Local Art Residency - Scot Surbeck

LC: Tell us a bit with respect to this exhibition as compared to the previous exhibits from back in March 2019 and September 2020.

The current exhibition has a somewhat similar layout as the 2019 show (below)

But it is quite different from the 2020 show (below).

Current show (below)

SS: The current exhibit has a good balance between the photos and the surrounding space. The photos are complicated and dense and therefore invite contemplation. The spacing allows viewing without distraction from adjacent photos, yet keeps the photos close enough to be seen from a distance as a coherent group.

LC: I can’t help noticing that, and opinion only, the images seem more personal, more raw than previous…almost peeling back a layer of your subject and allowing us the viewer a closer connection to the the actual person. Does this thought seem accurate?

SS: There is a developing looseness and ambiguity in my work that I like. I don't have an emotional agenda when I shoot but I like to find images, through my camera, that interest me and others. Every viewer will interpret those images differently.

LC: There’s an image of a construction worker’s arm in the foreground of a kind of ubiquitous NYC construction area that is very powerful. I have to ask if you were aiming to capture that particular shot after assessing the scene or simply caught by lucky chance.

SS: I was looking through my view finder at the construction worker in the background when the worker in the foreground suddenly thrust his arm out. I took the picture.

LC: Of this collection, which image stands out most to you and why?

SS: They all make me happy, individually and as a group.

LC:. I’m already looking forward to your next collection. Anything planned that you can hint to?

SS: A year is a long time. I'm looking forward to it as well :)

See more of Scot’s work here: www.scotsurbeck.com

Local Art Residency - MHS Senior, Max Myers

LC: Let’s start with some background. How did you get into photography and develop to the level of ability you have today? 

MM: Back in 2016 I started to get into drones, an up and coming trend that persists today. I started off with the smaller toy drones, learning as I crashed them. Eventually over the course of around a year I saved up and got a great prosumer DJI drone. On the drone was a high quality camera that I subsequently used to capture the first of my many photographs and videos. I firmly believe that having the ability to position a camera at any angle and height in the sky directly assisted my eye as a photographer today. I’ve been through four upgrades of cameras and lenses to get to where I am today, and I owe the level of ability I’ve developed to persistence, practice, and trial and error. I am proud of where I am today, being self taught, but I still have a lot of room to grow. 

LC: Your photographs capture a variety of subjects and scenes in a wide range of styles. How do you decide the what, when, and how of your pictures? 

MM: I definitely don’t have a central theme in this show, as I practice so many different styles and types of photography. I like to have some variety in my life, and my art exemplifies that. However with many of my projects, the process starts with an idea. Let's take the photograph of the Aston Martin in Chinatown as an example. That car is called the Dragon 88, and was created for the Chinese market. Only 88 of them were ever made, and the one I photographed is the only one in the United States. I thought it would be fitting to take it into Chinatown, an area I’ve always imagined photographing a car in. We traveled there with the car and captured it under the Chinese lanterns strung across the streets. It involved a long shutter speed and shining a light over the car to illuminate its deep maroon paint. I am very happy with how that photoshoot came out. 

LC: Clearly your life has included a fair bit of traveling. What are some places you’ve visited and do any stand out as favorites? 

MM: I’ve been extremely lucky to travel around the United States and to Europe. I spend a lot of time in Arizona, because I have family there. I have also visited Miami, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Yellowstone, and many more places. In Europe I’ve been to Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Lisbon, and Barcelona. I really enjoy traveling, as it allows for an amazing new array of scenery and sights to photograph. Venice was my absolute favorite, and I was able to take my drone up there to photograph the Grand Canal, leading to one of my favorite photos of all time, which is in this show. 

LC: Can you tell us more about your service trip to the Dominican Republic, where some of these photos were taken? 

MM: I was able to go on a mission trip with my church to the Dominican Republic, where myself and a group were given the amazing opportunity to work with and assist a group of disabled orphans. Among the 50 or so children there, only 3 or so could even walk. The majority were strapped to wheel chairs, perhaps indefinitely. I still remember walking down the stairs and seeing them for the first time. I walked back up the same stairs for the last time at the end of my mission trip as a changed person, with a very new perspective on life. I was lucky to be able to document the experiences of me and my peers through my camera, and captured some moments of pure emotion that I think would be impossible to emulate in any other circumstance. The trip left a lasting effect on me, and I’ve decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from selling my photographs to the Mustard Seed Communities foundation which oversees the disabled children in the orphanage. They need it now more than ever as for the past few years they haven’t had their regular donations, of both money and supplies because Covid prevented travel to the orphanage. 

LC: What do you feel is your relationship to the stories being played out in your pictures? Are you preserving an existing narrative for memory or creating a new story within the image? 

MM: I feel as though the stories I tell in my photographs are created by myself, based on the way I have the subject positioned, combined with the lighting, editing, and many camera settings I hand pick. I feel as though I am creating a new story within the image. For example when shooting cars, most new photographers would merely capture the vehicle. I choose a scene and try to capture the car within the scene to tell a story. 

