Once upon a time in Alex land....: Feature Interview - Power of film: Hannah and Landon Metz

So here we are, a brand new year and a brand new feature and one I've been excited to start for a while!

My knowledge of film photography is fairly slim, mainly involving Polaroid or Fuji Instax instant film, or the limited information I learned in my AS Photography course when I was 17. However, I am completely memorized by it, and often try and obtain a film look in my digital work, because of this I am often obsessed with seeking out amazing film photographers, those who seem to perfectly capture their whole lives with this medium, and therefore make it look vintage, classic and mysterious.

I found Hannah and Landon, or as they were known back then 'Hello Bum' about 3 years ago when a friend of mine said, 'you should check out this married couple, I'm in love with both of them, and their lives!', I didn't anticipate that by checking, I would fall in love with them as well.

And on a side note, they have had great success with their blog, something I'm sure wasn't their aim when starting it, and were even mentioned by Justin Timberlake on his blog!!!

So enough chat, here they are, the first to be interviewed for my new feature, and I'm already scared I won't be able to top them...

Hannah and Landon Metz!

1. Fill me in on your background, where are you from and how did you get in to photography?

I'm from Ottawa, Canada presently living in New York by way of Vancouver and Los Angeles. I can't pinpoint an exact moment that began my interest in photography but I reckon it happened sometime between my dodgy 2002 webcam self portraits for livejournal and my first Pentax in 2008.

2. Tell us how you met and about your wedding? :)

Landon and I met via Livejournal (perhaps as a result of said dodgy webcam portraits? hehe). We were friends for six months, lovers for 21 months and husband and wife thereafter. We were married on a beach in Vancouver surrounded by close family and friends and spent the evening dancing and feasting on a boat!

3. What is your favourite style of photography (Self portraiture? Fashion? Documentary)?

I enjoy the immediacy and intimacy of self portraits. I think what might surprise (or perhaps not) many people familiar with our photos is that many of them are self portraits). I love documentary style photos for the same reason!

4. What is your process when taking photo's, from getting ideas to editing?

I'm not sure we have a distinct process beyond a moment presenting itself. If we have a lovely lot of snow outside I might drag Landon out to snap a few shots or if we're visiting his family in Arizona I always like to get a few photos of those moonlike rocks but that's about as far as we go for "planned" shoots. The rest are pretty spontaneous! One of our most popular series (a shoot we ended up using to promote a lingerie line I co-own) occurred the morning after we hosted a slumber party at our house and happened only because I was showing a friend some lingerie samples and she asked if she could try some on and one thing led to another and voila (sounds far more scandalous than it was)!

5. What are your tools of the trade?

We alternate between a pentax k1000 and a contax g2. There are others here and there but those are our two favourites!

6. Why do you seem to favour film cameras? And which of your film cameras is your favourite?

I like the element of surprise! The quality is so specific and one that no amount of photo editing and glorious digital cameras could ever emulate.

7. Why do you think people are drawn to photography?

I can't speak for others but I know for me I am drawn capture the world around me as it is existing at that very moment. It's a small world I've got about me but it'll be something to keep me entertained in my old old old tripple digit age.

8. How do you know which moments in life to capture?

When it feels right!

9. Where do you hope to go with your photography?

I'm not sure, I think just continue to build up a pretty significant album to bore our children and entertain our grand-children with (minus the nudies)!

10. What is your best tip to taking a striking photo?

I think it's important to be flexible and adventurous, sometimes it will turn out brilliantly and sometimes not! Often I will return to the photos I liked less at my initial review of them and find I like them much more with time passed. Being easy on yourself is perhaps the best tip I can offer, just diving in!

11. Do you think you have an original style that is you own?

I think it's our own in that the moments we capture are our own. If ever I take a photograph with another photographer's image in mind it's come out embarrassingly obvious that it's somebody else's moment.

12. Tell us a bit about your blog?

It's ancient! I've been blogging for a hideously long time, so long that I don't know how to stop! I think it's slowing down though with so many social media platforms to distract and entertain. I imagine there is a lot less interest in personal blogs. It's fun though, I reckon so long as I'm on the internet I'll maintain some form of blog.

13. Tell us about the clothes!!!?

Haha, I've been collecting vintage clothing since I was 12 years old and so have amassed quite the collection of other people's discarded duds over the years! Fortunately I've got a shop now so I can filter my collection into there and not overwhelm my apartment and poor Landon!

14. What are some of your favourite films, books and musicians?

My favourite story has been so since I was a tween and that's Tristan and Iseult. I'm a sucker for period pieces and can sit pretty contentedly through almost any of them (almost). My absolute favourite movies are, Sense and Sensibility, Loves of a Blonde, Valerie and her Week of Wonders and Daisies. Musicians, there are too many too name though I have to say Leonard Cohen and Enya rate pretty high for me!

15. Which photographer do you think I should interview next and why?

Shae Acopian Detar, she's magnificent and goes above and beyond always! I adore her.

16. What is your favourite photo taken by another photographer? (Link and describe why)

Oh gosh, I couldn't pick a favourite! I love the work of Ellen Rogers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beep_peep/), it's dark and romantic and like a modern Pre-Raphaelite.

17. Fill me in, why 'Hello Bum'? Why the obsession with bottoms?

What's not to love about bottoms! I think Hello Bum came from my sleeping with my bum pointed out like a rocket on top of my bedmate.

18. Give us the skinny, what's the next project you've got coming up?

Landon is hard at work painting in the studio daily so he's continuing that journey and I'm developing some textile prints that I hope to see out and about within this year!

19. Which actor would play you in the film of your life?

Hmm, well the two actors currently working that look most like Landon and I are Chloe Moretz (eerily similar if Landon were a girl nearly half his age) and Scarlett Johansson (we've got similar bums and noses). Though if I were to flatter us I'd pick Johnny Depp for Landon (heh) annnnnd both Maries from Daisies to play me. hehe.