Loves Category

Australian photographer Jo Duck does something very special; injecting fashion photography with personality and emotion. It’s not often that one becomes invested in a fashion photo, with it’s unattainable glamour and shiny perfection. But Jo’s magic is such that subjects come to life, with the clothes assisting in telling the story, rather than driving it. This narrative style of fashion photography is captivating, and it’s hard not to find inspiration in Jo’s work. We talked to the inimitable photographer about the process of producing ideas, constantly changing inspirations and creating relationships with models to draw out distinct characters…

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Underball.Art’s Sebastian Ospina‘s delightful collages. We thought we’d share this beautiful creation with you to brighten up your Thursday afternoon; part octopus, part vintage lady, part paper cut out, this divine piece of work is delicately surreal, and a perfect new desktop background for your computer screen.

Australian photographer She Is Frank isn’t offering subtly; this is photography at its most lusciously color drenched, boldly suggestive, glamorous best. Soaked in the bright colors of pop culture, She Is Frank’s work is vibrant and alive, bursting through from the screen or page in full life, a celebration of fashion and beauty. We talked to She Is Frank about the love of color, luxury, and Juergen Teller (interview and more images after the jump)…

Brendan Burdzinski work is at times confessional, at times intimate and at others, perfectly polished, capturing heightened beauty. His is a body of work that transcends genre and emotion; from nature to glamour, Brendan appears at home in all environments, and in each he tells unique stories with the moments he captures. We spoke to Brendan about his love of photography, portraiture and intimacy. Click through to read the interview and see more of his inspirational photography…

We have a saying here at Portable, and it goes: “Collages are the new .gifs.” That being the case, we commissioned the amazing artist Sebastian Ospina of Underball Project to create a collage for us inspired by film noir and the inimitable Barbara Stanwyck. What he produced is simply beautiful, mixing collage with illustration to capture the mood of the femme fatale. We spoke to him about his work and about his exclusive creation for Portable, which you can download in hi res for your decorative and viewing pleasure (can anyone say “desktop background”?).

Portable: When did you start using collage as a creative format, and what led you to combine collage with illustration?
Sebastian Ospina: I started working with collage as a form of expression around 3 years ago, in a moment of experimentation and creativity in my work, when I changed from crafts into advertising. It was just the time when I found clipping as a way of composing and founding inspiration. After a while I wanted to change my work, because the vast majority was digital, so I saw the opportunity to create a series of collages by hand, using resources from magazines and photos amongst others. Then i complemented the work with sketching.

P: How do collage and illustration compliment each other as art forms? What are the challenges of combining the two?
Sebastian Ospina: In my work this 2 techniques complement each other very well. AS they allow me to create and compose different spaces. Mi biggest challenge is that at the end the composition is calibrated, clean and aesthetic.

Where do you find the images you use in your collages?
Sebastian Ospina: From beauty and fashion magazines from the 60′s and 70′s that I find in small markets and fairs around town.

What is your main inspiration when collaging?
Sebastian Ospina: In general, and in a certain way, everything inspires me. The street, music, my mood, even the magazine clippings.

What does your art express about you, or about this cultural moment?
Sebastian Ospina: Each piece has a different feeling or thought about it. My compositions express my mood and what I’m feeling at every moment.

Tell us a little bit about the process of making this collage for Portable.
Sebastian Ospina: To begin with, it was very important knowing more about Barbara Stanwyck, star of my collages. I want to outline her more important movies and roles, where she played a “Femme Fatale”. That’s how I started the process of choosing the images, clipping and gluing them together. Creating different sketches that form the final piece.

Download a hi res version of Underball.art’s collage for your desktop HERE.

