Art means something to people. It moves us. It takes our breath away. It makes us think. It makes us feel. When life takes a turn for the worst, Art becomes many people’s outlet. It’s what brings them out of their rut, their confusion, their hopelessness, their despair.
Brandon Long, can attest to this. He started working a job that he was not happy with, just like so many of us, losing sight of those dreams that we all once had. He breaks down his love for photography and how he used it to help him get through some of his toughest times…
When did you start shooting photos?
I didn’t seriously start taking photographs until I was 24. Before then I was convinced I was going to become an Auteur-type filmmaker. After being denied the opportunity to attend film school I went into the workforce. I did various blue collar jobs and eventually settled down as a utility worker. The thought of doing Photography crossed my mind many times but I never pursued it strictly because I was fixated on this idea that you could only pick one or the other. Finally after years of making little progress as a filmmaker I decided something needed to change or I was going to end up with a completely stagnant life plagued with indecision.
One day, I found my dad’s old Olympus OM2 35mm camera. A friend of mine at the time showed me how to use it and I began shooting expired film with it.
I’ll never forget my first roll. When I received the developed shots and gazed at them up close I knew that was it. This was my medium. It came so naturally to me.
What type of equipment do you use?
After shooting 35mm for several months, I began to become dissatisfied. The nostalgic aesthetic I wanted in my head hadn’t been syncing up with what kind of work I was actually producing.
A friend off-handly one day mentioned a company called “The Impossible Project” that was starting to produce new polaroid film for vintage polaroid cameras.
Within 6 months I was shooting only instant film with Polaroid Cameras. I think what I enjoyed most about shooting with Polaroids was not only did it completely sync up with the aesthetic I had in my head but having a Filmmaker mind, looking up at Polaroids on a wall reminded me very much of Storyboarding.
After each photo shoot, I’d line up all the Polaroids together and create a visual narrative.
Cameras that I used were: Sonar SX-70, 680 SLR, Polaroid 195, Polaroid 600se, and a Spectra Pro.
Why are you passionate about what you do?
What drives me and makes me most passionate is a personal mantra I came up with when I was going through one of the most difficult periods of my life.
I was living in a moment of my life where all the joy and magic had been completely sucked out of it. I was suffering from severe depression. This was before I had decided to take on Photography head on. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and my world seemed to be crumbling down around me. Feeling hopeless was an understatement. I contemplated suicide. The magic and wonder of life was gone. But what I didn’t realize at the time was there still was some left. One night, I was laying in my bed, feeling hopeless. And then it just hit me like an epiphany.
“The Only Magic Left is Art” I said. I came to a realization that the we’ve been able to explain the world around us in almost every way possible through science, mathematics and history. But one of the few things left that we cannot explain is Art. Where it comes from? And why we have the desire to create it. It was proof to me that there was something “bigger” than us and I realized I no longer wanted to take that for granted.
Art saved my life. It gave me hope. From rock bottom, I was able to build myself back up because appreciating and using the ability to create was the only thing that kept me going.
How did you overcome your own doubts and the doubts of other people?
I never doubted the mantra. Actually, the phrase itself is what helped me overcome doubt.
What were some bumps you hit to get where you’re at now?
I knew that The Only Magic Left is Art had a universal appeal right away. Anyone I expressed it to, they understood it immediately without me even having to go into it.
The only problem was I wasn’t exactly sure what I suppose to do with it.
What is one thing you did wrong in the past that you can share with people?
Indecision. I always think about what if I had started photography earlier, how much better or far would I be in my career?
What is a way you got your name out there?
As I said before, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do with it. I googled “The Only Magic Left is Art” around early 2009 and to my surprise there was not one single match. Not even a partial. It blew my mind that not one person had at least used the phrase or some variation of it before. Perhaps in real life, but nothing that was recorded on the internet at that time.
It was then I decided I had to get this out there. Eventually I came upon a blogging platform called Tumblr. I wondered to myself if there were other people like me, just people going through a really big hurdle or struggle in their life. Stuck in a dead-beat job wishing they were an artist. Could this Manifesto affect them the same way it affected me? I knew what I had to do. So I started the blog.
Are there any other photographers that you look up to, admire, and/or model yourself after?
Stanley Kubrick both as a filmmaker and a photographer. His photographic work he did on his Leica were mesmerizing. A contemporary artist who had a huge influence on me wanting to shoot film in the first place was Ashlie Chavez and her twin sister Amber Chavez. Infact, the first few shots of my first roll of film I recall trying to emulate their aesthetic.
What is your favorite photo you have taken?
This shot:
Ever since first seeing Robert Doisneau’s work I wanted to somehow emulate the overall tone of his shots from Paris.
What else do you want to accomplish with your career?
I’ve always had the creative disposition of a filmmaker. So I’d like to eventually make a feature length. Also, to finally be able to make a living off of what I love would be nice. As of now, it’s just supplemental income. Nothing I could live off of.
What are some important lessons you learned as a photographer that you can share with some younger photographers?
It was Shepard Fairey that really helped me realize the importance and power of “repetition”.
Who would have thought posting stickers around the world with Andre the Giant’s face would have led him becoming the most prolific street artist of all time. People always talk about things going viral on the internet. But this is one of the only instances I can think of that something went viral in real life.
It all starts with an idea. The only difference between normal people and Shepard Fairey is that he pounded the idea into people’s heads until it became the Zeitgeist of Art Culture.
If you think about it, who he had on the sticker is irrelevant, it could have been Barbra Streisand, the results would have been exactly the same because of his conviction.
Bottom line is: If you never give up, you’ll never fail. And that goes for anything you want in life. Not just Photography.
Where can people go to find out more about your photography and everything else that your working on?
