jake stangel's photography interview

Things you should know about photographer Jake Stangel: he lives in San Francisco, California. His favourite superhero is Missy Elliott. He's ridden his bike across the mammoth landmass that is the USA three times, and he takes some pretty darn atmospheric snaps.

We had a chat with the high-flying shutterbug to find out a bit more about his work.

What is your name and how old are you? Jake Stangel, and I'm 27.

Where were you born and where do you live now? My mom gave birth to me in a hospital in Montreal, Canada. I was late. After living all over the east coast I moved to San Francisco.



How does where you grew up and where you live now affect your photography? That Cali light, man. That Cali light. Being outside all the time. Being active all the time. Having friends that want to be doing cool things and going exploring or snowboarding or riding bikes for a while. Makes things invigorating, colourful.

What areas, things or people in your neighbourhood do you most like to photograph? Anything anywhere anytime. Ideally outside.



What do you shoot on (digital or analogue) and why do you choose to use that type? Film, 'cause I like the colors a lot. It's a vinyl vs. mp3 thing. To some people, it's all just music. To others there's a palpable difference. I like the process of shooting with the cameras, of riding to my lab, of the excitement, making contacts, making selects, making scans. Holding the negs in my hands.

Is there a certain camera or type of film that you wish you could own? Got what I love, love what I got. Mamiya 7 with an 80mm lens. That's the one.



Is there a running theme to the work you create, or do you just make whatever comes to mind? I try to put myself in the right situations and let things unfurl from there. Light touch.

What kinds of ideas and things are you working on at the moment? I'm currently writing this in a van as I work with Rapha on their AW13 lookbook. We're driving from Antwerp to Berlin and have 79 miles to go. I'm working on not letting my legs fall asleep! The shoot is perfect. Beautiful cities, great subjects, gorgeous clothing, and we're all riding bikes around. A really nice time!



What kind of subjects interest you the most? People who are comfortable with themselves and have an intriguing presence and/or aura. Who are not good at posing, but are good at being themselves.

Do you prefer to create set-up photographs, or just wander the streets until you see a photo? I like to seek out interesting lighting, whether it's in the city or the mountains, and keep my camera up to my eye, wait for things to come together. It could be a while.



If you were to teach a photography appreciation class, what kind of lessons would you try to teach your students? For their own practice, to keep shooting and honing in on their style/way of seeing and interpreting the world. For their appreciation of the work of others, t look at work made throughout the history of photography since its inception. It's amazing to see the work that was made in the past 100+ years, not just in the past couple months, or even decades. Lots of inspiration and insight.

What other budding photographers do you love? You'll have to go to my website, click on "details" and scroll to the bottom to see them all, there are a lot.

What do you enjoy doing when not taking photos? Feeling the sun on my skin, riding bikes, bouldering, surfing, eating well and keeping good company.



Where can we see more of your work? jakestangel.com.