There’s something of the other in Emil Kozak‘s art photography. The Barcelonan artist draws you into his work with what he doesn’t photograph, with his beautiful still photography haunted by the movement you feel should be, or could be happening, just beyond the lens. The depth of field in Kozak’s work is disconcerting and eerie, subtly surreal, and looking at his work will give you an odd sense of foreboding and of the sinister; everything is right in Kozak’s photographed world, but not entirely right at all…

Portable: When and why did you start taking pictures? What was it about the medium that made you keep shooting?
Emil Kozak: I had an injury, and was unable to draw, or use my computer for a period of 3 months. I bought a second-hand Rolleiflex, and used my energy on making pictures. I had no vision of what i wanted to do, but instantly fell in love with the heightened attention it creates having a camera in the backpack. Slowly, through experimentation, I discovered a whole new world. A world connected to reality, but at the same time I was amazed how I could shape that reality and even convey stories and messages through it. I was also very compelled to the connection to the present it puts you in. Sometimes i think of it as surfing. It puts you in a zone, where you feel very much alive, observing the light change as the planet spin etc.

P: Tell me about Little White Plastic Birds. Why did you choose to personify an every day item like the plastic bag?
Emil Kozak: Apart from being a thought I had as a child, it is an exercise in nostalgia and sentimentality. It reminds me of the disturbing feeling I had as a kid, when my mom would throw out my old worn out shoes. I am aware that these feelings are totally irrational, but I think that most people feel similar emotions in relation to material objects. To some extent I often think, that everything in our surroundings can be subject to our sentimental abilities. The plastic bag is one of the lowest valued material objects, and I took it as a challenge to breathe life into it, as it embodies the idea of “One man’s trash is another man’s gold.”

P: Where do you take most of your pictures? How does seeing the world through your camera help you to interact with or understand it?
Emil Kozak: Most of my photographs are made in open nature. I grew up surrounded by fields and forests in Denmark, and now I live in a hectic big city (Barcelona). So I guess I have some kind of longing to wide open spaces. I love feeling small and insignificant, and when that feeling sneaks up on me I photograph it. Often i also provoke situations like that. In my project ‘Big Black Nothing’ I consciously go from the city, and out into the wilderness at night, basically walking until I get scared, take the picture and go back. It is an effort to explore the human boundaries… physically and psychologically speaking…

P: Tell me about the series Habana Libre. Where and when were the pictures taken? What were you trying to find out about the people and places you shot?
Emil Kozak: Habana, Cuba January 2010. I was interested in the contradiction the concept of freedom exhibit.

How many times do you need to do something before you feel as though you’ve fully nailed it, got it down pat? For many, it’s an elusive number or time or figure, but for outgoing Managing Editor of Portable, Brodie Lancaster, that number is 753.

Since Brodie first started at Portable as its inaugural Managing Editor, she has posted no less than 753 articles, programmed an entire film festival, reported on one the most important cultural event in the world and transformed Portable from a small blog based in Melbourne to an international network of film, fashion, music and design culture, based in New York City.

As Brodie’s co-worker and fan club organiser, I’ve taken the time to put together the most memorable posts and moments produced by Brodie over the past two years.

You wouldn’t know it from her wistful photography, but Natalie Nikitovic is a young woman that makes decisions. For instance, one day she decided she was going to be a photographer, and now she is. She decided she would also be a stylist, and now she is. She decided she was going to release a book, and now she has. We can all learn something about determination and resolve from Natalie, and it’s something along the lines of “just get off your ass and do it”.

So for all the dreaminess of the imagery she creates, there’s something very matter of fact about the woman herself, despite her propensity for telling long-winded, impossible sounding stories. She’s a concoction of contradictions that’s hard not to become entirely addicted to. Natalie cloaks the heart of a lion with a soft-edged aura of romance, and a boundless love for the simplicity of every day. We talked to the Australian artist about her deeply personal, quietly intimate photographs and the grace with which they allow us to experience her life with her, sometimes to the point where we feel that we know and love her subjects as recklessly as she does.

Portable: How did you get into photography? And what keeps you coming back to the medium as a means of expressing yourself?

Natalie Nikitovic: The moment I decided this was the direction I wanted to take was when I used to work for a publishing house a few years ago. I took a photo of my friend Andrej at the beach, they used it for one of there online magazines. I remember one of the directors sent me an email telling me that he liked the shot. That literally was the beginning of the end.

