Interview
Justin Frazier
Justin Frazier is a spontaneous adventurer with an empathic soul. Always up for a new adventure and often exploring somewhere on this planet, taking pictures. Avid international traveler with a curious drive to learn about other cultures or different ways of living life. As one of the cofounders of Patagonia once said in the movie 180° South, “The real adventure starts when everything goes wrong.”
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Like many other photographers, it all began with a small pocket-size, point & shoot digital camera. I would take that camera with me anytime I went on adventures. Having grown up in Alaska, you get exposed to some really beautiful landscapes and nature which is what inspired me to focus on landscape photography. Eventually, I purchased my first ‘serious’ camera which was the Nikon D80 DSLR with the 18-55mm kit lens. I experimented with the different settings on the camera and looked up tutorials on the internet in my spare time. By this time, I already had a little bit of experience with Adobe Photoshop with digital art. The year is 2006 and internet forums are popular. On these forums, you can add a ‘signature’ which is posted below your comments every time you post on the forums. I used to participate in signature contests where the members vote for the best art piece. From here, I turned to photography to capture the moments in life that I see, just how I saw it. I do my best to make my photos look exactly the way I saw it during that moment in time. When people look at my images and have a similar reaction to them that I did when taking the photo…it feels great. It’s like I’m reliving that moment. Doesn’t matter how many times I see the reaction: ‘Wow, so beautiful!’ and ‘Amazing!’ It feels great every time I see this type of reaction from people. That is pretty much how I react in person when seeing a beautiful landscape and creating an image.”
What inspires you?
“The natural beauty of this planet keeps my inspired. It definitely helps being able to see it from other artists as well because everyone provides a unique perspective to their work. Whether it’s painting, photography, or some other form of art. We don’t always see what other people see, visually. So being able to show people how I see life…it’s a great feeling. These images capture a moment in time that may never look the same again from that point on. Not everybody has the ability to travel and see these locations in person. It’s a pleasure for me to be able to share them with people so they can experience it like I did.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I typically focus on creating beautiful photos with vibrant color whenever possible. It is usually landscape or nature but when I travel overseas to a different country, sometimes I take photos of the city and the different lives being lived with the locals. Generally, in most of my images, you will see a constant theme of color. Some are black & white if I think it fits the scene or photo…but I love beautiful color. I look for this in other forms of art as well.”
How would you describe your work?
“Aesthetically pleasing with lots of color, sometimes abstract. It’s always showing off the beautiful moments that exist on this planet we call Earth.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Steve McCurry is one of my favorite street/portrait photographers. His images are amazing and always portray a great story or meaning visually. Andro Loria and Chris Brukard are great landscape/adventure photographers. I love their images of Iceland and the aerial views of the glacier river systems there. It’s like looking at a different planet.”
“The ability to share a beautiful moment in life that was captured sometime in the past is truly astonishing. I cannot imagine a world where a person is not able to look at a photo that holds the power to inspire, to influence a divine emotion, or to motivate them to embark on their very own adventure in life.”
What is your creative process like?
“I don’t exactly have a process or set list of things that I do. Generally, I tend to carry my camera with me everywhere because there are times that I’m driving or walking outside and then a beautiful scene breaks out randomly. It’s times like those that I setup as quickly as possible with a tripod and shoot some images. Other times are planned in advance. I will think about the location that I am planning on traveling to, look at the weather for the current month, type of terrain, and visually think about what type of images I can create there. For example, Sedona, Arizona? Maybe try a star trail image with the canyons in background or a sunrise/sunset image which in both scenarios I will need a wide-angle lens. I always try to visually create images in my mind whenever I am roaming about. I’ll think, ‘wow that could look great with a 35mm lens, f/8 and tripod.’ Or maybe, ‘this spot is perfect for a star trail photo later tonight at 2-4am when the moon disappears.’”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The past 5-10 years are considered to be the information age and right now is the innovation age. As a society, we have been dealing with certain problems for years now that require a different way of thinking in order to solve them. I highly recommend the book, ‘A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future’ by Daniel Pink. I think artists and creative individuals in general, currently and will in the future, serve an important role in society. We need people that can think differently and outside of the box in order to solve some of the most pressing problems that our civilization face today.”
