Adam Johnson fotós

—Ön fotogén?

—I think everyone is photogenic. Just not everyone appreciates it the first time they see a photo of themselves. I'm the kind of person who grows to like photos of myself over time, rather than instantly loving them.

—Hogyan csöppent a fényképezés világába?

—It just happened. I got married, bought a DSLR for my honeymoon, and became obsessed with it. I thought I was getting quite good, shot a friend's wedding (as a guest) and did a terrible job. So I went away, practised and studied super hard, bought better equipment then tried again. It went much better the second time and I was able to build a portfolio and website. 18 months later I quit my day job.

—Véleménye szerint mik egy jó fotó legfontosabb elemei?

—If we are talking about a wedding photo then it's all about emotion. Light is my obsession, but a beautifully lit emotionless or 'mute' wedding photo is pointless. A photo has to speak for itself, it shouldn't need a caption or an explanation.

—Szeret utazni?

—Of course. And I love that wedding photography is showing me more of the world than I would ever have seen without it.

—Mi szeret szakmájában a legjobban?

—Freedom of expression. The more you shoot, the better you get, the more people hear about you and know about your work, the more freedom you are given to express yourself artistically. That and what I said about traveling in the last question!

—Mi szeret szakmájában a legkevésbé?

—I am honestly grateful for this being my profession but of course, when you have young children at school, it can take its toll when you're out most weekends throughout the summer and not able to spend as much time with them as I would like.

—Milyen lesz a fotózás jövője?

—Who knows?! I just hope I'm able to change and adapt to however it changes. I truly believe there will always be a market for beautiful, well crafted photos – the technology and expectations may change but the product will not.

—Mi a különleges abban a fotózási műfajban, amelyik az Ön szakterülete?

—People. That's what it's all about. People and relationships. Being invited into a private world and asked to document it for a day.

—Hogyan bírja a kritikát?

—Badly. I do not like to be criticised. Often once it has sunk in I'm able to either reject or accept it and use it to improve, but I don't like it!

—Észlelhetők tendenciák a fotózásban?

—Of course! I just prefer to ignore them.

—Mi alapján kellene kiválasztaniuk az ügyfeleknek a fotóst?

—If the photographer's photos of a total stranger's wedding can make you feel something in your heart and soul, you've found your wedding photographer.

—Mi az, ami a fényképezés során teljességgel megengedhetetlen?

—There are no rules but I think each photographer will have their own principles or boundaries. If someone is crying because they are truly sad then I will not photograph them just to get that 'tear shot' that is so popular with wedding photographers these days. If I do not feel it is appropriate to shoot something, then I won't shoot it.

—Véleménye szerint ki lehetne a 21. század szimbóluma?

—Can we answer this with 85 years of the century remaining?! I think there are so many medical and technological advances we will see in this century and I expect icons to be created in these areas.

—Mit kíván megörökíteni?

—Ben Folds, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.

—Van valamilyen szakmai tabuja?

—Not that I know of!

—Kivel szeretne lefényképezkedni?

—Annie Leibowitz, Joey L, James Nachtwey, Don McCullin, Richard Avedon... I love to shoot with other photographers, I think it's a good thing to do regularly.

—Mi aggasztja és miért?

—I am a worrier. I worry about a lot of things! Professionally speaking I worry about becoming irrelevant, about getting stuck in a rut and left behind and nobody wanting me to take their wedding pictures!

—Mi élete legnagyszerűbb mozzanata?

—The births of my two children.

—Ha rajzfilmfigura, irodalmi alak vagy moziszereplő lehetne, kit választana és miért?

—Peter Pan. I want to stay young and always fight pirates.

—Ki van életére ihlető hatással és miért?

—I don't know if they inspire me as such but my children are the reason that I do what I do and why I want to continually get better at it. I am inspired by anyone successful – in business, in photography, in sport, in life... Not in an arrogant way but I find my own successes an inspiration to keep trying harder and to achieve more.

—Hogyan határozná meg a sikert? Mi a mércéje?

—For me, people booking me to shoot photos of them, plus the recognition of my work by my peers is probably my yardstick of success professionally. Happiness and contentment are signs of success in wider life.

—A szeretetet vagy az elismerést igényli jobban?

—I don't think it's possible for me personally to respect somebody I don't like, so I don't think you can be one or the other. I can quickly lose respect for someone who turns out to be a huge douchebag.

—Mi volt a legnagyobb hiba, amelyet munkája során elkövetett?

—I don't remember. I know I've made mistakes but I'm pretty good about moving on from stuff.

—Hova készül utazni, mit visz magával és miért?

—My iphone, my kindle, my macbook, my camera and some earphones.