P: Your photos convey a sense of quiet affection for the everyday; how does your daily life inform your work?

Natalie Nikitovic: Sometimes when I retell stories to people I like to make them more ‘interesting’ to listen to. A good friend ‘s choice of words is that I like to “extend the truth”. Only sometimes though. When I see something I want to photograph, I only take a portion of a situation or scenario. In my mind I’m making what ever it is more interesting or highlighting something that is usually overlooked or just seen as mundane. During the promotion of this book, one journalist labelled me ‘the moment stealer’. I like that.

P: You have a new book out; tell us all about it!

Natalie Nikitovic: Yes, this is true, I am now a proud owner of a book! This would not have been a possible project with out the help from a few genius humans: Lora Ward (Graphic Designer extrodinare), Linda Nikitovic (most supportive person in my life) and Joe Miranda (Creative Director and Founder of the Independent Photography Festival that just came to a wrap on Sunday!). All I will say about the book is, it’s my life on 48 pages. Nuff said.

P: You visited New York last year; how did the subjects of your work differ from what you’re used to shooting at home?

Natalie Nikitovic: Before I got to New York a friend told me that the first time I get off the Subway I’ll feel like I’ve just stepped onto the set of Seinfeld. My eyeballs were exploding from all of the amazing things I saw. When I got back home to Australia I developed all of my rolls of film, and there was one roll that consisted of 36 shots of different mail boxes. I think this says enough about how I saw my ‘subjects’ in a different city. I think about moments in NYC everyday, and fortunately I got to photograph my favourites. I think documenting our lives has become such an important aspect of this day and age. My mum and dad always tell me stories, but sadly they don’t have physical proof of any of these events. I believe them though, but I will say with their older age, their stories are seemingly more ‘interesting’… Maybe that’s where I get it from?! Hahaha…

P: What other art forms do you indulge in? You do some styling too; how does photography inform this and vise versa?

Natalie Nikitovic: For as long as I can remember I have always used some sort of medium to express slash entertain myself; in high school it was painting and drawing, then playing the trumpet (which failed after four months), then for five years I assisted a Melbourne designer with their collections. Which eventually led me to photographing. Styling has become just as important to my work and the way I see myself develop as a person. I have been working alongside a dear friend of mine, who I may even go so far and say is my mentor, Gen Kay, an absolutely inspirational photographer that has most definitely moulded me into the person I am today. My first styling job was with her, and we have worked closely ever since. We both love untucked shirts and drinking jugs of chai tea.

I think it’s important to be open to different mediums in your life. What I see when I’m photographing is different to what I see when I’m styling an editorial or campaign. I love the aspect of collaborating with people; there is nothing more refreshing than having finished a project and you know it wouldn’t have been possible with out other people’s talent and involvement.

Nabil Sabio Azadi is an artist to watch, simply because at 20 years old, he has a passion and insight that many of us struggle a lifetime to possess. From his home in New Zealand to Australia, Nabil traversed Europe, spent time in London and Paris before indulging in a brief stint in New York City, before deciding to settle for a quieter life in Wooloowin, Australia. With no formal training in his art, Nabil’s photos betray a ferocious intensity, a sort of imperfect perfection where stories and emotions are the primary focus of his roving lens. Moving, sometimes dark, occasionally irreverent, Nabil’s work at once keeps you at arms length with its ambiguos murky textures, while at the same time inviting you into the artist’s inner sanctum, offering a candid glimpse into a mind almost exploding the contradictions of love and desire, power and fragility.

Portable: When and why did you start taking pictures? What is it about photography that compels you?

