Interview | Sam Johnson
Interview
Sam Johnson
"My name is Sam Johnson and I am 18 years old. I have lived in Australia my whole life but am
currently living in London. I have been interested in Photography for around five years."
When and how did your journey as a photographer begin?
The first real and all-engrossing interest I had in photography was when I discovered
Kanghee Kim. I think in my eyes there was a disparity between her being an artist rather
than a photographer and it was attractive to me. I immediately started teaching myself to
use Photoshop and it amazed me that I could create “photographs” that people enjoyed
even though I knew nothing about the fundamentals of the medium.
Could you describe a bit about the type of photography you pursue?
In all my interests involving photography, I find it hard to not take a minimal approach. I
think I heard John Free say once that, “The things you don’t include in a photograph are
just as important as the things you do include,” I think that has always stuck with me
hence why I sort of become fixated on small things in my photos. I enjoy minimal and
surrealism photography and am experimenting a lot with incorporating these into street
photography. I find my interest in street photography quite obscure because I feel as
though certain fundamentals of the style are the polar opposite of minimalism and
surrealism. I want to be able to convey more of a story rather than leaving the
interpretation up to the viewer, I think this is what interests me about experimenting with
street photography.
What inspired you to pursue photography?
I think prior to actually exploring photography I was always interested in the idea of
capturing things that interested me and not letting them be forgotten. Just being able to
preserve an interest you had at a particular time was cool to me.
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
I think learning and getting better at what I’m doing is probably my biggest source of
inspiration. Sometimes you can go through patches where it feels like your sort of going
through a cycle which is leading nowhere, but then you have new ideas and see new
things which sort of open your eyes to new possibilities. Knowing that I’m going to keep
learning is inspiring enough.
What photographers have influenced your work?
Kanghee Kim, Joel Meyerowitz, Bruce Gilden, Pat O’Rourke, Andy Smith, Ben Zank
Are there any photography projects you are currently pursuing or would like to pursue?
I recently moved from Australia to temporarily live in London, this opened up so many doors in
terms of street photography and documenting the characters of the city. I have been spending
most of my afternoons standing around Piccadilly Circus during peak hour just shooting
interesting people. I’m really excited to pursue this and explore it in my own way. I think the
majority of my inspiration to experiment with this style came from Bruce Gilden and Joel
Meyerowitz. But something about Gilden's work always inspired me, I think you can learn a lot
about his personal character through the way he composes his images.
What general process do you undergo to produce your work?
I always enjoyed working with surrealism because of the process. You can make
something exactly the way you want down to the finest details and this was really
satisfying. I use Photoshop for my surrealism work and I think my motives in this medium
are quite selfish. I create the images exactly how I want, it’s interesting to see how
people react to what I like.
What general process do you undergo to produce your work?
I always enjoyed working with surrealism because of the process. You can make
something exactly the way you want down to the finest details and this was really
satisfying. I use Photoshop for my surrealism work and I think my motives in this medium
are quite selfish. I create the images exactly how I want, it’s interesting to see how
people react to what I like.
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