Interview with Deana Landrum

"Distorted Beauty" Photo By Deana Landrum

As some of you know I interviewed Keith Landrum, the creator of Every Reason Zine last week. In that interview we talked about some of the photography that appeared in the magazine shot by Keith’s wife Deana. I have always found her to be such an inspiration and thought she would complement the previous interview nicely. So please let me do the honor of introducing you to Deana Landrum and show you some of her amazing images.

When did you start your love affair with photography?








"Loxley" Photo By Deana Landrum


Ever since I was little, I've loved taking pictures. In elementary school, my friend and I would pretend we were models and take pictures of each other. I still have them, they're hilariously bad. I was a terrible photographer. In 1995 my friend Scott got me a job at a camera shop where he worked. Until then, I had no idea how much control the person who printed the photos had and how much a difference a SLR made. It made me want a SLR. I didn't get one until several years after that, when my dad bought me one for Christmas. I bought the book they used to teach photography class at our local college and another book on exposure. I read every chance I got and spent a ton of money practicing. I guess the actual beginning, was when I got a SLR.

"Abandoned" Photo by Deana Landrum

Do you prefer black and white photography?
 

No not necessarily. It really just depends on what I'm shooting. To me, black and white brings out deeper emotions for me. I think that color can sometimes be distracting, whereas with black and white, I'm automatically drawn to the subject. Like a black and white portrait draws me to the person's eyes and I feel like I can see their character better than if it was in color. I shoot color for things where it's the color that I feel makes it what it is. I think of color as happy and black and white as emotional. Wait. Did I say I don't prefer black and white? Never mind. I take that back.

 "Doofus" Photo by Deana Landrum



What kinds of things do you like to take photos of?

I love old buildings, doors and windows and stairs. They seem so mysterious to me. I always want to know the back story of who lived there. What's really awesome is when I can get a model to pose and add even more interest to the photograph.  

Do you enhance your photos with any kind of software?

That's an area that I really need to work on. Right now I don't do a whole lot of enhancing. Sometimes I use Photoshop or Picasa. I need to learn more about Photoshop. My favorite photos I've taken I shot with film and had them printed by hand. They're beautiful, no enhancing needed.


"Parking Gargage" Photo by Deana Landrum



What camera are you using?

At the moment I'm using a digital Canon PowerShot 110. It's just a consumer camera, but it does have a manual setting, which I use most. I had a professional film camera, the Nikon F100, until desperate measures lead to me having to sell it. I still have my Holga though. I love shooting with the Holga and the whole creepy look I get. It's unpredictable and I like the anticipation of seeing how the prints turn out.


"Persistence" Photo By Deana Landrum


 

What inspires you when taking photos?

I'm inspired by many things, abandoned buildings, light breaking through the trees, fog in the early morning and street lights at night. If I don't see inspiration in the distance, I move closer and shoot in macro mode. Often times, things that look boring at a distance, are truly beautiful, you just have to get closer to see the details.
  

"The Forest of Eyes" Photo By Deana Landrum



"Woman's Room" Photo By Deana Landrum



Can you describe a typical photo day trip? What is your process? 

Most of the time I'll see things that pique my interest while I'm just out running errands. I remember the spot and will go back to it when I have time and the lighting is good. Usually the whole family goes because my oldest daughter needs to shoot for her photography class. I have a photographer friend and we used to just get in the car, pick a direction and just drive. That was always an adventure and we're planning another long overdue adventure soon.
 
What are your major influences when you are creating photos?

I don't know that I have any specific influences. I just have a drive to capture things through the lens that, oftentimes, gets overlooked. Such as a restroom at a rundown gas station. When I started paying attention and looking for the finer details, I started seeing things in a whole different way.

Who inspires you?

I think everyone inspires me. Everyone who is creative or artistic in some way or another. Just seeing what other people do motivates me to get out and do something myself.

Thank you so much Deana for coming by and sharing your amazing gift with us today, I am so glad to share your images with our readers so they can be inspired by them as well. 

If you are looking for the link to the Keith Landrum interview you can find it here: http://tracieskarbo.blogspot.ca/2012/11/interview-with-keith-landrum.html