James Lalropui Keivom said, “It’s weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don’t even amount to a couple of hours.” It’s true. Freezing time is the photographers gift. I, personally, tend to enjoy photographs that make me feel as if I could have been there.
Elizabeth Zongolowicz seems to take that “no frills – all feeling” approach to photography. Though she edits her photos as any photographer would there tends to be a sense of purity in each piece. Her photos aren’t suffocated by Photoshop effects or extraneous manipulation. There’s a certain casualness to her work that makes the viewer feel as if they were standing beside her the moment the shutter clicked. To me that’s what a good photography is all about!
You can contact Elizabeth and view more of her work here.
Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:
I was born and (mostly) raised in Terre Haute, IN. The kind of town you’re happy to see in your rear-view mirror when you’re young, but now I miss it when I’m gone and I absolutely love coming home for a visit. I’m infatuated with the old buildings, history, and trains of Terre Haute. Hearing a train’s whistle puts a smile on my face. My mom lives in the historical district and I love those old Victorian-style houses. I’m a sucker for vintage anything. Everything was so much better-made back then, my generation won’t have any antiques because nothing we make will last that long! I think my love of all things “old” ties into my photography, my desire to create timeless images that will still look good years from now.
I always knew, even in kindergarten, that I was going to be an “artist”. Being creative and being able to draw made me stand out, it was what I was good at, so it became my “thing”. I got into photography when I was in high school but I decided that I wanted to be a graphic designer. Which is what I went to college for. But it got to be too frustrating, I was over people telling me to change this or that, only to decide it was fine how it was originally. I ended up moving to Hawaii when I was 22. I was a barista and I was doing graphic design on the side. Then one day I had a friend who managed a bikini shop down from the coffee shop that I worked at say to me, “Hey, you like photography, will you shoot these girls for the shop?”. I got a custom-made bikini out of it and some nice photos. Things just kinda went from there.
What’s your gear breakdown and what would you bring if you had to pick one mandatory piece of equipment for a shoot?
I shoot with two Nikon D300 cameras. I pretty much always have a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens on one and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens on the other. I also keep a wide angle 12-24mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.8 in my bag, but I don’t like to change lenses while shooting weddings and portraits (my main gigs), so they get a lot less use. I have two Nikon SB800 flashes, and I recently bought more memory cards, bringing me to a total of 72 gigabytes worth. I hate dumping cards in the middle of an event, so now I hopefully won’t have to. An Expodisc for tricky white balance situations. That’s it, more or less. If I had to pick one mandatory piece of equipment (besides a camera body) it would be the 17-55mm, it’s my work horse.
What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Mmmm… just people. People’s faces are inspiring. Pretty girls and wrinkly old men are good.
What are some of your influences as to your style?
Wedding-wise Jessica Claire was a big influence in the beginning. The H. Cartier Bresson quote, “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept,” you can’t get too wrapped up in sharpness. The feeling a photo invokes is so much more important.
Words to live by?
Concerning photography? Don’t assume you’ll get a second chance to shoot something. If you see a shot, don’t get lazy or shy about taking it. I’ve definitely lost my fair share. Some of my favorite photos were last-second, on-a-whim shots. Like the photo of the girl in the mini top hat. That was taken in a bar bathroom mirror while she was getting ready with her burlesque troop. I have no idea if she saw me taking her photo or if she would have cared, but I definitely had a moment of hesitation. I raised my camera and took two quick shots, and I’m absolutely glad I did. I was shooting jpeg and my white balance was set for sunlight, making the photo totally orange, so I converted it to B&W and added more grain, which I think worked better in the end anyway. So just take the shot. It might not be technically perfect, but it just might work.
What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.
American Photo magazine is great, awesome images and interesting articles. The blog photolovecat.blogspot.com always has these great entries that just about any photographer could learn from. And this is embarrassing, but I love watching America’s Next Top Model. I love seeing the end shots. Sometimes the photos look like they’re going to be so underwhelming, and then they turn out awesome! Mostly. And I like seeing how the photographers interact with the their subjects.
What’s your personal favorite photo of yours? Tell us the story behind it.
Hm, tricky. I really love the one on here that I shot in my sister’s car. That was after a really late night of hanging out. Normally I wouldn’t have even had my camera on me, but I’ve been trying to take more photos that are for me, and not just commissioned by other people. Anyway, I just think that photo is really easy to relate to, who hasn’t had a late night driving down a deserted street, in the wee hours of the morning? Another favorite is one I took in college of my brother drawing in his room late one evening. Basically it’s a silhouette shot with his desk lamp behind him. It was taken with B&W film, I don’t know what it is, but film has something digital doesn’t. Can’t explain it.
What ‘s your all-time favorite piece of art or photography. (*not created or shot by yourself)
Oh jeez. Let’s see. I remember when I was young I saw some Ansel Adams prints at a relatives house and they blew me away. Google “Aspens, Northern New Mexico, 1958″ to see what I mean. Those trees are practically glowing. If you can make trees look that good, you are a real artist. Those are images that have stuck with me.
What’s your current creative obsession.
Beer? Sometimes you just have to let go.
Thanks Elizabeth. It’s always a pleasure.
-The AG-