Alejandra

 

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by a local newspaper who wanted to write a piece on my involvement in the PechaKucha night earlier in the month. I sent them the answers to their questions but when it came time to actually print the article they said they ‘ran out of room’….. SO, rather than let all the time I spent on this go to waste, I decided I would post the full interview here on my blog for you all to read. So here it is..

 

1) How old are you?

28

2) Where are you based?

Hamilton

3) What is your profession? Are you a student or are you working?

I have a Bachelor of Management Studies from Waikato, and I am a fine art portrait photographer.

4) Are you a freelance photographer? What kind of photography do you do?

Yes. I shoot fine art beauty portraits, which are all about celebrating and empowering women. They involve a full makeover with a professional hair and make up artist, followed by a photo shoot, which is a lot of fun and a very glamorous experience. My personal work does vary from project to project, but would generally still fit in the fine art portrait genre.

5) How long have you been doing photography and how did you get into it?

I first got into photography in 2010, after being given a Canon SLR as a Christmas gift from my partner.

6) Did you take any classes for that?

No, not exactly- what I know is the result of self-study: watching a lot of tutorials online, reading articles, books and lots of practise.

7) You are a musician too. Do you sing or play an instrument?

Yes, I sing and play guitar.

8) How long have you been doing this and how did you get into it?

When I was in my last year at high school, I took handful of lessons and taught myself the rest.

9) You are one of the guest speakers at the Pechakucha Night. What made you interested to take part in this event?

I wanted to speak at Pechakucha primarily because I wanted to share my Banksy project, ‘Exit Through the Thrift Shop’. It was a very important project for me, and I got quite a lot of exposure internationally but I didn’t really have a platform to share the work on a local level (aside from the exhibition I put on myself).

10) What will be your aim, when you speak at the event?

To share the ‘Exit’ project, talk about my work, and hopefully to gain some interest and support for future projects. I am going to take the opportunity to network with people who may be able to support or collaborate with me in the future.

11) What are you going to share with the audience?

A personal photography project called ‘Exit Through the Thrift Shop’ which I released last year.

12) Have you done this or anything similar before?

No, I haven’t spoken at a PK event before, but I would like to do more of this sort of thing in the future.

13) Will you be focussing on photography, music or both?

Photography.

14) What is your main focus? Photography or music and why?

They are both very important to me and complement each other. Working on one gives me a break and some headspace to consider the other from a different mindset. I also think it’s important to have a couple of different things you spend your time on so if you become overwhelmed, discouraged, bored or frustrated with one, you can shift your focus to the other without losing too much momentum.

15) Have you had any albums or songs released?

I played in an Auckland band (now defunct) that released an EP. Hopefully I will be able to release some new music soon.

16) What made you interested in the media arts field?

I’m quite a visual person, and have been involved in miscellaneous artistic endeavors all my life, so it was just a natural progression I think.

17) Did it start off as a hobby?

I suppose it did. Most things tend to, for me at least.

18) How do you manage photography and being a musician above everything else?- in other words how do you find time to do these?

It is difficult. Not only with regards to time but it can also be a huge strain financially and emotionally. I find that breaking work up into project form is a good way of managing multiple pursuits. I guess if there is something you really want to do, you have to make a decision to really commit to it, but also be willing to make the necessary personal sacrifices (time, money etc) to make it happen. Choosing what to commit to on that sort of level is a challenge in itself, but once you have the specifics of what you want to do, it’s important to be really organized and set goals for yourself so you can prioritise and remained focused and efficient enough to actually achieve something worthwhile in the time you have to spend on your project. Having a supportive partner and family also plays a significant role in the ultimate success of whatever you set out to achieve.

19) Do you know about the lineup for the night’s event. Are you excited to meet different people in the same field such as artists etc?

Yes, definitely. I think that being surrounded and inspired by so many unique topics and interesting people is one of the many fantastic aspects of the PK nights.

20) Will you do a similar event in future?

Yes, definitely.

21) Also, what are your future plans?

The beauty portrait sessions are my main focus at the moment because I feel that they are a really important thing to be able to offer people. Being photographed like this is a real confidence booster for women and because I shoot with great respect and empathy, their images reveal to them how beautiful they really are. I have lots of new services I will be introducing shortly, including special couture shoots for clients etc which is really exciting. In a few months time I will start applying for funding grants, fundraising and building relationships with businesses that I would like support from. After this I can begin work on my next big personal project which is going to be released in book form alongside another exhibition. I have a lot of personal projects I want to shoot, the biggest challenge is finding the funds to produce it all.