Sincerely yourSNovember 2010

Volume 1, Issue 4

CONTENTS

Andrea Huemmer page 4

Grant Heinlein page 16

Richard Ramirez Jr page 26

Luke Lindgren page 28

Rebecca Nathan page 36

Hannah Guge page 46

Cover & Contents Photoby Angela Marksberry

CONTRIBUTERS

Graphic DesignANGELA MARKSBERRY

Featured PhotographersANDREA HUEMMER

GRANT HEINLEINLUKE LINDGREN

REBECCA NATHAN

RICHARD RAMIREz JRHANNAH GUGE

Founder and Editor-In-ChiefANGELA MARKSBERRY

Co-EditorLAUREN POTTER

Spotlights

Andrea Huemmer//Photographer

Age: 18

Camera: Digital Canon Rebel XSi; Film Canon Rebel X S or Canon Rebel X

Website: andreahuem-merphotography.com

What inspires your pho-tography most?Oh wow, that's a tough one. I'm truly inspired by little things every day. It can be from the way sunlight is creating shad-ows on an object to the mood I'm in that day to a memory that's come to mind. Overall, I think my imagination serves as a big inspiration.

Who's most influenced your life?God has definitely had the biggest impact on my life. There aren't too many people that I really feel like I can open up to, but I know I can always go to Him. He keeps me going through the rough patches and is always with me when life is good.

What's your favorite photo that you've tak-en?

My favorite photograph that I've taken is one where I made my friend, Stephanie, get into the lake with her clothes on and do a hair flip in the water. I used both digi-tal and film shots (yes, I made her do it several times), but I ended up liking the film much bet-ter. I just love the colors of the sky reflecting on the water in the back-ground. (see page 14)

What the biggest thing you've learned from your 365?The biggest thing I've learned is that you can't always be perfect. When I started my 365, I had every intention of get-ting a great photograph every day. I'd take over a hundred different pho-tos and sort through them until I found one I really liked. Now, I take about five. However, I still feel like this project is helping because I've learned more about my-self through the process. I've also learned how to think of and execute photo ideas quickly. This

project is just something new every day, but I guess that's the point.

What's a quote that has meant a lot to you?If you can't tell by my photo stream, I love quotes. I have filled jour-nal after journal full of them. It's difficult to just pinpoint one, but the one that always sticks out to me is,

"There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love."

Which do you prefer us-ing film or digital?I prefer using film, al-though it tends to get kind of expensive. I just love the mystery of how the photo turned out and the surprise I get when I develop them.

Who's a photographer that you admire?Oh goodness, there are so many! I guess I'll choose one that I don't

know personally. Kelly Havens Reed is one per-son I really admire. Her photography truly lights up my soul. Her photos are full of emotion and atmosphere and pas-sion, but it's not just her photography that is in-spirational, it's her faith, as well. I love how easily she stands up for what she believes in. She just seems like an all around great person.

How do you feel your re-ligion has affected your photography?Well, it's directly affected a few of my photos that are of a religious theme, but, in most of my pho-tography, it affects how I use light. That might seem a little strange, but I love putting light be-hind people, as if they're still in the darkness, but that light is just around the corner. That's how I often view my faith.

If you had a week to va-cation anywhere in the world, where would you go?I would go to Europe and

try to visit both Ireland and the United Kingdom. I'm not really sure why, but I know that I abso-lutely love those accents and I wouldn't want to go to a country where they don't speak English.

Where is your favorite place to go and take photos at?Every time I find a spe-cific place where I love to take photos, it's de-stroyed within a couple months. I had a favorite field, but they built hous-es in it. I had a favorite abandoned house, but they tore it down. But, I would have to say that my current favorite place is at the lake, which no one can take away.

Who's a photographer you'd like to know more about?I'd love to get to know Kelly Havens Reed, as I mentioned before. I just feel like there's a kind-ness in her heart that I'd love to know.

What's a favorite movie of yours?This may seem a little

dorky, but Back to the Fu-ture is my all time favorite movie. I'm not quite sure why, but I know I love Michael J. Fox.

What is one thing you want to accomplish through your photogra-phy?I want to be able to use my photography as a way to express myself. I want my photos to mean something. I want them to speak to a person's soul and tap into their emotions. I know I have a long way to go before I can truly achieve that, but I'm working on it.

