An Interview with Noel Peterson (Photographer)
Photography is a very interesting artform, in that one must be extremely precise with the subject matter, location, angle, etc. It’s not at all like other forms of visual arts where you can use your imagination to create the wanted effect. With photography, the effect has to be there. Certainly, there are tricks of the trade to fool the eye, but when you strip everything away, a bridge is still a bridge, a cat is still cat, and an old shoe is still, well, you get the point.
I’ve always enjoyed Noel Peterson’s photography. He has a wonderful eye, and his imagination in terms of how to capture a shot or convey an idea speaks to me. Like all forms of art, photography is quite subjective. It’s what you bring to the piece that defines how much it will affect you.
Strewn
I spoke to Noel and asked him about his work, his aspirations, as well as his other creative drives.
TFM: Hello Noel. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
Noel: It’s not a problem at all. I’m more than happy to tell others about my photography.
TFM: I think that everyone likes to see inside the mind of someone who creates, whether through visual media, words, etc.
Noel: I would certainly hope that most people do! It can be such a great way to be exposed to other viewpoints and experiences that one might otherwise never have the chance to hear. Of course, a lot of said creative people are going to sound crazy, but hearing what they have to say can be rewarding nonetheless.
TFM: Let’s start with the obligatory “tell me a little about yourself” question.
Noel: Well, I’m American by citizenship, but I was born in Hong Kong to a pair of missionary-pastors and lived there, attending a British-run international school, until I was ready to leave for college. Come September, I’ll be starting my sophomore year at Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. I’m currently major-less; it’s a toss-up between Math, English and Latin. Apart from photography, I adore film and love playing sports of all kinds.
TFM: Do you see yourself as a creative person or more as someone just showing what’s already there?
Noel: I’d like to think that I’m creative, but most of my photography really is about simply drawing attention to things that might otherwise go unnoticed. The creative side of my work is more in the naming process than in the actual photo-taking; giving a deeper meaning to an image by naming it is something I take great pride and care in.
The Parting of the Ways
TFM: I know you write, but is this a passion, as it is with your photography?
Noel: Writing is definitely a passion – as long as I have something to write about. I seem to have a perpetual case of writer’s block, and inspiration for my writing does not come as often as I’d like. That being said, when I do have something to write about I get absolutely lost in it. I never much enjoyed sculpting with clay: sculpting with words, on the other hand, I love.
TFM: How old were you when you first started taking photographs, and do you remember what type of camera you used back then? (In fact, do you still own it?)
Noel: My family’s always had a point-and-click of some sort that I would take snapshots with on holidays and whatnot, but until recently I thought photography was really only a way to document events, rather than a true art form. My opinions toward it started changing when I was 14 or so, and I spent a lot of time looking at photography online before getting a decent camera two years ago with the intention of learning the craft.
TFM: What are you using now? What are your thoughts on digital vs 35mm?
Noel: I shoot with a Canon PowerShot S50 right now. Nothing fancy: it’s the camera my dad bought me for my 17th birthday, when I told him I had a serious interest in pursuing photography. I’m trying to save up enough money now to buy a nice DSLR (I’m looking at the Canon Digital Rebel XT, which goes for about $800) and a macro lens, since so much of what I do involves close-ups. I’m a big advocate of digital photography, although there is something awe-striking about the masters of darkroom techniques. Personally, as a relative amateur and poor college student, I’ve been so grateful for the immediate feedback that digital cameras give, although I try to take as few shots as possible so that I know the good ones aren’t just lucky ones most of the time; I haven’t wasted a cent on developing film, only to find that maybe one photo out of 36 turned out alright. Before I got into photography, I did a lot of graphic design and web development, so I was already using Photoshop a lot. Using it to touch up photography was an easy transition for me. Film is awesome if you have the money to spend on it and don’t mind being considered old-fashioned.
TFM: What are your ambitions as they pertain to photography, if you have any? How are you working on improving your skill (study, books, online resources, etc)?
