InFocus
We asked Alex some questions about his photography - here is what he said!
When did you get your first camera?
I got my first camera back when I was twelve or so for a christmas present. I think my parents actually asked me "this isn't just a like a passing phase, is it? You are actually interested in photography?" I'm glad that now 8 years later I can still respond to that initial reality check with "yes!"
What excites you about photography?
For me what excites me about photography it not just about making art but also is an actual skill in the real world. In one moment I'll be capturing something for aesthetic purposes (experimenting with lighting, composition etc.) and in the next I'll be using my photos to illustrate news articles, form part of graphic design pieces or document events or music gigs. Then there's the personal level that photography allows you record and preserve a particular moment at the touch of a button. You get to decide which moments in your life are worth saving.
Do you have a favourite photograph?
I could probably wax lyrical about any time I've managed to cram a particularly photogenic mountain range or other form of earthporn into my viewfinder but I'll try and go for a less conventional route! There's
(not me) is looking at the camera. I like it because it's a bit of a mess, everyone is looking at different places and laughing including myself which is actually a bit odd to see because I'm used to being behind the camera or photographing posed photos of people at events. It's interesting to see moment that only other people see- me in the middle of an event, not posing or anything, just existing. It feels a lot more like I'm seeing a moment in my life than a lot of photos I'm in. Apologies if that's really lame and conceited to choose a photo that actually contains me as one of my favourite. There are also plenty of people-less photos I got to take in Borneo during my dissertation fieldwork that I really like because feel really lucky to have gone there and taken them.
a photo in my room that I'm not actually in from the Halloween bop
at Queens' last year.
I think it must have
been taken right
after we broke from
posing for a photo
because only one
person in the photo
If you could travel anywhere in the world
purely to document the journey through photos, where would it be and why?
Let me consult the world map in my room! I think it's got to be New York. I know that's a bit generic and encroaching on HONY territory but I've never been and I love photographing cities. They're a mix of big spectacles and tiny moments and New York especially has so many sides to it so I'd really wanna see what I capture if I went there.
Do you have any interesting photography projects coming up?
I'll be continuing to photograph college events and do
photography and illustration for some of the student
newspapers. There's nothing concrete in terms of photography projects coming up soon but I'm hoping to spend more time photographing Cambridge as a town with all its quirks. It's potentially my last year here (at least as an undergraduate living in a college on the Backs) so I want to get my camera out and photograph the little parts of the last three years here- the market, cafes, colleges etc. I'd like to capture that in the time I have left here.