Claudia (@cburtonsiller) is a photographer and a mom and she has combined these two beautifully. As she declares, her instagram profile is all about (her) mom life. Below are her thoughts as given to Krystallena Stylianou.

Claudia, tell me about this photograph? The moment? What was it that inspired you to pick up the camera? (photo below)

We were at the parking lot at the Mall, and when I saw the light I encourage my niece to dance and twirl for me… I just couldn’t let the moment go by…

You photograph everyday moments -as your bio also describes- and mainly your children. Tell us about this process. How did you decide to make your Instagram feed about that?

Honestly, I didn’t plan for this to become my “theme”. Time goes by so fast with kids that I simply wanted to capture my moments with them and suddenly I realized that people responded to it and they really like it.

Claudia, you are Mexican, as I understand. Your photographs are very realistic but at the same time, they have an element of fantasy, which is characteristic of a lot of the Mexican culture, literature, and art. Is it something intentional or an unconscious influence from your background?

It is part of my personality to play around with my photography as part of expressing myself and the moment I spent with my family.

Do you set up your photographs or are they candid moments -of your children mostly? Is the bright light source -found in many of your images- a factor to take the shot?

I think it’s just a combination of both, some days I wake up with funny ideas and inspiration and some others I simply capture the moment. But definitely think that natural light has become an important part of my photographic style.

Are you concerned with exposing your children so much on social media?

Not really. My parenting style is to be very close to them.. I worry more about exposure of the world outside than the social media.

Is photography your profession or a hobby? When did you start photographing?

It’s a hobby. Actually I’m a chef, but I really would love to do professional photography.

How long have you been on Instagram? Tell me about your Instagram experience.

It’s gonna be 4 years in October since I started using Instagram. I started with a daily photo challenge, #ProjectLife365 and I loved it! It helped me to be creative and think outside the box. Then I started to be a #JJ editor for @jjcommunity and @Josh_Johnson and now I’m just a MoD for @MY365 another daily photo challenge and share my everyday moments.

How do you edit your posts for Instagram? How do you achieve this effect – which is consistent on your posts?

I use VSCO, and I try to use almost the same filter for my pics. I love the look of a gallery with the same tones and I TRY to do the same with mine…

Claudia’s instagram profile https://www.instagram.com/cburtonsiller

The interview was given on 10/06/2016

Cecilia Miradoli @cecilianmd is a song-writer/producer from Italy. She loves traveling, photography and of course, music. She’s a discreet and loyal Instagram buddy!

I chose this photo because I think it encompasses most of the elements found in your images: it’s BW, it’s kind of fluent and it’s mysterious; do you intentionally shoot/edit to produce this effect?
Thank you Krystallena for choosing one of my photos and for this interview. I’m happy you picked this one because it’s very representative of what I try to achieve. You’ve probably noticed I usually accompany part of song lyrics and verses with my pictures: that is because not only I’m a musician myself but mainly because I try to deliver little messages every time, both by the words and the editing work. I like BW the most because it helps me to create those mysterious atmospheres. Colors are so beautiful by nature that you can hardly make them better applying filters or editing them, while BW can really take you far. I’ll start by playing with shades and lights, adding filters with little amount of colors, without overdriving the image. I’ll search for the right detail, the perfect shot; then I’ll turn to BW and go on with the editing. I always use Snapseed, searching for the right balance of the glamor filters and very little HDR. Then I’ll further crop the image searching the unexpected view, the “mysterious” mood, indeed.

What inspires you to photograph? Is Italy in general, and Milano specifically an inspiration?
My thoughts. I think that my pictures can tell if I’m sad, happy or angry. Milan is an inspiration, as much as my trips to Spain and Greece, and the place where I run my music festival (Chiaverano, Turin), close to that magic lake that you never get tired to shoot.

When did you start photographing? Was Instagram the reason?
No, I’ve always loved taking pictures but it was Instagram and all the possibilities delivered by smartphones and ipads that really got me into it. The easiness of taking instant shots and the fun in combining and editing, really bewitched me and I’m now “addicted”.

You are a music producer and founder of “A Night Like This Festival” (@anightlikethisfestival) -a music event that takes place every summer in the Piedmont region of Italy; you are also the founder and admin of the hub @jj_musicislife -of the @jjcommunity family hub. What brings together your passion for music and the love of photography?
You know, photography allows me to deliver some sort of messages, just by matching images with words. Which is actually close to what music does, in terms of immediacy. They are two simalar things, both instinctive. @JJMusicislife is a work of passion: a gallery entirely dedicated to music (details, street music, concerts, portraits of musicians, instruments and everything that belongs to music). I also bring photography to “A Night Like This Festival” (A NIGHT LIKE THIS festival ) as well, also from Instagram, because this time one of the galleries will feature pictures from the contest @igworldclub, with the hashtag #assiemea.

Do song verses create images to shoot or do the photos bring the tune and the verse?
It’s the photo that inspires the music and the lyrics. But the choice for the pictures comes from an emotion or anything that shocks me or catches my attention, as much as a song would. So, I already know while shooting which words will be the ones to go with the picture!