—Van a tulajdonában lévő kacatok közt olyasmi, aminek a megvásárlását megbánta? Miért?

—I tend to sell stuff if it doesn't fit into my life or work after I buy it. I remember I once bought a weird step trainer off an infomercial on the TV, it was so rubbish!

—Hogyan fejleszti magát, hogy egyre jobb képek kerüljenek ki a kezei alól?

—Taking pictures is the education. I'm quite analytical so if I see a photo I like I work out what I like and why... I do the same with my own photos, working out how I could've done better or what I could've done differently. I look at other photography a lot – in books, online, instagram and I think that seeps into my work.

—Kinek a munkája volt a legnagyobb hatással az fotós pályafutására?

—I think a turning point for me was doing a workshop with Daniel Aguilar from Mexico.

—Mi az, amit szeretné, ha tudott volna fotós pályafutása kezdetén?

—That there were no rules!

—Mit kíván fényképeivel közölni?

—I've no idea. Good stuff I hope.

—Mi motiválja, hogy tovább fotózzon?

—The thing I love about taking photos, or any creative pursuit I guess is that it's just that – a pursuit – and you can never catch the thing you're chasing, but you're constantly improving, or changing at least. It's not static, or limited, or constrained. I know I've not taken my best photo, and I may never take it, but I will always keep striving for it.

—Hogy érzi, szülei szigorúbbak vagy kevésbé szigorúak lehettek volna inkább?

—No comment.

—Ha visszatérhetne az időben, mit tenne másképp?

—Nothing, I don't think of life this way. I got to this point in my life, a point in which I am extremely happy, because of the choices I made. I don't want to change anything.That, or I'd go back and invest in Apple before they invented the iPod.Or I could invent the iPod.

—Mi a véleménye a más bolygókon való életről?

—Maybe, maybe not. I'm not concerned with it.

—Kiket tart a hőseinek?

—I have no heroes.

—Ki az, akit nem tud elismerni?

—An awful question.

—Mivel foglalkozik szabad idejében?

—I play piano, play and watch football, watch TV shows and movies, go to the gym, spend time with friends and family, listen to music...I don't see life as spare time and work time. It's just life. I do all this stuff and I work, there's no split time. I work when I have to and I play whenever I can.

—Mely oldaláról nem ismeri a nyilvánosság?

—The public? As opposed to who?

—Mikor teljességgel elégedett munkájával?

—I love my own work. I love seeing progression in my work. I love it when my clients are in love with the photos I give to them. Completely satisfied? Is this possible?

—Hisz a férfiak és nők hagyományos szerepében?

—My parents got divorced when I was young. This has skewed my view of tradition in the home... I don't really know what traditional roles are – women raise children, cook and clean and men just earn the money? Then no, I don't believe in that. A family is the sum of its parts, not separate and distinct people or roles.

—Könnyen barátkozik?

—Yeah I guess. I'm never the instigator, I'm shy so I tend to wait for people to make friends with me!

—Hol szeretne élni?

—If I could have four homes I would have one in the UK, probably near where I live now, one in New York City, a rural house in Southern France and one somewhere in California! Not that I'm greedy.

—Mi volt a legnagyobb szamárság, amelyre hagyta magát rábeszélni?

—I'm not sure I've ever agreed to something stupid.

—Van élet a házasság után?

—I've been married 8 years... I'm still alive.

—Van kedvenc vicce? Mondja el.

—What's invisible and smells like carrots?Rabbit farts.

—A kutyákat, vagy a macskákat kedveli inkább?

—Neither.

—Kit, vagy mit gyűlöl?

—I hate wasps. Passionately.

—A legjobb dolog az életben:

—Family time.

—A legbosszantóbb dolog az életben:

—Traffic jams.

—Van a környezetében valami, amin változtatni szeretne?

—I want to make my house bigger!

—Mit szeretne megváltoztatni önmagában?

—I would like to break my iphone addiction!

—Mit szeretne megváltoztatni a világon?

—Far too much to list. The world is a broken place.

—Tudna néhány tanácsot adni a kezdő fotósoknak?

—You don't have to shoot every second of the wedding, you're not making a stop motion movie... Slow down, breathe, let your mind take in what is happening then tell the story with your photos. There are no rules.

—Ha idegenek szállnának le a földön, és Ön lenne az első, akivel találkoznának, mit mondana nekik?

—You will never feel satisfied after eating a McDonalds...

—Ha filmforgatásra kérnék fel, milyen műfajt választana?

—Slapstick comedy.

—Holnap fogok...

—I'll go to the gym, do some editing, get ready for Saturday's wedding, kick a football with my children, eat food, drink coffee...