Meet our newest featured photographer, Bari Sowa. This 23-year-old living in Denver specializes in a minimalistic style of photography and likes shooting candid portraiture. Even more impressive: she takes all her photographs with a point and shoot digital camera! Get a feel for her photography and check out the interview we had with Sowa below.
WLA: When and why did you first get into photography?
BS: Photography was a happy accident. I never really considered it because I didn't (and still don't) own anything more advanced than a point and shoot camera. I felt like there were all of these prerequisites to 'being' a photographer - fancy gear being highest on the list. It took me a long time to realize that it's not what you use, it's what you shoot.
WLA: Do you have a day job?
BS: I do - I work as an editor for a marketing agency. It's really fun, challenging work that inspires me everyday. At this point, I can't imagine not having a 'left brain' type of job to counterbalance the primarily 'right brain' work involved in photography. When photography has been more of a business for me in the past, I always felt bogged down by the business side of things - which is sad, because I love business models and marketing stratagems and being entrepreneurial. I've just learned that those aspects have their time and place and I'm not ready to make photography a full-time job yet. I want to be able to enjoy it as a hobby for now. I'm early in my career and I don't want to feel rushed into selling something that I'm still getting to know.
BS: I do - I work as an editor for a marketing agency. It's really fun, challenging work that inspires me everyday. At this point, I can't imagine not having a 'left brain' type of job to counterbalance the primarily 'right brain' work involved in photography. When photography has been more of a business for me in the past, I always felt bogged down by the business side of things - which is sad, because I love business models and marketing stratagems and being entrepreneurial. I've just learned that those aspects have their time and place and I'm not ready to make photography a full-time job yet. I want to be able to enjoy it as a hobby for now. I'm early in my career and I don't want to feel rushed into selling something that I'm still getting to know.
WLA: How would you describe your photographic style?
BS: I would describe it as minimalistic. I am drawn to clean lines and a lot of negative space, especially with portraiture. I feel like a lack of an integral component often times makes the piece stronger than it would be were that component included. I feel like it tells a different story; what's missing in a person rather than what they have or how they are whole. Everybody's missing something.
BS: I would describe it as minimalistic. I am drawn to clean lines and a lot of negative space, especially with portraiture. I feel like a lack of an integral component often times makes the piece stronger than it would be were that component included. I feel like it tells a different story; what's missing in a person rather than what they have or how they are whole. Everybody's missing something.
WLA: Where do you most like to shoot?
BS: I like shooting candid portraiture of people in their natural environment - wherever that may be. I'm not much of a landscape photographer, though when I am, I like to portray a sense of isolation and loneliness.
BS: I like shooting candid portraiture of people in their natural environment - wherever that may be. I'm not much of a landscape photographer, though when I am, I like to portray a sense of isolation and loneliness.
WLA: Can you name a favorite shoot, or a subject you really enjoyed shooting?
BS: My favorite, most exciting subject is my 6 year old niece. She always has been. There's a funny thing about kids - they don't mask their emotions. They just exist. And oftentimes, their feelings are so much sharper and more detailed than ours because they've not learned to cope or rationalize them, they just go minute by minute through their lives. It's fantastic to be able to photograph that.
WLA: Are you working on any current projects?
BS: I am working on a curatorial project called The Public School which will combine music, design, photography, art, and inspiration in general. Often times I feel limited by photography, which is why I'm so insulated in my current column [soundscape] at Knoxroad.com - it combines music, photography and prose. I feel like one artistic vehicle isn't enough to get me where I want to go emotionally.
BS: I am working on a curatorial project called The Public School which will combine music, design, photography, art, and inspiration in general. Often times I feel limited by photography, which is why I'm so insulated in my current column [soundscape] at Knoxroad.com - it combines music, photography and prose. I feel like one artistic vehicle isn't enough to get me where I want to go emotionally.
WLA: Where do you plan to take your photography in the future?
BS: I'm currently obsessed with the idea of producing films. Wherever my photography ends up, I want it to move a person. Change the way they felt from before they experienced it. You can visit Sowa's professional site here.
Follow Sowa on Tumblr and Twitter so you can check out her new photography and keep up with what she's doing!
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