Nabil Sabio Azadi: I was about fourteen years old when I started taking photographs but I really have no memory of what made me do it. I know my sense of sight was pretty sleepy and inattentive until that age. I grew up in New Zealand and visually it’s a very proportionate place—you know, in a landscape every form is simple and monumental, kind of correctly sized and spaced. As a kid I think that kind of beauty really lets you zone out. Watching New Zealand flash past through the car window quietens the mind. I guess I am chasing after that feeling. I get a lot of satisfaction out of my work when it is straightforward and proportionate and only gives people a few details at a time.

P: You’ve branched out into installation work too—what do you get from the medium that you don’t get from photography? And where is the synergy between the two art forms?

Nabil Sabio Azadi: I like that there is nothing abstract about it. You have got to have a specific intention for every inch of concrete or wood or whatever it is so there is a real sense of responsibility. Where photography can teach you to be watchful and appreciative of what happens naturally, building things can teach you how to be deliberate.

P: There’s a restlessness in your work—with what eyes do you look through your lens?

Nabil Sabio Azadi: Yeah, you would have seen me in the middle of my restlessness while I was in New York. The last few years have felt like a very miscalculated mystic pursuit. I was moving around too much and asking a lot of myself and I don’t think anything amplifies a sense of unease like being homeless. I recently moved to Australia and in doing so I kind of committed to getting a grip. In the end I have discovered that I am not a little Tyler Brûlé in waiting—I like utes [utility trucks], having a lot of space, my dog and not having to deal with much bullshit.

P: Where do you find inspiration for your work? What level of spontaneity is involved in your shoots, or are they well planned?

Nabil Sabio Azadi: I focus on how to provide the right circumstances and leave it at that since generally enough strange and moving things happen of their own accord. In terms of inspiration, I find it often in nature. I find it in giving people a sense of solidarity with my work. My partner and I are rebuilding part of our house at the moment and that also gets me excited.

P: Is there a difference for you say, taking photos at fashion week compared to photos you’ve taken in India or of your loved ones? What differs in the physical and emotional process?

Nabil Sabio Azadi: I don’t feel a distinction when I take the photographs. I am actually a little dubious of what credibility my interaction with the fashion industry has given me. That said, I am very grateful to those clothing designers with whom I have collaborated. They have all been exceptionally sincere people who have taught me a lot about how to approach work often and light-heartedly.

A shirtless man facing an expansive mountain landscape, concentrating exclusively on the words he’s writing. Abandoned plastic outdoor furniture threatens to propel itself into the ocean. The images created by 28 year old Spanish photographer Carla Andrade are lyrical and evocative, like stills from classic films. There is a story that exists on either side of the moments she captures on film.

Shooting on tangible film formats — specifically Polaroid and 35mm — Carla sees her art as both an act of preservation (“I started just such as a nostalgic act, as a way for recording experienced sensations, to catch reality and leave it protected forever”) and of imagination.

“I like photography because it lets me photograph reality and not reality. Photography is a good way to create a link between the objective reality and my subjective interior,” she explains. “I think analog photography best represents reality. We all see reality distorted and sometimes with errors, like the result that film gives. In my pictures I show the world as I see it, and I don’t not see it in ultra definition; it’s far from perfection.”

While the hazy, beautifully flawed landscapes she shoots on film capture perfectly heavy layers of smoke mid-billow, giving all of her work an ethereal quality, Carla is not exclusive to these formats;

[My work] is not a manifesto against digital. I use it when I need something quick, to document something or for souvenir photos. But the magic of film is noted in the result, the texture, colors, atmospheres. I find it much more evocative. Analog forces you to think about it, so the act of shooting is more solemn. Also an analog picture becomes something palpable. It has weight, shape, you can touch it. I believe digital perverts the act of photographing. The digital allows you to shoot anything and watch it at the same time. You can do 2000 pictures of the same thing with every possible frame because it’s “free”. I think the debate is not about analog or digital, but the feeling in the gaze.

Carla’s gaze is that selective force that notices and recognizes the aesthetic importance of the spaces around her;

“Landscapes are mysteries in themselves. All my questions are about them. I find revelations in landscapes. With the camera I get to talk about myself in something that is not me. I choose to shoots landscapes because they move me most.”