The interview of  Cecilia Miradoli to Krystallena Stylianou was given on 13.05.2016
http://www.anightlikethisfestival.com
https://www.instagram.com/cecilianmd/

Amirhossein Sheikh comes from a great cultural background that has affected him photography-wise but doesn’t lead his diverse works to a specific path, thus rendering his photographs neutral and devoid of any possible direction.

You started off your first year on Instagram beautifully, but also kind of timidly and exploringly. And then you took off! Were you trying to find your way photography-wise?

When I put my first posts on Ιnstagram I had actually started photography mostly as a hobby. It seemed like an interesting pastime to me during the time; besides I had a good feeling discussing my photos with my friends and appreciated receiving feedback on my work. Going forward, I discovered this strong attraction towards photography, and sought to pursue it in a more professional fashion; until a point that I stopped enjoying my shots like before and began to feel bored, getting this feeling, like I was repeating myself over and over again in every single photo. This was the main reason behind my taking off Ιnstagram for a while. I started to shoot less frequently trying to practice various approaches and exercise more diversity in my works in order to get the satisfaction I wanted out of it just like before.

From minimal to ‘theatrical’ to street photographs and so many other modes. Would you say that you have a style or that you are partial to a specific one?

I don’t consider myself a follower of any particular style; yet you can see quite a variety of those in my works. What matters to me after all is to establish a deep connection with the subject always maintaining a good composition. I will use any style as long as these points are achieved.

Your preference to black and white photography is quite obvious. What are the elements that allure you to it?

My preference towards black and white photos originates from what I feel inside and the way I see the world around me. In other words, my very personal perspective in life. Besides, contrast and contradiction are best shown in black and white; as it can easily be noticed in various elements of my work, depending on my feeling at the moment of shooting.

Hardly never can I guess the origin of your photos, mainly because they seem so ‘neutral’, so…universal if you like. Is this attempt on purpose?

Definitely! Maybe the reason you can’t guess where the ideas behind my photos originate, at the first glance and that they seem neutral to you, is that I really like to leave it to my audience to explore what I experienced at the moment of shooting, for themselves, without giving any direction to their thoughts and clouding their judgement.

Do you let your cultural background affect you as a photographer?

Without a shadow of doubt. The place and culture I grew up in has certainly had its influence on the way that I see and interpret the world around me and thus the formation of my personality as a photographer.

Your photographs that include the human element are given as a way of a report. Not for us to judge or reach conclusions. You just state the facts. But they are not reports of society’s problems. You mostly seem like the omnipresent eye of their moments. Am I right to think that?

I am not after revealing and highlighting any problem in society in particular. What I seek to accomplish in my work is to underline the day to day routines that people pass by them so easily. That has always been the main challenge for me in choosing subjects and elements of my photos. I try to be the eye that sees what others cannot.. So yeah! You’re absolutely right about that.

You don’t use tags, titles and you don’t have a bio. Despite these things, you have been prolific enough and the careful eye can understand and appreciate your photographic personality. Is this your way of telling us “please, discover my photos uninfluenced”? 

As I mentioned before I don’t use tags and titles for my works in an attempt not to limit the viewer’s capacity to interpret or dictating any line of thought. I am trying not to affect any personal takes on the photo, because I enjoy hearing and talking about different personal perspectives and various ideas on my work.

“A football game turned into rhythmic gymnastics”. That’s what came to mind when I looked at this photo. Whether it was a happy coincidence or the result of patience matters little. What are your aspirations Amir? 

The main thing that drives me towards a subject, finally resulting in a photo, could be referred to as observing and indicating the “lack” of small things in our modern society that may not be seen or felt by others in its full extent; for instance highlighting the loneliness of an individual amidst the crowd on a typical working day in the city centre. Mentioning the things that are fading slowly and quietly in our society, the nice human values and interactions that are no more pretty little details that are missed… well at least by me.

And sometimes I rejoice in finding such things, beyond a dark turn, in a narrow alley somewhere, where no one cares to look. Putting time and effort into these subjects will hopefully result in photos that I guess are somehow targeted for myself as the first audience, telling me: “Hey! Those small pretty things still exist out there on a dark corner of some forgotten alley. You just need to look the right direction.”

The photograph you particularly put your finger on is one of the latter. In it the closed door caught my attention as a gateway to future and its infinite probabilities. The children playing remind me of childhood’s innocence and pure happiness that I miss and feel somehow disconnected from. Watching children playing together regardless of ethnicity and skin colour. Black and white (my visual tool and element of choice) playing with each other like there’s nothing else happening in the world around them, this feeling of freedom and pure joy they take in what they do is actually the reason transforming this street football game into a rhythmic dance as you said.

And there I was, fortunate enough to be looking their direction in the right place at the right time, through my camera lens.

https://www.instagram.com/amirhosseinsheikh/

The interview with Amirhossein Sheikh was given on February 13th, 2017

Ahmed Abdelaziz is an Egyptian filmmaker/photographer who seeks to familiarise us with his country through his own eyes. The result is sensitive and humorous.

