Interview | Niklas Porter
Interview
Niklas Porter
About Niklas
Favorite thing to do besides photography or design?
Besides photography or design I would say my favorite thing to do is to be with my girlfriend. Not doing anything in particular but just to be together.
Favorite color?
Tough one, I really love color and working with color in my photography but there is something about black that I am always drawn to. I guess my favorite color is black.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Another tough one, there are so many places I want to see and live in. If I had to choose one city I would say NYC. For most of my life I have lived in smaller towns and would love to live in a bigger city. I feel that the combination big city and close to nature would be a winning combination for me.
Describe yourself in three words.
Work in progress.
Niklas' Work
When and how did your journey as a photographer begin?
I really got into photography about 5 years ago as it was a personal search for an emotional outlet. I had always been interested in photography and appreciated other photographers work but never really thought about doing it myself. That was until one day when I just decided to buy a small digital camera, without any real reason. It was a very spontaneous decision. I instantly fell in love with photography.
Shortly thereafter I decided to try analogue photography and bought a cheap 35mm camera. There was something that felt different about that is hard to describe. I think it is a combination of that there is something tangible to it and not having instant gratification that made me really enjoy it. Today I only shoot 35mm and 120 film. I carry a camera almost everywhere I go and photography has simply become a part of my everyday life.
Could you describe a bit about the type of photography you pursue?
Through photography, I try to capture scenes in everyday life to describe a particular place and time by focusing either on a particular detail, such as an object or by capturing an entire scene. My style is in a sense documentary but not so much documenting what I see but rather feelings and memories. Feelings and memories come together (often subconsciously, I think) and form some kind of fragmented narrative.
What inspired you to pursue photography?
My feelings and memories. Everything shifts and moves, and different things come into focus at different parts of your life. Photography has been a way to articulate those feelings and memories as life continues to move, shift and change.
I came across an interview of the photographer Alec Soth in which he says “ I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me, it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is the document of that performance”. I really couldn't have said it any better, that's exactly how it feels for me when I'm taking pictures and that's one of the main things that inspires me to pursue photography every day.
What is your greatest source of inspiration? What photographers have influenced your work?
For me, inspiration can come from feelings, memories, daydreaming or simple thoughts. It can come from other photographers, writers, musicians, artists and so on. To be honest, I try not to think too much about it. I don't want it to feel forced. Inspiration comes when it comes.
Cinema has been a big source of inspiration. Recently I've been very much inspired by David Lynch's surreal and dark vision and directors like Wong Kar-wai, Wim Wenders, Sofia Coppola and movies like Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.
Photographers that have influenced my work are William Eggleston, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Nan Goldin and Lars Tunbjörk.
What general process do you undergo to produce your work?
I like to not have any preconceived thoughts or ideas of what I want to do when taking photos, I want them to come to me instead while I’m out walking around. Sometimes I photograph something not knowing what will come out of it and sometimes I know exactly what I see before I photograph it.
My process really is to just grab my camera, have a couple extra rolls of film with me and just walk or drive around discovering new places. After I finish a roll of film I send it away to get developed. When I get it back the first thing I do is scan. Once everything is scanned I like to take my time and just look through the photos. One of the main reasons I choose to shoot with film is there is always a period of time between taking the photo and seeing it after being scanned. Looking through them I am reminded how I felt at the time when I took the photo. As for post-processing, it really depends on the image and the feeling or memory I get when looking back at that specific moment. Sometimes I adjust certain colors and the overall tone to better reflect a feeling or memory. Sometimes I don’t adjust anything.
In the future, I would love to learn to develop film and make prints in a darkroom as well.
