Sunday, May 16, 2010

interview: self/portrait

julia : self/portrait from karol orzechowski on Vimeo.


on an early april rainy day while i was in toronto, i met up my friend karol to talk about my self-portraits. he showed this to me on friday and it is really lovely. i'm really happy with how it turned out and hope you guys enjoy hearing what i have to say!

after our interview, karol gave me a few assignments: i had to play a song on the ukulele for him (which you hear in the background, one of which being an original of mine i'm working on) and to take some self-portraits in the bathroom of the café we were in. here are some of them, taken by me and edited by karol.




8 comments:

C said...

The ukulele song sounds awesome! And I really like the bathroom portraits as well. All in all, very awesome interview!

FengLiAn said...

This is really great, Julia. You have such presence. I really love the song, and the photos you took. The video is a pleasure to watch!
Anna

Amie said...

I really love these shots. And I loved hearing your thoughts on your self portraiture too. I've always felt kind of dorky about taking photos of myself, but hearing your thoughts actually makes me feel a bit more confident about it. Thanks so much for sharing.

Holly said...

It's interesting to think about whose gaze it is when there is nobody behind the camera. I love reading good fashion blogs, but I've never wanted to put pictures of myself online, which in some ways is hypocritical I suppose. I've been reading your blog for a while now, really enjoy the mixture of your great photos and outfits with the theory.

Anja Verdugo said...

aw, I loved this. A lot of what you said is what I think too... and I cracked up at the part about the boyfriends taking all the photos! It's fun to see you on video!

julia aka garconniere said...

cheri: thanks! i'm glad you liked it.

annaaaaaaaaaa: i loved your letter! i miss you! i am writing you back so i will stop writing to you here! :p

amie: i hardly think we are alone in feeling dorky about taking pictures of ourselves. hardly.

holly: i think every has their own balance. when i think back 4-5 years ago it seemed like fashion blogging was a lot more egalitarian in the sense that most people who commented on outfits, posted their own as well. to me it was always more about knowing what someone's personal tastes were and how it influenced what they had to say to me.

i went on on that point about the "no one being behind the camera" idea but it was more of a ramble and i'm glad karol edited it the way he did. i have a lot of ideas about it but they aren't quite articulated yet.

anja: i'm glad you liked it! you're probably one of the few people who has seen my evolution from thriftwhore posts to "actual" self-portraits. i know i've always told you that i've been really inspired by seeing your evolution too, but it bears repeating.

JLC said...

I know this is a late response, but I guess I'd been avoiding most of the internet for a few weeks after I wrapped up the semester (I'm taking all of my courses online).

Without sounding creepy and stalker-ish, I used to read your LiveJournal when you were ocean_child (?), and stumbled upon this some months ago.

What you said in the interview about no one being behind the camera, worrying if someone will see you taking pictures, and who you're ultimately taking them for is what sticks out most, I think.

For a while, I participated in one of those "vintage" communities where others judged you on how "vintage" (and I put the word in quotations, because ultimately it was all subjective) you looked. After a while, I sort of felt like I was whoring myself out in hopes of garnering positive opinions from people who ultimately didn't matter, and were being sticklers for certain items (hair, whether the clothing you were wearing was of the time you were trying to portray, or reproductions ... blah, blah, blah). Honestly, I felt like too many women were out to tear another woman down for attempting to express themselves.

Which brings me to the present: I started photography, in earnest, really only about a year ago. For a while I was reticent about taking self-portraits again because I thought perhaps I was being vain. I ended up taking tons of pictures of my son because he was the most easily accessible model, so to speak, I know. I got frustrated with myself because I didn't want to end up as a mother who just takes a lot of photos of kids.

So, I've began the self-portrait journey once again. Now that I'm a little older, and a little more self-confident in my photography abilities (and myself, for that matter), I'm excited to see where it takes me. Watching your evolution is inspiring, and I'm interested to see where it goes.

Unknown said...

very cool baby

carson

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