Interview time...with Ross Laurence

After a month hiatus on the blogging front, and with my move back to Sydney at the forefront of my mind, I've had the chance to interview an old Sydney friend... Ross Laurence.

I had the pleasure of meeting the cheeky and talented photographer, when our paths crossed at a little restaurant we both worked at on Bondi Road....seems like a life time ago now, and now Ross is globe snapping his way to the top with a wicked style and website to match....I get to pick his brains for 5....enjoy x

Ross, first of all thank you for answering my questions today for my blog, I last saw you I think very blury eyed in Bondi...where are you currently?! I cant keep up?!

Wheres the coolest place you have visited so far, artistically speaking?

hahahaha....... I am currently in New York- trying to earn a plane ticket home for summer... artistically speaking I really found berlin to be pretty cool- in a kinda of darker sense... thinking about moving there next summer- normally I love to shoot into the sun coming from australia- so i'm looking forward to my style developing due to my surroundings- berlin can be dark, dirty and industrial... maybe its the techno music- who knows- i love both...


Will Sydney always be home or do you have plans to move O/S?

Sydney will always be home for at least 3-6 months of the year- this year has awoken my inner vagabond- i think i'll be moving around for life now...

Do you think Sydney is a hard place to be creative? And do you feel its changing?

Sydney is so small so their is a really competitive creative scene . the people involved in the industry are really chilled and down to earth (something that allows them to be constantly booked on a international level) and it allows you to become more creative... in terms of being inspired by Sydney their are definitely a few secret places I hang out to keep me motivated.... the ocean is one of them

What draws you to photography, and did you know from an early age this was your future?

 Capturing moments in time and having them suspended for ever... sounds very cliched but its true... at the end of my career i will be able to show my children my whole body of work- from start to finish, I've have a tangible to leave behind, a viewpoint, an idea or a concept- any form of creative lifestyle will allow you to do that, but for me photography allows me to do something different every day. Never the same girl or location twice...

Apart from snapping hot girls for a living...perks of the job???

travel, getting to see some amazing locations and it allows me to do something different every day.

You did a long haul in hospitality before you became a full time photographer, which as we all know can be touch going, what kept you motivated to stick to following your dream job?

my 3 brothers are all chefs- and they are alot older than me which allowed me to almost live three lives before i turned 18... they had made some decisions that they semi regret now- hospitality is good at allowing you to talk to people- so i kind of used hospitality to learn people skills plus i could work and shoot during the day and still earn money at night- at first it was hard, 18 hour days on my feet- but you just stick it out...

Do you carry your camera around with you constantly, and have you ever lost an expensive one?

I had all my camera gear stolen from me this year in barcelona- full professional job... 8k worth of gear and work gone- so yeah i have lost some expensive shit!!! what i shoot my personal stuff on is a old film point and shoot, i try and take it everywhere but sometime i forget- regardless of if i have my camera or not im still making mental pictures of places and people i meet- maybe one day they will pop back up and i can use them somehow

Who are some of your favourite photographers and artists?

boo George, greg kadell, anthony mckallif- im really bad with names- better with images...

I try not to reference other artist works- believe it washing my stuff down- im currently trying to get more involved in my referencing and research so im looking to other forms of media for that...

Can you draw or paint?

dot to dot and paint by numbers

Ha ha ha! If you couldn't have made it as a photographer what would you have done in life?

Probably would have stayed in hospitality- ran a restaurant bla bla bla- funny things is im opening up a bar/restaurant in berlin for summer, kinda of a pop up thing- so i suppose im doin what i dreamed of doin and also doin what i would have done if i didn't do what im doin!!! WOW- tongue twister

Too funny! I love your photos there is quiet alot of humour and double meaning in your style, do you plan your shoots way in advance or are alot of them spur of the moment?

You kinda have to plan some aspects of a shoot- but i think my best stuff comes when somethings are not planned- like mood for example, you cant shoot a girl who is feeling down and make her act happy, thats just contrived so if a model rocks up to a shoot and is pissed off then ill try and run with that... i plan to be a exceptional failure- thats what will make me a better photographer in the long run... for my personal stuff i do try and convey an emotion or feeling in what im taking- thats why i shoot film0 it makes me thin more and shoot less

Are you left or right handed?

 right handed

Do you ever get nervous shooting?

not really but depends on what im shooting and whom im shooting

          Whats your vice in life?

coke a cola and cigarettes

Do you like working in the fashion scene or do you prefer more freelance stuff?

I do like working in fashion because its constantly evolving in terms of design and trends- but being a slave to a magazine isn't my idea of a fun time either- eventually i would love to be at a stage where i would be booked because a client or editor believed in my style and gave me free reign

          Whats your happiest childhood memory?

growing up on Bondi beach- it was and has been my backyard for 28 years

Are your family supportive of your artistic lifestyle?

 Kinda of- I reckon they think im a tripper- a big part of my drive is to prove something to them- don't know what that is just yet...

Would you ever like to do some dangerous journalism shoots?

Thats on the cards but maybe when im a bit older- i think you have to have a really good conceptof human behaviour before you enter into some dangerous situations armed with a camera

What's your greatest personal acheivement to date?

probably surviving the last 10 months on the road- i was only suppose to leave Sydney
for 3 weeks- ive been gone 10months...

Whats next for you?

flying home to sydney for summer- hopefully securing a agent- alot of beach time- parties then off again in February



You can catch some more amazing shots from Ross at........

www.rosslaurence.com

www.yeahiveheardofhim.com

Enjoy NYC Ross and see you in the land of sun and fun!!!!!

J-L
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