Grant Heinlein//Photographer

Age: 17

Camera: D90 & D300S

Website: grantheinlein.com

How did you first get started in photography?I had always been in-terested in photogra-phy but I never had the equipment or knowl-edge to start taking pho-tos. I used my cousin’s camera one summer at the lake and got hooked. Since then I have migrat-ed out of my scenery and flower stage into a more portrait and fashion ori-ented one.

What do you feel has most influenced your life?God. I believe He has put me in great situations that I could have never even imagined myself in. I’m thankful for that ev-ery day.

What gives you the most inspiration?I get a lot of inspiration from different magazines such as GQ and Wired. I also get a ton of inspira-tion from the incredible

photographers on Flickr.

Do you think you will make it all the way through your 365 proj-ect?Oh gosh, I truly hope so. It has proven to be nerve-wracking at times already. As long as I find the time to do it each day, though, I think I will finish.

Adam Young is your favorite musician, with that being said, what’s your favorite Owl City song?That is a tough question! I’m going to have to go with Meteor Shower. It’s so simple, yet amazing at the same time.

Who’s someone that you’d like to shoot, past or present?I would absolutely love to photograph Emma Watson at some point in my life.

Who’s your favorite photographer?To be completely hon-est, I don’t particularly have a favorite photog-rapher. I like different

things about different photographers. I haven’t found that specific one that I am completely ob-sessed with yet.

What’s your favorite photo that you’ve tak-en?This one is rather recent. I really like the setting and the way the light reflects off of the water. It just seems calm to me and that’s what I like the most about it. (see page 20)

Who’s a photographer you’d like to know more about?I’m going to have to say Terry Richardson. He is an interesting character.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?To be rather vague, I just want to stop all of the fighting. I want peace.

What do you feel has been the biggest lesson you've learned since you first started photogra-phy?The biggest lesson I have learned is to be patient. So many times I just want

to fly through and edit because I like the photo so much, little did I know I was just ruining the image. I’ve been work-ing on taking more and more time editing.

What is something that has significantly changed your life?Art, in all forms, I have no idea where I would be in my life right now without it. It’s something I love and plan to never let go of.

What do you plan on

doing with photogra-phy in the future?In an ideal situation, I could do fashion pho-tography for a magazine like GQ or perhaps some-thing on an even larger scale. It’s a tough career to go into, but I plan on giving it all I have.

Richard Ramirez Jr

15/ Victorsville, CA

Richard Ramirez Jr

Luke Lindgren//Photographer

Age: 23

Camera: Canon 40d, t2i and AE-1

Website: Luke-Lindgren.com

What inspires your pho-tography most? Well that’s kind of a hard question to answer simply. I like to come up with concepts in my head and then I get re-ally motivated to try and make them a reality. Also, when I see a pho-tograph that is not only a beautiful photo, but also is a little piece of life, a real genuine moment captured as it's happen-ing, that inspires me.

Do you prefer using film or digital? Film wins. I don't have a ton of film experience, but digital just can't compare. They both have their pros and cons, but overall I think film is the way it's supposed to be.

What's your favorite photo that you've tak-en? I don't know if I really

have an all time favorite, I think the most recent photo I have taken is usually my favorite. I took one of myself two days ago of me holding a light bulb, I like that one because it was fun to come up with an idea and try to make it hap-pen.

Who's your favorite photographer? I would probably have to say the ten trillion phe-nomenal photographers that are out there. There are so many amazing artists out there; a lot of them are really young, it's crazy. However, I met this guy, Spencer Combs, last winter when I was traveling, and he is one of my favorite pho-tographers, I really love his style!

If you could shoot at any location in the world, where would you choose?

I really want to start tak-ing photos under water; it's like another world down there. I can't wait!

Is photography a career

or just a hobby?

Just a hobby right now, but I would love to take pictures all the time!

What would your top 3 favorite bands be? Mew, Deathcab for Cutie and Band of Horses.

What/Who has been the biggest influence in your life? God, my friends and my family; I have always been surrounded with really great people. They all influence me!

You have such an in-credible use of light in your photos, is it some-thing that was easy for you to master? Well I bought my first DSLR last year and it came with some "eBay remotes" (which I still use) and some Vivitar flashes, so I started play-ing around with that right from the start. It's something I'll always ex-periment with and learn about, there are endless possibilities.

What's a piece of advice you'd pass along to a

beginning photogra-pher?

Something I tell myself quite often is, "It takes time." You’re not going to learn everything over-night, and that’s OK, it’s part of the fun and it’s cool to see your progres-sion as it unfolds.

