interview & photo 29 Aug 2008 06:15 pm

Interview with Chris Friel

I don’t remember when I first saw Chris’ work on flickr (his website is here), but I remember how quickly I became a fan of it. I was attracted to his style, but I also found it amazing how prolific and yet very coherent it seemed to me.

Chris Friel

You’ve said that you bought a camera in 2006.  Had you been making photographs before then?

No I hadn’t taken any pictures prior to 2006.
In fact I felt a dislike for the whole photographic process.

Why did you feel a dislike for the photographic process?  Do you still have any dislike for it?

 I disliked the barrier the act of photography can impose
the necessity to photograph to remember syndrome
I tend to stick to mainly landscapes now

Chris Friel 2

I think photography is, for many people, just a way to remember.  So why do you photograph now?

I started out as a landscape junkie and have been moving away from it in the past year.  One thing that some of your landscapes remind me of is the concept of “peopled landscapes,” a term coined by Michael David Murphy.

One person I currently admire a lot doing that kind of work is Hin Chua.

Thanks for the interesting web site suggestions.
Never considered the concept of “peopled landscapes” before.
I photograph now to see if I can get any better.

Chris Friel 3

What do you look for when you are taking a picture?

I try to make the mundane took interesting
and generally fail

I’ve seen a lot of photos of the interesting looking mundane, so at least you’ve got a good goal. How have you developed your idea of what looks interesting?

My idea of what looks interesting changes from day to day, so I guess it’s far from fully developed.

Chris Friel 4

How has it developed over the past year or so?

My idea of what looks interesting is still changing on a weekly basis.
I’m bored by what I shot last week.
I have a long way to go to reach any sort of plateau.

Chris Friel 5

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