The Girl Project: March 2009

Here is another great photographer I think you guys are going to love. Angela Cappetta, a NYC based documentary and commercial photographer, spent 10 years capturing the life of Glendalis, who at the begining of the project was 9 years-old. Glendalis, the youngest of three daughters, lived in Angela's neighborhood on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Glendalis is a beautiful portrait of a girls life from girlhood to adulthood. Shot often in the family's apartment as well as around their LES neighborhood, Angela captures both Glendalis and her environment. The series tells a well rounded story of an individual life, neighborhood and culture.

Angela shoots 120mm film - a Fuji 6x9 camera - with a Lumedyne lighting system, bare bulb on a bracket. For more information on Angela Cappetta's work visit: http://www.angelacappetta.com/

Olivia Locher is a TGP Photog who recently submitted some fantastic work of hers to The Girl Project blog. Through photography Olivia explores her experiences as a young girl and teenager. Below is part of my conversation with Olivia... and be sure to check out her website!! http://www.olivialocher.com/

INTERVIEW
ke: Hi Olivia! I'm so happy you emailed me samples of your work. I must say, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, you are extremely accomplished for being so young. Are you sure you're only 17? Your photos are really fantastic. When did you begin shooting?
ol: Hi, Kate. Actually I’m not 17...I just turned 18 in December. I started taking pictures about two years ago and accidentally fell into photography. I got a camera and after seeing my first roll of film I knew that photography was going to have a big impact in my life. After that first roll I did not stop shooting and taught myself how to work my camera. I am a home-schooled student so I really had a lot of time to work on my photographs.

ke: You have already shown a lot of your work, participating in some online group shows. How did you find those opportunities? Do you have any advice for other young photographers looking to show their work?
ol: I found most of the online group shows on listing feeds of photographic web pages. The main webpage I reference to is “fjordphoto.org” they list a large amount of opportunities and I try to submit to as many as I can. In their listings is actually where I found “The Girl Project” and another group show my work appeared in “The Entopic Group” I also try to show my work in my local community as often as I can, and take part in a local artist collective “My Idea of Fun” based out of Johnstown, PA. My suggestion to young photographers who are looking to show their work is to submit to as many places as they can and to look for opportunities in their own environments… what is there to loose? Just go for it.

ke: You focus a lot on adolescence. Is that because you are a teenager yourself? I wonder if your subjects will become older as you age.
ol: I think I focus on adolescence because I am really fascinated with the age group. I myself am a teenager and have always been obsessed with teenage lifestyles... the way some teens choose to live is bizarre. I think I'll always have a strong focus on adolescence.

ke: In "Teenage Girls" you've said that you were exploring "girlhood, friendship, peer pressure, teenage awkwardness and girls self-perception". What did those experiences mean for you personally in real life? How did/do they factor into your teenage years?
ol: I myself feel like I am viewing these things as an outsider. I feel after middle school I almost separated myself from typical teenage girlhood. In middle school I observed young girls going down very destructive paths so many of my peers were experimenting with drugs, alcohol, sex, and many had eating disorders. These girls were only in 6th grade and I was totally frightened by their behavior so I chose to become home schooled. Even though I missed what was going on in an actual high school setting I kept my friends really close to me from school. From observing my own life and the lives of my friends I feel teenage girls are so easily inspired. There is no escaping teenage awkwardness I believe no teenage girl finds herself 100% comfortable in her own. I try to embrace my own growing awkwardness because I believe it will help me form into who I will become as an adult.

FROM "Teenage Girls"

ke: I love your self-portraits. One of the things I noticed immediately is how theatrical they are. Why did you choose that route? Actually a lot of your work is theatrical - not just your self-portraits.
ol: Thank you! I accidentally fell into taking self-portraits too! I started taking self-portraits as just an idea of a portrait I would want to eventually take of someone else. Then I realized it would be stupid to recreate something I already have. I spend a lot of my life alone so if I don’t have a model to shoot I try my best to create what I am visioning using myself. I have always loved theatre and I try to incorporate it in my work I also like trying to recreate my dreams and fantasies.

ke: On your website you say "Whenever I start a shoot I already see the finished result in my mind". How do you think this affects the outcome of your work? Also how does it affect your experience shooting?
ol: I am a barnstormer... my mind never stops thinking about the next image id like to take. I am thankful for this because I have feel my shoots go really smoothly. The only thing I really need to work on when taking the pictures is posing my subjects the way I want them and getting the lighting and composition.

ke: Tell me about your book, "All The Hair On Her Leg", that you self-published.
ol: “All The Hair On Her Leg” is a book that the, “My Idea of Fun” artist collective released. It is an eleven page paperback book, with saddle stitch binding, and full interior ink.

ke: You have an upcoming show in April - of your photography as well as drawings and a runway collection? Tell me more about this.
ol: A new gallery opened where I reside called “Satori” I arranged to have a solo show to present my work to my community. I’m going to try to show as much of my work that will fit on the walls. I will also present my clothing collection that I am currently working on.

ke: How do you think your mediums inspire each other, assuming the do? Or don't?
ol: The only mediums I find myself working in currently are photography and drawing. I feel they do inspire each other, I find myself very interested in portraiture. My drawings came after I started taking photographs.

ke: Do you approach each medium with a different mindset or is each medium just a different way of expressing the same thing(s)?
ol: I do. I feel I have to force myself to sit down to draw where with photography id loose my mind if I was not constantly working on something.

ke: Do you see yourself pursuing photography professionally? (if so what areas interest you most)?
ol: I do. I was actually accepted to a few art and design schools in NYC. I believe that college is my next step to pursuing professional photography. I’m not sure if I feel ready to be engaged in undergraduate studies just yet but within the next two years I believe I will enroll in school. I’d really love to shoot fashion someday.

ke: What equipment do you shoot with?
ol: I shoot with an old Nikon SLR film camera, and a Nikon D90 Digital.

ke: What is your next goal (photographically)?
ol: I think my next goal should be to enroll myself into one of the schools I was accepted to. I have no learning experience with photography so I’d really like to be in classes to learn to make technically correct work.

And check this out - another great project by Olivia called "Childhood". In this series Olivia stages scenes derived from her memories of childhood.