Pony Ryder is presenting a London based Fashion Photographer James Mountford!
James is a professional who understands "web world" as well as blog wich he sees as a platform to present his work in a more free/personal artistic way.
That is why he owns a perfect blog named "I heart Krackney" which u can find on this URL: http://iheartkrackney.blogspot.com/
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I started my blog a couple of months ago and i really love the way I can post whatever i want in any order i want, it can be fashion or landscapes or documentary. It has really helped me to move away from industry boundaries and place a solid style on my work...
JAMES MOUNTFORD: Photography and fashion had always been fascinating to me, when i was young i had a scrapbook of photos and pages from magazines. When i was sixteen i got my first camera and realized that taking pictures was all i wanted to do... The rest was just patients, time and hard work...
JAMES MOUNTFORD: i-D, Tank, Sleek, Art Review, Rodeo, Stimuli, Wound, Korean Harpers, Korean Homme+.....
PONY RYDER: As a fashion photographer, what is your main focus when doing a shoot: the model, the fashion or the technical aspects of photography? Many photographers have a different approach to fashion - what is yours?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: My main focus when i'm shooting is of course the photography, i wouldn't say i'm a purist fashion photographer, so the fashion isn't everything to me. I find myself constantly trying to leave the constraints of a fashion "story" i want to photograph the surroundings, the people outside the set, the sky, the trees, not just the model and the clothes.
PONY RYDER: Do you prefer the artistic or the commercial aspect of fashion photography, and how do you try to achieve their unity?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: Artistic, it's very hard to achieve a unity between the two but with so many interesting art based magazines out there now maybe you don't need to. Or maybe the artistic side has become more commercially viable?
PONY RYDER: James, you are also active blogger, what made u become one?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I started blogging because i got bored of presenting my work in a portfolio format, i find it really exciting that you can post your work in such an instantaneous and creative way.
JAMES MOUNTFORD: Yes i've had so much great feed back from my blog, i think it allowed me to fine tune my style and i think that has pushed me to a better level...
PONY RYDER: on your blog, u have a different type of photos... who or what is your muse?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I don't have or haven't yet found a muse, the thing i am most passionate about now and have been for a long time, is black and white pictures...
PONY RYDER: what are you looking for in a fashion model? what is an x factor for you?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: For me its there attitude, they have to understand what a model needs to do, she's the key to everything! Hair, makeup, styling. Just standing there and looking pretty doesn't cut it. She needs to understand the clothes, the photographer, the idea behind the shoot and she needs to bring something to it, a part of her, thats what i love about a good model... They all look good but if she understands the shoot and works with everybody she'll look amazing!
JAMES MOUNTFORD: For me its there attitude, they have to understand what a model needs to do, she's the key to everything! Hair, makeup, styling. Just standing there and looking pretty doesn't cut it. She needs to understand the clothes, the photographer, the idea behind the shoot and she needs to bring something to it, a part of her, thats what i love about a good model... They all look good but if she understands the shoot and works with everybody she'll look amazing!
PONY RYDER: Who is the most famous model you took pictures off, and who is the most exceptional one?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I've photographed Agyness Deyn and Irina Lazareanu when they were first starting out. I've shot many many great girls but one that stood out recently is Adjork at IMG, she's amazing, she wants to know everything about the shoot before hand, she studies it and builds a character especially for that shoot, that along with her amazing look makes her one of my favorite people to work with...
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I've photographed Agyness Deyn and Irina Lazareanu when they were first starting out. I've shot many many great girls but one that stood out recently is Adjork at IMG, she's amazing, she wants to know everything about the shoot before hand, she studies it and builds a character especially for that shoot, that along with her amazing look makes her one of my favorite people to work with...
JAMES MOUNTFORD: I've just finished an amazing shoot for Stimuli magazine with Hannah Stafford @ Next and one for Sleek a berlin based art/fashion magazine. Things in the pipeline are Dazed and Confused magazine and a collaboration project with Future Classics...