LC: For fellow photographers coming into the shop, what sorts of cameras do you use, and do you have a preferred go-to? 

MM: I’ve been through four upgrades of cameras since starting. I started with a Lumix G7, a great affordable camera for beginners. I moved to the Sony A7ii, which I highly recommend for mid range beginners. Then onto the Sony A7iii, which helped me delve more into videography, and now I’m using the Sony A7iv as my main camera and the Sony A6300 as a secondary. The A7iv is an excellent camera with 33 megapixels and many great video features, and will be my go-to for a while. 

LC: What’s your favorite coffee or tea beverage? 

MM: My girlfriend has been a huge factor in developing my love for the Chai tea latte, which is now my go-to whenever I’m out.

Visit Max’s website here: maxvuz.com

Local Talk Series: Q+A with Mobile Photographer Marian Rubin

Marian, we're thrilled to have met you and if that wasn't enough - we have your work up at Local! The work is SO good. So much depth and emotion in every single image and frame. 

Tell us how you got started and what is it that allows you to get so much context in your images.

Hi Robert, I am delighted to meet you too and so pleased to be hanging in your shop.  ;)

I have been walking around with a camera since age 9, when my Dad gave me my first camera. I took pictures of my family, my friends, my classmates, boyfriends, and everything else along the way. I have always had a passion for photography and a fascination with humanity. It was only recently that I understood that that is just who I am. Photography has been the backdrop of my entire life, although not my career. I had a 40 year career as a social worker so you see the connection. I think I was always a social worker too. I am an inveterate observer, i.e: voyeur. I guess that’s my context. I call myself a social worker with a camera. The camera is my voice.

You now shoot with an iPhone which is further proof for me photography is about being in the moment and having the ability to capture it. What differences have you noted in your approach with this device?

The iPhone changed everything about my photography, my perspective and my life. The major difference in my approach is that I shoot like a maniac. I shoot every single day. I shoot through the windshield of my car. No need to load film, no lenses and other equipment to schlep along; no worries about costs of film or developing, the ability to post process and share in the palm of my hand; the amazing apps available for editing my images, the availability of my device at all times (you noticed that I wear my phone, right?), and best of all, ideal for street photography and portraiture, (my favorite genres) where I can shoot and move on, with the shutter in silent mode, and no one is any the wiser. Plus, when I am noticed, people don’t take me seriously because, after all, it’s only a phone, not a real camera and everyone has a phone, right?

One of the things I immediately noted and loved was that you take the work seriously, but not yourself - which is one of my favorite personal attributes. How do you see yourself in this world where image has arguably never been so elevated in our consciousness?

This is a tough question. I have never been big on self-esteem and am fully aware of the multitudes of artists that are further advanced than I. If you look at the work of many of the other iPhoneographers you will see so much work that is simply stunning and far more sophisticated than mine. I try to judge my work by where I am and not against others. I keep trying to improve my skills but I also have a dedication to aesthetics and integrity. I am fully aware of how much I don’t know. I do enter gallery calls for art and am always kind of amazed and humbled when my work is accepted, so I know, somewhat objectively, that my works meets some kind of standard. (I also get rejections.)

Photography is a journey for the viewer and photographer. What has been your most compelling discovery since starting the process?

I think I am always amazed when people praise my work or my work is accepted into a prestigious gallery exhibition. It took a lot, initially, for me to submit my work for any review as I was so sure  it would be found “not good enough”. This has been a refrain for me throughout my life; this issue of being “not good enough”. For whom? By whom? I try hard to steer clear of that concept and I think I am my worst critic. 

As far as the viewer, I am constantly surprised by the comments that people make about my work, about how they see it and how it resonates with them. Sometimes their comments are not in alignment with my own concepts or mood. I love that!

If possible, can you identify one photo that you have taken but keep coming back to it for further introspection?

Maybe not one photo, but my images of Danny, a homeless young man, are possibly the most meaningful to me, and force me to keep asking why he is unable to make any change and why he effects me so. He touches my soul and sometimes in talking to him, I get teary-eyed. He means a great deal to me. I would like to do a book about him.

You live here in Montclair and I have heard you mention your love for the area. What is it about this town that further fuels your passion?

I worked in Montclair when I was just out of college. I had a job here that I loved and grew very fond of this town. Perhaps it was the cultural environment, the integrated ethnicities, the upbeat and forward thinking environment. I always thought that Montclair was the most urban of the suburbs and the most sophisticated, with so many artists, musicians, theater and TV people, living here. I married and raised my children in Livingston but after my divorce, I came right back to Montclair. I felt that it was the right fit for a single woman, with access to so many cultural activities, as well as the proximity to NYC. I felt that it was the only suburb that didn’t fold up the sidewalks at night, which is very funny, since I rarely go out at night.

What is your favorite coffee or tea beverage? 

I am a serious coffee person. I mostly drink my coffee black although I also love cappuccino. I love iced coffee, sometimes with a scoop of ice-cream, and cold brew. Coffee and dark chocolate are my life’s blood.

www.marianrubin.com