and then went to a discussion between a photographer and our photo curator after work.

6. Roger Ballen - Roger's worked as a geologist his whole life, taking photos on the side because that's what he does and he has to. Never working commercially, Ballen kept plugging away and doing his thing and then at the age of 50 or so, his work started to receive critical acclaim because, well, it's fantastic. He's out there now showing and selling work and shaking the photo art world up with his different take on things because of the unique path he took and the outlook that brings. His case is a wonderful reminder that life is long and art is a life-long dedication.

7. Los Angeles - I only started shooting (color, after a 5 or six year period where I didn't pick up a camera) in 2004 when I was living in NYC. I then spent the past three years living in Madrid. Both are amazing compact cities that offer so much right at your finger tips - something I miss, but they pale in comparison to LA as locations for shooting. This is both due to the quality of the light and the sprawl that is Los Angeles. I've felt like a kid in a candy store since I moved back to LA 9 months ago and feel like I still haven't seen 95% of the places I can photograph.

8. The Internet - Really I feel so fortunate to be living in the age of the internet. Thanks to this technology, I'm able to spend hours each day reading about, looking at, and learning about photography. Just fifteen years ago, you could be unaware of much of what goes on in the photo world, but now thanks to the blogs, flickr, photo.net, online publications and a number of tutorial sites, you can live photography daily.

9. American Suburb X - I can't say enough about how great this site is in presenting amzing work, interviews and articles on fine art photography. My favorite online find of 2008.

10. Other Photographers - I won't name any names but seeing great work by others who are just as passionate about photography as I makes me fall ever more in love with photo. If I'm not shooting, I'm viewing work daily. Meeting other photographers and exchanging stories is something every photographer should do regularly.


wecanshoottoo.blogspot.com/
www.jwesleybrown.com/