Written by: Jo Ann L.B. Duggins
All Photos by: Jeff Brown
Full Name: Jeffrey Robert Brown
Age: 25
Currently Residing: Bushwick, NY
Currently Listening to: A whole lotta Bill Callahan
Equipment: strobes, hot lights, luck, hasselblad, any digital camera that I can borrow.
This is Jeff Brown. He takes pictures with his seeing eye camera. He is very good at it. I like hanging out with Jeff because he's one of those people who surprises you. His photos really do express his mind and what happens in there. It's always turning and you can see it in his eyes. It's subtle but apparent after you see him work. He's a very relaxed photographer and that's what I like about him. He produces an aesthetic which is a bit dirty and gritty, but there's a very natural quality to it.
When he shot for some of my press photos, he really knew how to work with someone who has no clue what it means to model. I'm horrid at posing and he just brings a naturalness to the set. Jeff knows how to capture an earnestness with his photos, you want to know more about who's in that photo and what were they doing right then and there. More importantly you want to know more about the man behind the lens and what he's thinking.
What was your very first shot?
The first photograph I took with any intention was of a rose. I had a 5pm Beginning Black and White photo class at the community college. The movie "Basquiat" was just beginning on HBO before class and I watched a bit and decided that I would be an artist just like that dude on the movie. So, I got out a wax crayon and a paper pad and scribbled "recompose" on one sheet and "decompose" on another. I had been really pumped to find out my camera could expose one negative multiple times. We had these rose bushes in the front garden and as nature goes, some of those roses would fall to the soil and die. I shot the sheet with "decompose" on it and then went and shot a rose dying in the soil on the same piece of film. I repeated that process by shooting "recompose" and a rose still connected to the bush.
You have a very interesting aesthetic, how would you describe it?
Maybe it's a little gritty, hopefully channeling some David Lynch.
Do you ever find yourself not getting the shot you want and what do you do in that situation?
Sometimes. That's the fun. Sometimes the hardest thing to prepare yourself for is an idea you have already created of how you'd like things to go. You show up and things aren't the way they were, but it works out. Well, this happens almost always. Locations, sometimes you have no clue what you are walking into. I'd say rarely do I not get the shot I want, but what I want becomes more clear in the process of making the photograph. (Though, sometimes it's cut and dry which is less fun.
You like to do a lot of portraits, do you see yourself as a portrait photographer or would you like to see yourself go in another direction?
I do appreciate the portrait. I've started working with bands and on fashion projects. It'd be nice to work for some bigger fashion magazines eventually and shoot ad jobs a little later. Lately, I have focused mainly on the portrait, I suppose there is nothing more interesting to photograph than a face.
How has moving to New York changed the way you shoot and what you shoot?
It has. I used to shoot friends in their backyards, or in the hills, or shoot stuff in my Grandparents living room. Since moving to NYC I shoot mainly in studio.
If you could have a dream shoot what and who would it consist of?
I have a fashion shoot coming up that will take place at a farm upstate. Lots of cows and chickens, some old tractors, a pond, two or three female models, maybe a few young kids for some background and creating room sets in fields. Also, the idea has been brought up of people in trees. It's the biggest project I've worked on yet, and I've always thought about putting together a sizable production. It's a month or so away, still a dream in my mind.
Now that you are doing more fashion related shoots, what do you enjoy most about fashion photography?
The collaborative aspect is rad. It's real nice to work with a team of people to create a good story.
Who are you really turned on by at this moment?
Man, I have no clue. I was looking at pictures of Linda Evangelista the other day and she is real good looking in those 90s super babe photos.
What should every photographer have?
A healthy respect for their own mortality.
Which Three Albums can you not live without?
