INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST: CELINE KIM INTERVIEW

Today's inspirational artist post is special for two reasons.  Reason number one: I'm doing my very first interview!  Second, it showcases the work of an incredibly talented lady who was in the same undergraduate program as myself: Celine Kim.  Celine is a photographer who lives and works in Toronto.  She has a lovely husband, two adorable cats (Mea and Mojo), and has graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions.  But first, here are a few of her favourite photographs:

tomatillas

Melinda + Chris : part 2 (melinda and camera)

the perfect tree

dream house

 from above

What drew you to photography?

I have always taken pictures of people and things around me since I was a little girl, but I started taking photography seriously when my friend from school, Gabe, kept putting an SLR in my hands and told me to take pictures for him. That was when I first held an SLR camera, and the first time I seriously started thinking of how to use a camera manually to take better photos.

Do you have any formal training?

No, but I am very fortunate to have some really amazing mentors (Claudia Hung and Gabriel Li) to learn from.

What camera and lenses do you use?

I mostly use a Nikon DSLR, and I have some film cameras as well that I would like to use more often. My favourite lenses to use are prime lenses.

Do you use a lighting kit?

For my personal work, I use as much natural light as possible. I usually only use a flash if necessary on a shoot.

Do you use any photo-editing software?

I try not to post process my photos too much, but I will do minor edits such as exposure correction, contrast, and colour correction. I do all this in Adobe Lightroom.

How do you choose your subjects?

My subjects are all around me and they make the stories in my daily life.

What inspires you?

My friends, and the delightful people in the blogging community, inspire me everyday.  I have had the pleasure of meeting some in real life, and others I admire at a distance (sometimes because they are in another part of the world, and other times, I am just a bit shy to approach them).  I learn so much from what everyone shares and reveals, and I feel lucky to get a little peek inside their magical worlds.

I am also inspired by visual images, and I collect my visual inspirations on Pinterest.

What advice do you have for other aspiring artists?

Do what you love and do a lot of it. You have to be honest, and you have to really love it. Because if you do, others will love it too.

Want to see more?  You can find Celine on her blog, bonjour!, and on flickr and twitter.  So tell me, which is your favourite bonjour celine! photograph?


UPDATE:  Monday, February 7, 2011

Celine has just launched a website of her wedding photography!  Check it out!