When entering your profile we see a couple of introductory notes about you. Tell us a few things about your involvement in filmmaking, your knowledge and experience.

As you read in my introductory notes, I am an Egyptian filmmaker, and my career began when I studied film direction at The High Cinema Institute of Egypt, where I learned the methods, techniques, and the different aspects of the cinema industry. Then I made a short movie as a director. I also wrote a short movie script which I hope I can produce in 2017. In addition, I am a first assistant director (AD) for TV commercials and previously for movies and series.

You also state that we should consider your profile as a sort of diary and that you shoot by iPhone. Is Instagram a tool of practice for you?

My work as a filmmaker and AD gives me opportunities to move around the city and sometimes outside it too for scouting and shooting, etc. Because of this, I’m lucky to be in many different locations with actors and models and maybe out-of-the-ordinary props so that at some point I’m able to capture with my iPhone a frame that can convey my vision and perspective.

Taking photos and filmmaking have similar roots, so it’s normal for filmmakers, especially directors and directors of photography (DOP) to capture moments, or at least I see it that way.

What is the different between capturing moments while you work as an AD and when you’re free?

Taking photos while I’m free gave me more options and features because I’m free to capture any moment or any composition. Beside that, I have the time to adjust the composition, it’s different when I’m working; first, I don’t have the time to take the photo, basically because of my time spent at my work and second, I have many restrictions  and rules. I follow them like in not taking the composition that we take while shooting. The photo must have some different element such as the composition, the model reaction and the lens by the way etc.

You also confided that your favourite photography is the one that includes the human element. Why do you like it over the others? 

I photograph architecture and nature; but yes, I prefer the human photography. Photography with a human element gives you many choices and a wide range of variation. Every little adjustment, whether it’s the model’s reaction or the composition can impact the delivery of the photo. You then engage with these little battles to match it with your own spirit and vision. There  is an enjoyable challenge for me.

Your compositions are mostly coloured, yet they are not excessive. You can’t call them minimal, but they have clean lines and it makes it easy on the eye. How do you achieve this? Is it framing? Light? Contrast? A combination of all these?

It’s hard to answer this question as this point has never crossed my mind. However I could consider it a combination of all you have mentioned; maybe it’s a combination of two factors and sometimes it’s just one factor, depending on the location, the lighting, the model, the props etc. The photo is a combination of many factors and the question is what is the main thing that we want to lay emphasis on and what to avoid. If you gathered 5 photographers in the same set, the result of each one would be different compared to the others. It is purely based on how each individual perceives the world they are engaging in.

I would like to mention @davidalanharvey, the magnificent photographer who inspired me to have my own style. His photos had an impressive style … his own style. When I’m scrolling down at my news feed on Instagram I can recognize his photos without seeing his name, so it’s important to know the rules of photography, like how to make a comfortable frame and  the golden points and lines etc. and after you know them well, don’t pay any attention to the rules and forget them and go to capture the moments of your own vision and your style. The key is “ just go shoot”.

You make us familiar with your country and you get to show all sides…both the attractive and the not so attractive ones. How easy is filmmaking in Egypt?

I think Egypt has the elements that could put it on a higher level in the world market. There are many magnificent locations where one can see true epic beauty, like Aswan, Sinai, White Desert, Alexandria, the Red Sea and Upper Egypt etc. Egypt has brilliant actors that can be categorized among the world-wide A class actors. Beside all of this, Egypt has a rich history in filmmaking, which started when the Lumiere brothers’ new motion picture camera came to Egypt in 1896 after only few months from the release. Unfortunately, despite all of these positive factors, the fimmaking market in Egypt focuses on a genre that maybe we can call a “light” movie genre (comedy, romance, action). The industry focuses mostly on mainstream “light” movies, even big cinema festivals and worldwide audience expect typical topics around re-evaluation and the problems in Egypt etc. So the opportunities for new ideas and fresh treatments are so rare, but we’re trying to change this.

This photo had me giggling for a whole minute! But it’s also driven me crazy with curiosity! What’s the backstory? And…are they triplets?? (photo below)

I captured it while shooting a TV commercial with the director and my friend @mahmoudshokry1, the talented dp @beshary. In this moment, while we were shooting the men for the commercial,  I laid down frequently under their legs to give them director’s instructions. When all the elements combined together, I captured the image. By the way, the men are brothers, but not triplets.

You’re young and talented and I’d like to believe ambitious as well. What is your biggest dream photography-wise?

Look, I don’t consider myself a photographer. I’m a fimmaker who captures images and moments around me when I want to feel attached to these moments. I hope to continue taking more photos that reflect my perspective. My biggest dream is to merge my photographic abilities and my vision with my frames in the movies I make in the future.

https://www.instagram.com/ahmedaziz41/

The interview with Ahmed Abdelaziz was given on March 6th, 2017