Wednesday
March 10, 2010
Bleeding the Sacred and the Secular
Photographer Joshua Longbrake talks faith and photography
A friend introduced me to Joshua Longbrake’s photography around this time last year. It’s hard for me to say this without exploiting every cliché in the book (here I go already), but I immediately fell in love with Longbrake’s work, viewing his blog during class, linking friends to his Flickr account. He is somewhat of a legend in Ft. Wayne, Longbrake’s hometown and mine, at least to my photographer friends. But those who have spent time talking to him know he’s more than just a guy who can snap an interesting shot. This interview is evidence to that.
When did you start getting interested in photography?
Jeff, my roommate in college, and his then girlfriend/now wife Huong were both photographers. I was a music major but I always admired their photography. I never took photos for myself while living with Jeff, but that’s where the seed was planted. Somehow he was able to convey things about life visually that was difficult to articulate. After college I took off traveling for three months in Europe, and right before I left I thought I should probably get a camera. I called Huong the day before I left, she gave me some advice towards purchasing a camera, and I bought one that night. It was a Canon Powershot handheld digital camera. Then I spent three months by myself, so I had a lot of time to read, write and take photographs. That’s where it really took off for me.
On your blog you have a lot of photographs from all around the world. Do you travel specifically for photography, or do you travel just to travel and take your camera along?
Mostly I’ve traveled on my own simply for the love of travel and culture. There have been instances where I’ve been hired by either an individual or a company to do work for them overseas, which I’m always thankful for. My camera goes with me almost everywhere I go now. It’s interesting for me to see my style evolve from wanting to take really big photographs (big scenes, famous architecture, giant landscapes) to where now I’m more interested in overlooked daily life. The details can say so much.
You mentioned that you like catching the “overlooked daily life.” What does that involve?
I drink coffee every single day. Every day. I have no remorse for this in the slightest. Someone today was talking to me about how they’re down to one cup a day and I’m all WHY? To each their own. So, I take a photograph of my coffee almost every day. The thing is, it’s so normal that it can easily go unnoticed, but I love going through my photos of coffee and being able to distinctly recall what was going on that day, or where I was at physically or emotionally. It’s as if the details are simply clues into the larger narratives. (Wow that sentence sounded very grad school of me.) … All I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to miss out on life. The big moments are just as important as the small to me. And, there are so many more small moments than big ones, and that means there is more to enjoy. And clients love that stuff. They eat it up. And, some people hate it, and they’ll never hire me. Another cup of coffee? Come on. And I’m like, Yes. Another cup of coffee. That was a good Tuesday.
How do you approach art from a Christian worldview – or do you? Is that something you think about as you take photos?
The breakdown of the secular and the sacred has been important in my life, as well as the reconstruction of those two ideas. Overall, what I feel plays into almost every shot I take, even if it is a directly commissioned shot. Sometimes the themes I work with seem to resonate with Christians, and sometimes it seems like Christians don’t seem to know what to do with certain themes. (It should also be noted that I’m doing everything I can to keep from making a Thomas Kinkaid joke.) For me, the secular and the sacred bleed all over each other. They’re difficult to distinguish, and I find that incredibly freeing. So do you do all of your work freelance or are there companies that you always shoot for? I’m self-employed, but I get hired by companies from time to time. A lot of the work I get hired to do comes out of personal work, meaning, companies will see the photographs that I take on my own time and they’ll say, hey. You should do that for us. And I say, OK. It tends to work out fairly well. Sometimes it’s terrible. But the photographs from terrible moments are often some of the best.
How so?
One time I got hired to do some work and what was required of me was, in my opinion, outrageous. The hours were long and the demands weren’t obtainable. So, as I am prone to do, I got grumpy. I’m a terribly moody person. But, as I learn to become aware of the mood swings, and what mood I’m in any particular moment, I’m slowly becoming able to interpret those moods or emotions into images. So, when I was in a bad mood that one day, I took a lot of photographs that portrayed my anger, and some of those individual photographs have sold really well. Or at least have gotten a fair amount of recognition.
What kinds of photos do you usually take for clients?
I shoot half-a-dozen or so weddings a year. They’re not my favorite things to shoot, but I’m actually growing more and more fond of them. I don’t think I shoot in a typical wedding photographer style, so the brides that tend to hire me are often looking for something unique. There are thousands of wedding photographers who are really good at what they do, so it baffles me every time someone writes or calls and says that they want me to capture their wedding.
Maybe they like that you do it differently.
I suppose so, and I’m almost always glad to do it. As for other clients, I’ve done a lot of travel photojournalism for non-profit organizations that want to document the work that’s being done. I’ve also done all the branding work for my school here in Seattle. My favorite thing to do is to sell fine art prints. I love it when someone commissions me to do a piece. Those are always great experiences.
Check out Longbrake’s work at www.thelongbrake.com.
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