Interview with:
Scott Kuckler
Where are you born and when?
Fargo, North Dakota 1967
Where do you live?
Southern New Hampshire
When and how do you start your path in photography?
8th grade. I joined the school’s camera club and became obsessed. I’d like to say I’m less obsessive about my work now but it would be a lie. I was always drawn to photographing the female form, even from the beginning, convincing my classmates to pose for me to my mothers chagrin. I pursued my dream to its fullest extent moving to Europe immediately after art school and working as a freelance photographer in the cities of Munich, Paris and Barcelona. Despite moderate success as a commercial photographer my heart was always in my artwork where I devoted all my resources and extra time into developing. Since returning to the United States I have pursued photography exclusively as an artistic medium. I think I could have flourished in the commercial world if I had invested the energy I put into my art into the commercial field but ultimately I always have seen any money making venture as a means to fund and support the work I create. The continued creation of my work is what I think of the vast majority of my waking life.
Who were the three photographers that inspired you at the beginning and who are the three ones that inspire you now?
Please add links to the pages where the images are shown.
The photographers that inspired me at the beginning are the same as those that inspire me now.
Edward Weston -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude_(Charis,_Santa_Monica)
Javier Vallhonrat
http://www.artnet.com/artists/javier-vallhonrat/trihedron-the-possessed-space-in-3-parts-3kSEE7etcHZ9iEZw847nKg2
Sally Mann
https://www.documentary.org/feature/still-lives-capturing-essence-photographers-sally-mann-and-robert-frank
Did you go to a school or are you a self-taught?
I did get the fundamentals in an art school photography program at Lesley University in Boston but my technique has been self developed and refined beyond what those fundamentals brought me.
Do you make photography as a living?
No
What do you like in photography, what is your motivation?
I love everything about photography from the equipment to the film and chemistry. The fundamental motivation for me to create is the accumulation of images that move me emotionally and intellectually.
What do you want to express or arouse in those who watch your images?
I want the viewer to experience my work as is to their natural inclination. I deliberately refuse to title my work so as to facilitate the most pure experience of an image as possible.
What are your preferred moment(s) in the creation process?
The precise moment I see the result of a perfect exchange between the model and myself as a visual image.
What are your three most representative images, and why?
Please add links to the pages where the images are shown.
1.https://scott-kuckler.format.com/untitled-gallery
2.https://scott-kuckler.format.com/2506942-vegetable
3.https://scott-kuckler.format.com/2506943-mummified
What equipment and/or techniques do you use?
It is not a matter of brands/lenses, it is mostly about analog/digital, preferred light (natural/flash), how much post-production, etc.
I mostly shoot analog but also digital depending on the specific situation For analog I shoot 35mm, medium format and 4"x5” large format film, all self developed and printed. I use minimal post production if at all.
How and why your work as changed since you started?
My work has certainly been refined throughout the years but fundamentally my vision for the work I create has not wavered from the days I started.
What do you think about the fact that nowadays photography is mostly enjoyed on the Internet?
The internet is great as without it the photography community would be dispersed and we would be unaware of the excellent photography created by talented peers around the globe.
Why did you decide to join the nudeartzine project?
Ugh approached me with the idea and I’ve been impressed with the work featured thus far and am honored to be a part of his project.
Would you have an insight or advice to give to whomever is watching your work and wants to learn photography?
To keep in mind that all photography is an illusion as is the perceived lives and successes of its participants. Mostly.
What are your plans in the future?
To focus my energy toward the analog roots of my work and create more alternative and experimental-technique prints of my images. Also to push myself to create more abstract and challenging imagery.
On what page our readers can find more of your work?
My website: www.scottkuckler.com
Instagram:
@cheshirescott
Books by Scott Kuckler
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