30.3.11

photographer feature: sinziana velicescu












Age
21

Location
Los Angeles

Who or what sparked your interest in photography?
My father, documenting my friends in 9th grade.

Who are some of your favorite photographers?
Lewis Baltz, André Kertész, William Eggleston, D Yee, Martyna Galla, and Yosigo.

Do you have any formal education in photography or are you self taught?
Yes and no, I have taken some photography and cinematography classes. Aside from that, I regularly attend museums and look at photographers online for inspiration. I also take screen shots of movies with breathtaking cinematography.

Is photography your career?
At the moment, I would say yes.

Are you currently working on any photography projects?
My friend is putting together a website for an arts collective titled disagne.com and I am submitting a collection of photos I took during road trips throughout the US titled Nowhere, USA. I am also shooting a few short films and editing a band interview within the next few months.

What is your favorite thing to photograph and why?
Architectural detail in buildings because I love lines, shapes, colors, and symmetry. Small people in big open spaces because I've lived most of my life in Los Angeles, where you everything is polluted with advertising.. hence I like my shots to be clean and the people in them able to breathe. Abandoned buildings - interior and exterior - because you can feel the presence of people who used to occupy them.

Where do you find and how do you instruct your models?
Some models need direction, others don't. most of my "model" oriented photography consists of candid portraiture so I don't have to direct much. Most models are my friends or relatives.

Do you listen to music while you shoot? If so, what is on your photo shoot play list?
No but that's probably a good idea.

What is in your camera bag?
Canon AE-1 with a 50mm lens, Canon EOS 20d with a zoom lens, black and white film, slide film, fuji superia, Yashica TL-Electro with a telephoto zoom lens and a wide angle lens, and disposable cameras! I hope to get a medium format camera soon.

What is your favorite lens and why?
My 28mm wide angle lens because I love to capture small things in big empty spaces

Where do you find inspiration?
Modern art, cinema, industrial areas, architecture, nature.

Future photography goals?
When I'm 40 I want to work for National Geographic. In the near future, I'd like to shoot architecture, portraits, fashion photography, and have some of my work shown in galleries. I'd also like to do gaffing and cinematography for short films here and there.

Describe a day in your life that includes photography:
In Los Angeles, it's hard to get inspired because I spend most of my time in the car. I prefer a city with public transportation, where I can hop on a bus and it will take me anywhere. I prefer cuttier parts of the city where I can find abandoned buildings, trash, run-down architecture, and interesting people I can photograph. Otherwise, I go on road trips to find places off the beaten path that nobody cares to visit. That's where my most interesting photos are from.

What does your work flow consist of?
When I'm not traveling, I get out and take pictures when I can... right now I'm focusing on making my website.

Three interesting facts about yourself?
I study literature and film at USC. I learned Photoshop at age 7.

What, if anything, do you do to promote your photography?
Submit work to magazines, zines, art galleries, and blogs.

It looks like you have traveled a lot. who do you travel with?
I travel generally with friends or by myself, with the exception of snowboarding trips with my dad, which always turn into photography adventures in bizarre places.

What is your favorite place that you have had an opportunity to visit?
This is a hard question, for photographic purposes, usually the most undesirable places become my favorite. I recently went to SXSW and although Austin was the coolest city I've visited in the United States, the feeling i got from being in abandoned ghost towns in the middle of nowhere was entirely something else. On the other side of the spectrum, Budapest in Hungary is my favorite city in Europe for its architecture, Paris for its culture, and all of Romania for the interesting people that inhabit it and the juxtaposition of the most beautiful nature I've ever seen with some of the poorest living conditions I have been around.

Thank you so much Sinziana for the interview! Check out more of Sinziana Velicescu's work on Tumblr and Flickr!

2 comments:

  1. until i clicked the flickr link, i had no idea i was looking at the photos from a photographer i'd already added as a contact on flickr whose work i really enjoy! great post, it's nice to learn more about people whose photos you already love.
    i must also say that the photos in this post exude a really american sort of feel, and i enjoy that.

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  2. These are really great! I love the first one, it's so storylike! thanks for sharing! xo

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