Brian Finke:
"...a formal graphic simplicity that stayed with me."
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There are photographers who only use film when they see it fit. For example, Brain Finke, author of "2468: American Cheerleaders & Football Players" and many other collections, doesn't shoot exclusively with film, but still uses it non the less. In this interview we spoke about film in general, and two of his collections, "Construction" and "Flight Attendants".
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Q: How did you get into photography?
Way back when, as a freshmen in high school I took my first photo class, yearbook/ newspaper that route and then as a senior I was taking four photo class and spending most of my day at school in the darkroom listening to Smashing Pumpkins and printing.
Q: When and how did you discover the medium of film?
It's what I grew up on, Tri-X and TMAX p3200, shooting, developing, hands on loving the process of photography.
Q: Do you have a favorite brand or format of film?
My go to film that I used for shooting my book projects and gallery exhibitions was Fuji ProH.
Q: What inspired your “Construction” and “Flight Attendants” collections?
The next project is usually what's right in front of me, With Flight Attendants, it was when I started shooting a tone of assignment work and flying around, a lot of what I photograph is in the everyday, it's just a slightly new or different way of looking a relating to the subjects. My way of working is very simple, I pick an idea, a very relate able subject and shoot the hell out of it.
Q: What camera and film did you use for these collections?
Hasselblad 503cw, Quantum Q flashes and Fuji ProH film printed on Kodak Endura paper
Q:Do you have any tips for people just getting into photography
Love it, promote yourself every day, and credit cards...
Q: What are your favorite locations to shoot at?
It's whatever is next... Recent assignments have been in Belize photographing John MCAfee at his compound on San Pedro for Wired Magazine. This past Fall I spent a week driving along the Texas, Mexico border from Brownsville and El Paso working on my U.S. Marshals project, each day waking up at like 5am, shooting then driving 3-5 hours to the next city to do it all again the following day. And as writing this I'm on a plane to San Francisco to shoot on the west coast, being there for 26 hours, then hooping on a red-eye back home.
Q: What experiences has your career as a photographer, allowed you to experience?
I travel a lot for personal shoots and assignments, it's always new, fresh and changing. For many years I fought the traveling thing, cause having a family I'm ya know suppose to be there but this is just the life, I didn't necessary intend to choose but it's my life and I enjoy it.
Q: If you could go back and redo anything in your career, would you? If so what?
No regrets... always looking forward, right...
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We asked Brain to list his film equipment used on a usual shoot:
Hasselblad 503cw
Quantum Q flashes with turbo batteries
Fuji ProH film printed on Kodak Endura N paper.
We chose our top ten photos from "Finke's Construction" and "Flight Attendance" series
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Some kind words from some rad people about Mr. Finke
“Despite my reservations, several images, among them a worker centered in a symmetric grid work of high iron, the use of space in a bisected frame portrait, and the dynamic swirl of high cirrus clouds over a worker in another bisected frame, had a formal graphic simplicity that stayed with me.”- Ed Barnas NewYorkPhotoreview.com
"Brian Finke is a prolific photographer of American culture. Brian’s commitment and ability to access popular culture icons is formidable and at times brilliant." - Todd Johnson Digital Darkroom Blog
Go give Mr. Finke some love
Also Purchase the books here
Thank you for reading!
Copyright 2013
Analog Revival
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