Noel: Ultimately, I want to end up a photographer for National Geographic. That would be my absolute dream job. Lately I haven’t had a lot of time to work on improving my skill, unfortunately, except by taking more photographs and looking at those of others. I’ve opted for now to avoid photography classes at my school because I’ve never really agreed with being taught art. So many teachers try to make it a science – “rules” about photographic composition spring to mind – that I feel it loses its emotion. I just like to go with what looks good to me, and I’ve been told that I have a fairly good eye for that.
Uninvited Cheer
TFM: What inspires you?
Noel: My inspiration isn’t generally “inspiration” in the conventional sense, where an idea is suddenly seared into my mind that I feel the need to share with others through art. For me, I have a constant desire to share the world’s beauty – natural and manmade both – with others, especially since a lot of things make it seem like such an ugly place these days. So, when I see beauty I attempt to capture it and do it justice with my camera.
TFM: What’s your favorite subject matter? You have a number of plant/vegetable pieces which are quite interesting. They provide fantastic color and splash to your pieces.
Noel: Nature. Especially little things – flowers seem to be my favorite – that just radiate natural beauty so strongly through their unique colors and forms. Also, I love water and capturing the aspects of it that you can’t see with the naked eye: either freeze-framing fast-moving water droplets, which just look awesome, or doing a long-exposure of moving water to give a sense of real flow.
Not Niagara
TFM: Who are some of your favorite artists/photographers?
Noel: Jim Brandenburg. The man is an amazing photographer. His style is very like mine: his photos focus on the beauty of the natural world, bringing attention to a lot of little things, through close-ups, that most people just don’t see or take the time to look for.
TFM: What is your favorite piece? Tell us a little about it, what prompted it and why it is that you feel it works.
Noel: I’d probably have to say Suspended Animation, although Chalice is a close second.
Suspended Animation
Chalice
Editor’s Note: Two of my favorites as well. Stunning work
I shot Suspended Animation one day in June in Hong Kong. June is in the wet season, and we had just had a very heavy rain. I went outside in the hopes of getting some good water-drops-on-plants photos, as I’ve always loved those, and found this little knot in some ropes that were holding up a tarp outside. It just caught my eye and knew how to take the picture. I love its composition: the empty space at the bottom of the photo begs for that single water drop to fall into it, but it never will. Having it in black-and-white draws attention to the water drop (its smoothness in relation to the roughness of the rope) rather than letting the green rope distract you, as it would in a color version.
TFM: I’ve said before how I feel that your titles truly do enhance your pieces. How important to you feel titles are? Do you feel they guide the viewer where you’d like to take them, or allow them to use their imagination more?
Noel: For the most part, I like to let the photos speak for themselves. I would prefer that the viewer see them for the beauty they hold before being influenced by the ideas my titling sets off. For this very reason, I don’t display the photos’ names anywhere on my website other than in the URL’s to the actual images. If people want to know the title to take extra meaning from the image, wonderful: I spent literal hours naming some of these photos, but my main concern is just getting people to see the images, themselves, and to take from them what they will.
Worn
TFM: Are you more of pro-active or reactive photographer? Do you carefully decide on a subject matter then go about finding/creating it? Or do you see something and upon reacting to it, photograph it?
Noel: Definitely more reactive. Very rarely do I plan a photo in advance. I prefer to grab my camera when and where I think I might see something cool, and I’ll know when I do. The image strikes me strongly and repeatedly, until I capture its soul in my camera. It’s an experience that’s really very difficult to describe.
TFM: Parting thoughts?
Noel: Yeah, I think that if National Geographic has anyone reading this, they should hire me. Hell, to be given that chance I’d gladly work for a pittance. Traveling all over the world, doing one of the things I love most, would be its own reward.
Editor’s Note: Nice plee for a job, Noel. Good luck with that.
I would like to thank Noel very much for taking the time out to answer these questions. The Frozen Man will continue to add some of Noel’s pieces to our Gallery, but to see all of his work, I would suggest you go to his photoblog.
