Our featured artist for the moth of October is the splendid Molly Matcham Photography. Molly lives in a little village next to the beautiful Pennines mountains in the UK. She is a seasoned photographer who has studied the art of photography. A couple of years ago she decided to focus soley on her film work. And I am so glad she did!! She is an amazing film photographer who has a gift of capturing the true essence of the individuals and families that she works with. The colors in her film work are out of this world good. But what fascinates us at Fantastically Flawed is the creative leaps that she has taken with her Polaroids, Holga images, and other film work. It is essential that you see for yourself and take your time browsing through her lovely work. Molly Matcham Photography How long have you been in business and how did you get your start in photography? My career in photography began 14 years ago when I worked part time for a wedding and portrait photographer while studying for my Media Production degree at university. I worked in the office doing admin at first and soon started photographing weddings. I stayed there for a few years, after which I set up a wedding photography business with 2 friends. I finally started my own business 2 years ago. Which photographers influenced you, and how did they influence your thinking, photographing, and career path? One of my first influences was the Finnish photographer Sirrka - Lisa Knottinen. I fell in love with her black and white photography and the way she captured the honesty of the people she lived close to. It was her project on an area in the north of England called Byker that inspired me a lot. Sirrka moved to the area in Newcastle in the late 60s early 70s and took several years to complete the project. She spent time getting to know her neighbours and this allowed her to capture intimate moments. It made me realise how important the connection between the photographer and the subject is. Another big influence has been Jonathan Canlas, I attended his workshop a couple of years ago which was an amazing experience and will always stay with me. I am looking forward to doing Yan Palmers workshop in Feburary, I am so inspired by the way she photographs and it will be wonderful to learn from her. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos? Finding my style may take forever but to remember to enjoy the journey and not be too hard on myself! What does photography mean to you? Since starting my own business I really feel like it is part of my whole life, not just my work. I feel I can express myself through photography, I love being able to tell stories this way and document peoples lives. All I can tell you is that if I don’t take photographs it can make me difficult to live with, so it must be good for my soul! What is the best part about being a photographer? Being there for the most special times in people lives. I have been there when friends have given birth, couples have exchanged vows and when grandparents have met their great grand children for the first time. To be a part of capturing these huge moments is wonderful, and it's an honour when people who you don’t know very well welcome you to one of the most important moments in their lives. If you could shoot with any photographer in the world, who would it be and why? John Dolan. I love his work. In a world where there are so many photographs all the time to look at he seems to say so much in just one. One of his feels enough. It would be amazing to learn from him. What is your favourite image you have taken to date? So hard to say but probably one of my daughters. This year I began a project to photograph them every month in the same place near our home. One image in particular seemed to capture their connection to each other. Having a long term project like this has enabled me to revisit and evolve the brief. How do you feel about breaking the perceived rules of photography? I now always break the rules a bit, sometimes it is to achieve a desired effect that I know works and others times its exploring an idea that I am not sure will work. I also use certain cameras that have more surprising results like the toy camera the Holga. It is often the flawed images that I love the most, they can just have that something extra that connects you to them.
1 Comment
S
10/11/2014 11:25:22 am
Fantastic photographs
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