Brian Ferry is an American living in London, a food lover and a photographer. His photo blog, The Blue Hour captured my attention a little while ago. His photos are of everyday things, places and occurrences, but somehow they make me envious, they make me want to uproot and move to England where the grass is greener. It really is very green, so are the hedges. He also likes vintage cars and drinking beer so I thought he would be the perfect person for the first interview on BEST of what's left.
What inspires you and your work?
I am inspired by light, most of all. Light at different times of the day, strong light, soft light, grey light, blue light. I think capturing light is always at the root of my photographs. I'm also inspired by observing people - what makes them smile, how they live, what they enjoy.
And of course, I am influenced by the various things I see, online or otherwise ... art, other photographs, food, words ... I have an online inspiration board sharing some of these things, you can see it here.
The photos on your blog, The Blue Hour, celebrates the beauty in the 'everyday', do you find yourself actively hunting out these images?
I think I subconsciously hunt for these images, yes. In a way, I simply share the things that catch my attention as I go about my day. I like to take photographs of seemingly mundane things -- my routine, the moments of each day that make up a life. I tend to be a pretty scattered person, so I think part of the reason I enjoy shooting photos of everyday things is because it forces me to slow down, to notice things. I have also found that the medium itself, an almost-daily photo blog, influences my decision to shoot images of the "everyday". It is very conducive to sharing that type of photo.
What are you likely to be doing when you are not taking photos?
In all honesty, probably working at my day job. Unfortunately. But I also spend a lot of time cooking and hanging out with friends.
The Blue Hour often appears to celebrate eating and eating/drinking out, where are your all time favourite places?
This is such a tough question. In the interest of brevity, I'm narrowing it down to my top 6 (in no particular order):
The River Cafe, London
St. John, London
Marlow & Sons, Brooklyn NY
Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn NY
St. Claire's Annex (for the lobster roll, orangeade and nostalgia), Watch Hill, Rhode Island
What have you been listening to lately?
What does the near future hold for you?
A trip to Paris, a trip to the beach, a family wedding, blueberry and peach cobbler, and lots of new photographs.
Last but not least, do you have a favourite youtube clip?
I don't know if this counts as a favorite YouTube clip, but I do come back to this excerpt from Godard's film "Bande à part" pretty often. I don't know why, exactly - but it's mesmerizing to me.
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