PONY RYDER: Favourite photographers ...?
JAMES MOUNTFORD: Favorite photographers are many! The list would start with Peter Lindbergh, Robert Frank, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Cartier-Bresson, Jurgen Teller and so on....
JAMES MOUNTFORD: For me Magazines and Books are the ultimate photographic platform but the web and especially blog format sites are offering amazing new ways to publish and present work...
JAMES MOUNTFORD on I heart Krackney: This is a place for all my orphan photographs. The pictures i don't know what to do with, the rough ideas and the unfinished shoots... But also the photos i really love and want to show again...
This interview is a genuine interview done by PONY RYDER with JAMES MOUNTFORD.
GO AND SEE, LOVE PONY RYDER!
14 comments:
Hi.I just wanted to say that i like this interview very much.I as well am a fashion photographer from Ukraine,and thats why this topic interest me so much.Nice photos,well in fact they couldn't be better :) Keep up the good job Pony doing interviews like this one.Pony is no.1!! No joke:)
yours Vasilij "The Glitter"
Hi Ryder! If we had Topshop, miss selfridge and zara I would probably shop there all the time but we don't have them here in Australia (yet). I do like Oprah. I used to watch her her show all the time. don't know about 5 start love heart tho. I'll google. So you like the new layout eh? You did have a sneak peek tho before i finish didn't you? :P glad that you like it. :)
this guy's work is incredibly strong and striking! It's interesting to hear that he started blogging. :)
i really like reading all this interviews. gives me the feeling of intimacy in the area with which i have no connection. :)
Thanks for another great interview! It's great that you promote photographers as well as models!
And James has some brilliant work in his portfolio, congratulations to him on his work!
I especially admire him for putting so much stress on the artistic side of his work, and the choice of faces he shoots.
Great post and amazing pictures...
Thanks for sharing!
Mila.
<3
Thank you Pony Ryder!
JX
been so busy in the brice jones universe lately, that I hardly found any time to take a sneak at your new posts, pony ryder! but, I'm glad I did, this interview is something different. it is always valuable to hear from the man behind the camera, and when he is asked the right questions the reader's experience and enjoyment are on the highest of levels! btw, some of the pictures could really be tagged as art-photos, don't you think?
p.s. still haven't remembered that girl's name, but keep posting photos of models like miss noorda, and maybe I will :)
Really interesting, haunting fashion photos - great interview, PR!!!
xoxox,
CC
amazing stuff, especially the first pics
wow !! im impressed ! what a great find !!
I was just surfin' the internet,and whoa!! what i found was your blog Pony...it took my breath away:)I was always lookin' for somethin' like this.I mean interviews,photos,models,clothes,artistic approach to things surrounding us,cameras,lightning...well,well guess i found it now.and you seem to be pretty busy here creatin' your blog.it's a piece of heaven for my eyes,and my other senses as well:) I got some old fashion magazines like Burda,New Yorker,and such daing back from 80's...perhaps you could make some good use of them on your blog.I'm lookin' forward to show them to you someday if we get in touch.till than keep on posting and blogging,and blogging and posting:)
by Teodoro Santini de Villa
p.s. did i mention that i absolutely love 80's?
Ryder- thank you so very much for that comment! :) I like to see your blog too. :)
fantastic shots.
thank you so much for your very lovely compliment! you're so kind. it's hard to get a god interview, but you really manage it perfectly! I love all of the questions you've asked and all of the pictures you've used..excellent! I'll definitely check back for more great interviews.
xox
Hi my name is Gabriela,and im from Italy.Im looking at this interview,and those shots are magnificent.Something between commercial and art photography,just as i like it.And the photographer really caught the emotions of his models.They seem so alive,like it's not a photo at all.
Hey Pony I got one question for you...can you find out what James did for i-D magazine? I would be very grateful.thnx in advance:)
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