How do you feel about your current work? Well, I'm pretty happy with it and I'm having fun, but, like I said earlier, I really love when I see a photo of a real moment as opposed to a posed portrait. That is some-

thing I have a lot to learn about. When I see a good photo, I know the photographer had to, on some level, connect with that person to get it. I love when you see somebody's true per-sonality in a photo.

Who's a photographer you'd like to know more about? There is a young pho-tographer on Flickr called, "youretheocean", her photos are AMAZ-ING! I really don't un-derstand how she does what she does. I would

love to see how she comes up with that stuff.

Do you have a favorite photograph by another photographer? There is one on Flickr of a guy snorkeling several feet under water in the ocean. It looks to be from the 70's but it’s also very timeless. He is swim-ming into the darkness with the warm rays of light filtering through the water. I don't know what it is exactly, but I really love that photo. I have many more favor-ites though.

Rebecca Nathan//Photographer

Age: 27

Camera: Pentax K-7

Website: rebeccanathan.com

Where do you get the inspiration for your con-ceptual shots?In 2008, when I started photography, I noticed many people were tak-ing conceptual self-portraits and posting their work on Flickr.com. I was inspired to try do-ing some of my own. I had a few random props around my house, such as some pieces of fabric and an old rusty lamp, so I based my concepts around these objects. For example, the rusty lamp inspired my portrayal of the 'genie of the lamp' concept. But the truth is that I rarely actually plan a photo. It's usually a pretty random process, sometimes it works out, and a lot of the time it doesn't!

What inspires you most?I would say trees and forests. I have always loved the form of a tree, and before I started

photography I used to paint trees. I have a cousin who is my age, and she also paints and draws nothing but trees, which is kind of funny. I have always lived on a bush land property and I am used to being sur-rounded by nature. I like the concept of a girl lost in the forest and being completely at peace in that situation. The only downside to shooting in the forest is that there are lots of poisonous snakes on the property! Also, I really like old paintings of graceful women from the 18th century, they are really inspiring.

What's your favorite photograph that you've taken? I'd have to say "Spiral-ing". I took this photo on my old camera about 18 months ago. I have no idea how I did it, I think I was just spinning around in front of the camera, hoping some-thing would come of it. I really like how it turned out and I have always

wished I could re-capture that mood again in a photo. (see page 44)

You have a lot of unique manipulations, how much time do you spend to get the fin-ished product?Before I started pho-tography I worked as a graphic designer for sev-en years and that is how I learned how to use Pho-toshop. I still use it ev-ery day and I absolutely LOVE it. I always heavily process my images, ad-mittedly I'm stuck in the dark ages and still using Photoshop 7.0, but I am about to upgrade. Some photos only take about an hour to process, but there have been a few which have taken around 40 hours to complete. I'm such a night owl as well; I could stay up all night editing photos.

If you could collaborate with any photographer/artist on a photo shoot, who would you choose?I would say Tom Hoops because I am always blown away by his pho-

tographs. Basically I would just love to see how he works and inter-acts with his models. I have to admit that I can be a bit narrow-minded when it comes to col-laborating with other photographers because I always want things to be done [my way]. I would much rather work with models, actors and danc-ers so we could all have different skills to bring to the photo shoot.

What has been the big-gest influence on your life?Probably my parents, they are both creative people.

Do you have a favorite photographer?Yes I have many, mainly people who can capture an intense human ex-pression, like Tom Hoops and Mike Bailey-Gates.

http://www.tomhoops.com/

http://mikebaileygates.com/

What one piece of ad-vice you'd give to some-one starting off in pho-

tography?I would say it doesn't matter what type of camera you have, just start taking photos in any way possible. It's great to look at other people's work for inspi-ration, but one mistake I constantly make is getting too hung up on other people's work, and thinking that I will never be as good as them. As Judy Garland said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” Have confidence in your own ideas.

Who's a photographer you'd like to know more about?I can't really think of any-one because I already know a lot about my favorite photographers, but I would really like to know more about 18th century painters, both from the Romantic pe-riod and the Pre-Rapha-elites.

How did you get start-ed in photography?

I think I asked my parents to buy me a camera for my birthday. I started taking photos of simple things like flowers and sunsets. I think that using Flickr really inspired me to try conceptual pho-tography.

How would you describe your photography in 5 words?Serene, impossible, femi-nine, graceful, and green.

Hannah Guge

19/ Sleepy Hollow, IL

Contact Sincerely Yours at: angela.marksberry@gmail.comInterested in being featured?