I can give you three songs that fit me now, I have trouble having the all time favorites: "You Don't Love Me" Bonnie "Prince" Billy" - "Gulf Shores" Bonnie "Prince" BIlly - "Edi Ma Clack Shaw" Bill Callahan
For more on Jeff:
Back to Art
All Photos by: Jeff Brown
Full Name: Jeffrey Robert Brown
Age: 25
Currently Residing: Bushwick, NY
Currently Listening to: A whole lotta Bill Callahan
Equipment: strobes, hot lights, luck, hasselblad, any digital camera that I can borrow.
This is Jeff Brown. He takes pictures with his seeing eye camera. He is very good at it. I like hanging out with Jeff because he's one of those people who surprises you. His photos really do express his mind and what happens in there. It's always turning and you can see it in his eyes. It's subtle but apparent after you see him work. He's a very relaxed photographer and that's what I like about him. He produces an aesthetic which is a bit dirty and gritty, but there's a very natural quality to it.
When he shot for some of my press photos, he really knew how to work with someone who has no clue what it means to model. I'm horrid at posing and he just brings a naturalness to the set. Jeff knows how to capture an earnestness with his photos, you want to know more about who's in that photo and what were they doing right then and there. More importantly you want to know more about the man behind the lens and what he's thinking.
What was your very first shot?
The first photograph I took with any intention was of a rose. I had a 5pm Beginning Black and White photo class at the community college. The movie "Basquiat" was just beginning on HBO before class and I watched a bit and decided that I would be an artist just like that dude on the movie. So, I got out a wax crayon and a paper pad and scribbled "recompose" on one sheet and "decompose" on another. I had been really pumped to find out my camera could expose one negative multiple times. We had these rose bushes in the front garden and as nature goes, some of those roses would fall to the soil and die. I shot the sheet with "decompose" on it and then went and shot a rose dying in the soil on the same piece of film. I repeated that process by shooting "recompose" and a rose still connected to the bush.
You have a very interesting aesthetic, how would you describe it?
Maybe it's a little gritty, hopefully channeling some David Lynch.
Do you ever find yourself not getting the shot you want and what do you do in that situation?
Sometimes. That's the fun. Sometimes the hardest thing to prepare yourself for is an idea you have already created of how you'd like things to go. You show up and things aren't the way they were, but it works out. Well, this happens almost always. Locations, sometimes you have no clue what you are walking into. I'd say rarely do I not get the shot I want, but what I want becomes more clear in the process of making the photograph. (Though, sometimes it's cut and dry which is less fun.
You like to do a lot of portraits, do you see yourself as a portrait photographer or would you like to see yourself go in another direction? I do appreciate the portrait. I've started working with bands and on fashion projects. It'd be nice to work for some bigger fashion magazines eventually and shoot ad jobs a little later. Lately, I have focused mainly on the portrait, I suppose there is nothing more interesting to photograph than a face.
How has moving to New York changed the way you shoot and what you shoot?
It has. I used to shoot friends in their backyards, or in the hills, or shoot stuff in my Grandparents living room. Since moving to NYC I shoot mainly in studio.
If you could have a dream shoot what and who would it consist of?
I have a fashion shoot coming up that will take place at a farm upstate. Lots of cows and chickens, some old tractors, a pond, two or three female models, maybe a few young kids for some background and creating room sets in fields. Also, the idea has been brought up of people in trees. It's the biggest project I've worked on yet, and I've always thought about putting together a sizable production. It's a month or so away, still a dream in my mind.
Now that you are doing more fashion related shoots, what do you enjoy most about fashion photography?
The collaborative aspect is rad. It's real nice to work with a team of people to create a good story.
Who are you really turned on by at this moment?
Man, I have no clue. I was looking at pictures of Linda Evangelista the other day and she is real good looking in those 90s super babe photos.
What should every photographer have?
A healthy respect for their own mortality.
Which Three Albums can you not live without?
I can give you three songs that fit me now, I have trouble having the all time favorites: "You Don't Love Me" Bonnie "Prince" Billy" - "Gulf Shores" Bonnie "Prince" BIlly - "Edi Ma Clack Shaw" Bill Callahan
For more on Jeff:
Back to Art