Photographer Interview: David Cartwright And Cassie Robinson
Q: Where is your favorite place to live and work as a photographer in the World and why?
A: In the solitude of the mountains of the great state of West Virginia, there is a very creative arts culture there and the natural environment is astoundingly beautiful the wild life is diverse and abundant and the serenity leads to inspiration.
Currently i live in an area feed by the military industrial complex and that makes for some very dark art
Q: How would you describe your attention span?
A: intense but can be short lived, depends on how interesting the subject matter is
Q: Do you like to talk about yourself or your pictures? If yes, about what aspects of photography? If no, why?
A: pictures, talking about your self is pretentious. i love discussions on film versus digital. i think alot of traditional photographers who learned to love working with film or who loved film because of it’s hands-on and then spu technical jargon all day as if everyone else are just laymen beyond the comprehension of film.
i’ve had some sort of camera in hand since age twelve and now cassie is learning and has been shooting for two years and doing very well. i think if the picture conforms to the design elements and is appealing then you have created a photo regardless of medium
Q: When did you decide to become a photographer?
A: i think it has always been decided for me
Q: What does photography mean to you?
A: a way of expression unlike any other as the world can now see through my perspective of life and the universe
Q: Can you recall the first photo you took that made you go WOW!?
A: a double exposure that i jerry rigged a 110 pile of poo into taking
Q: Do you have any formal training regarding photography?
A: i attended the Art Institute of Pitt and that was part of my training but learned more about design elements caught the eye before it caught me
Q: How technical is your photography?
A: sometimes very other times not at all
Q: How do you feel about cropping?
A: sometimes i plan a crop before i shoot, other times i think if you need it you did not think it through but i feel that way about most post manipulations even when i heavily post manipulate i always use royalty free software or devices that are available to any one
Q: Define the word “beauty”!
A: i feel there is no definition for the word but there is a purpose for the word and it has so many complex levels of understanding that a definition is hard outside of the aesthetically pleasing
Q: What is your most favorite and least favorite word in photography or life? How do they make you feel?
A: most favorite word “like” as in i like it, least favorite is anything that implies a definition like glamour, or art photography
Q: How does your personality change when you look through the camera?
A: not at all, i’m the same person on one side as i am the other
Q: How do you feel about missed shots which cannot be recreated?
A: when it is a nature shot i get a little upset, or when it is something you wish you could capture but didn’t have your camera but it makes for a great story i believe pictures are over rated in that they take away from the minds eye when it looks back it sees the image of the day differently, clouded by emotion, but because of that it has more clarity those missed shots lead to the one that got away story like the fisherman tell the best camera to have is the one you have with you
Q: Ever concerned about failure?
A: that my middle name
Q: Who are your influences?
A: i try not to expose my self to influences, but instead follow my gut, so my gut
Q: What is your favorite image, either your own or someone else’s or both? Describe its creation or meaning to you?
A: i love the first picture that stanley kubrick sold of the news paper guy looking glum by the paper saying fdr died, there is just something genuine about it
Q: Describe a day in your personal or professional life.
A: sometime hectic sometimes chaotic sometimes very boring but that is what i like about it never the same day twice
Q: What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
A: nothing, i like making everyday things seem tremendous or like something else entirely
Q: Have you ever thought about or actually stopped doing photography? What were the circumstances?
A: never
Q: Do you ever have photographer’s block and if yes how do you deal with it?
A: no there is so much i wish to express
Q: What types of assignments are you attracted most?
A: the bizarre the more the better
Q: Describe what black and white photography means to you?
A: i love black and white cause it makes you focus on lighting and composition
Q: Do you think of yourself as an artist and what do you think of the word artist?
A: i think it is a term used to define what most can not understand and feel the need to define
Q: How do you describe your photographic style?
A: impressionalist
Q: What has been the most surprising or most predictable reaction to your photographs?
A: everyone loves nudes, or pictures of woman in general, i just had an implied nude generate 2000 hits on our page in a day
Q: What are your thoughts on the paparazzi and their effects on photographers and photography?
A: buzzards waiting for the celebs cause they are not of the quality and refinement needed to have the celebs come to them
Q: How do you feel about digital manipulation and to what extent do you utilize it?
A: what ever your creative heart screams at you
Q: What other thoughts would you like to share?
A: duh, that’s a good thought
Visit David’s Cassie’s Flickr collections.
