We call it the #ICMEETSERIES and thought it would be interesting to find out a bit more about the people behind the disposables. We asked a few IC contributors to tell us a bit about themselves and this is what we got in return…
IC MEET SERIES – Q+A with…
Trippe Davis – Portland, Oregon USA
INSTAGRAM | INSTAGRAM / 2 | WEBSITE
What do you do for a crust?
As in pizza crust? I’d do almost anything!
What do you do for work?
I am a self taught photographer and 1st. A/C (focus puller). I fell in love with photography a little bit later in life and so I have very little formal training. I am a 1st A/C on film sets which means that I pull focus for commercial film projects. I am also a film photographer. I shoot stills for part of my living and make all of my own personal projects using 35mm film.
Can you tell us about your creative background?
Being creative is something I treasure, something I focus on & put a lot of energy into. You may learn growing up that “creative” people are born that way & have watercolors in their fingertips but creativity is also something that you can learn and hone in on and get better at using to make the level of art that you want to make. I grew up in a place where it wasn’t cool to be male & be an artist, it wasn’t tough enough & later in life realized how important this part of life is. All that to say, my creative background is only about six years old but is built on a lot of life experience and a lot of hard work.
What inspires you to shoot film?
Film is it. Film produces images right out of the camera that have so much feel, so much character that it’s very hard to replicate or replace with a digital camera. I also like tangible things and to me film is tangible, it’s something I can manipulate myself in my darkroom in my basement. I love film.
How did you come to connect with Indisposable Concept?
I found Indisposable Concept on Instagram a long time ago & have loved it from the start.
Do you remember what was in the first roll of film you shot for IC?
I honestly can’t remember and couldn’t find it on your site when I looked for it (it’s here)… If i’m not mistaken it’s a lot of the beautiful state that I live in (Oregon) and some drunken friends!
What is your fav photo that you’ve shot for IC? Tell us a bit about it.
Tell us a bit about it. I don’t know! Unfortunately, I’d need to access the rolls & I can’t seem to do so at the moment. (To find galleries, type a name into the Search bar…).
It seems film photography and disposables are making a comeback, why do you think that is?
I think part of it is that the internet has brought the brilliance of film into light again because it allows us to share the images we make so easily & in such quantity. I think that may be the catapult but what gives it staying power in my mind is the natural beauty and depth that comes from a film image. Film has an incredible dynamic range and I think people are really drawn to the full, rich images that can be made using this medium.
If someone destroyed all the disposable cameras in the world and you had the very last one, what would you capture?
I’d probably go take a walk downtown and snap up all the interesting people here in Portland, Oregon, that’s one of my very favorite things to do. You can see what I mean over at @colorinthecorner.
What does 2016 hold for you?
2016 is going to be a big year for me. I’m planning to put out a book of candid street stuff this year that I’ve been working on for a long time and really excited about finally getting it out into the world. I was recently a part of a wildly successful group show that hung for a month and had hundreds of viewers, I hope to be in at least two more shows this year. I also hope to travel to Germany to see my little brother who lives in Berlin & maybe most excitingly, I’m in the middle of raising a puppy and I look forward to watching him grow! I’ll be shooting a disposable of him real soon!
Explain your style/approach when shooting a roll.
I shoot rolls everyday so it varies greatly but with disposable cameras I’m a little bit more intentional. I like to make a story out of a disposable roll or have some theme that is a steady trend throughout so that when it shows up here on IC it has a better chance of being something worth lookin’ at!
How would you describe your photographic style?
My photographic style is simple. I like a small aperture, usually float around f/8 which makes images that are in focus, that have a serious depth of field as opposed to a shallow one. Images that fill the frame and convey the moment are what I am usually after.
Where do you find inspiration? Who or what influences you creatively?
Gah, all kinds of things. My friend Chantal Anderson is an incredibly talented photographer and she constantly inspires me. I adore the way she sees the world. I find a lot of inspiration from Ryan Plett a very talented portrait photographer in NYC and I have a steady group of friends that constantly push me and inspire me, I feel like very presence inspires the shit out of me. A lot of the great classic street photographers really move me as well. On the internet I look for inspiration at The Ones We Love, thisispaper.com, It’s Nice That & Of the Afternoon. I also love Instagram for photographic inspiration and creative influence.
Fave place to shoot?
I feel like this is another way of asking where my favorite place on earth is, so my answer is Maine, specifically in the summer time.
5 at 5… (For lack of a better name)
5 photos from history you wish you’d taken…
oh man, ok…
1. the World War II Leica photo of the soldier falling from having just been shot.
2. HCB’s photo of the man jumping the puddle with his umbrella.
3. Garry Winongrand’s photo of the couple in NYC holding the chimps.
4. Elliot Erwitt’s photo of the bulldog on the stoop that looks like it’s head is on a human body.
5. … and the fifth one eludes me, I can’t answer because then I’m trapped & there’s just so many more!
5 people you’d like to photograph?
I’d like to photograph my five best friends from childhood. I’ve always wanted to make something out of that & I never see any of them anymore being that I live 3,000 miles away.
5 books you wish you’d written?
1. Black Sun by Edward Abbey
2. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
3. To Have & Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
4. Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
5. The Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen
5 people you’d invite around for drinks and dinner?
1. Daniel Arnold
2. Ryan Plett
3. Taylor Swift
4. Antonio Sanchez
5. Joost Vandebrug
5 go to songs to get you in the mood?
1. Panda by Desiigner
2. Cristo Redentor by Donald Byrd
3. The Homeless Wanderer by Segue-Maryam Guebrou
4. In My Time of Dying by Led Zeppelin
5. Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath