Category Archives: Photography

So despite my thick (39 year old) skin, and my long career in making marks as an artist, designer, community builder and now photographer, I still find the small stuff a thorn in my side.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff”.

For the most part. I don’t give a fuck about what people I don’t know think of me. I’ve had so many people tell me that they’ve heard their friends talk shit about me, stuff like “He’s a drug dealer obviously as he’s loaded and always buying shit”… actually it’s almost always money related, but those who KNOW me know I’m not a drug dealer (lol), and that I have no money in my savings account because I choose not to “save” money, and instead enjoy it when I make it.

But when I hear negative things from people who I respect, it hurts.

“Your photography is porn” – Really?! Come off it. I can show you porn, then I can show you my work. If you can’t distinguish the two then I’ve got no time for you.

“You’re a one trick pony” – Get fucked. I’ve only JUST started shooting a year ago. It’s VERY new to me and I’m having SO much fun learning. I’m genuinely hungry and obsessed about shooting more in order to develop more confidence in my shooting abilities.

“You need more diversity, you always shoot in the same locations” – What’s the difference between me shooting in my house as opposed to other photographers only shooting in a photography studio 24/7? In any case I’m not shooting my location… I’m shooting people!!! During the 2-3 hours of my shoots I’m trying to get to know the girl in front of me as best I can in order to capture the person as best I can. Ultimately that’s what it’s all about.

“So you’re a Lingerie Photographer now?!” – No I’m not. I simply get girls to bring whatever they like. I then shoot them in whatever they wear in front of my lens. Sometimes I end up with a natural and sexy set of photos of a girl, sometimes I end up with amazing artistic concepts, again, it ALL depends on the person in front of me. IE: I am NOT about to come up with an amazing concept for a shoot for a girl I’ve never shot as that could just be a disaster and it’s far from real (or natural). On the other hand if the girl in front of me does overt sexual poses because that’s what she likes to do and how she wants to be represented, then who am I to tell her to stop being herself and put more clothes on?

“You’re sexually objectifying women” – I can’t win a gender debate, but again, get fucked. I don’t shoot girls for my own sexual pleasure (and if guys out there get off on my images it’s their problem not mine). I’m an artist. My work is art (because I say it is). I sincerely look for beauty. I am not selling a product with my photography. I dead set respect every girl that sits in front of my lens for doing so (good on you girls!).

End of the day you can’t please everyone. I know this. And of-course I don’t NEED to justify myself to anyone, especially as I’m having SO much fun learning and pushing (I’ve only recently gotten over my fear of shooting in low light/at night and I’m now giving that a go) and fuck yes I enjoy the recognition and praise, especially from the girls I shoot and their parents and friends (this makes me so happy!). But I felt the need to vent (I do this less and less).

I think I feel better now. /vent.

Had a late night shoot with Kimmy to give low light photography with the Sony A7s a go. I was completely uncomfortable with shooting in the dark, so many of my shots came out either too soft, or too noisy. These 3 are the only shots I’m happy with (they’re raw, unedited and converted to black and white in post). Much more practise needed!

Met Emily at the meet the other night (EOMM) and shot her yesterday. Not sure if I talked her ear off, or whether she talked my ear off more… either way, we talked about some whack shit and got along like a house on fire! I’m really happy with some of the shots.

Full set here: http://www.justinfoxphoto.com/girls#/emily

I just got this awesome hand made Kitsune mask in the mail. I bought it on eBay (no two were the same, so nice), the mask was made in Iwate, Japan by a process called “hariko-zaiku” (ie: paper mache!). The artists’ name is Hanjirou Sawafuzi.

You know you’re in trouble when you ask your model to see what she brought to wear for the shoot and all she whips out is a vitamin box full of Wicked Weasel micro bikinis.

View the full set (NSFW nudity warning!) here: http://www.justinfoxphoto.com/girls#/mika/

I’ve found a name for my work. KITSUNE, which means FOX in Japanese (thanks Seven Seas X). The tales of foxes being shape shifting into women really suit my girls. I’m feeling conceptually content!

Visit (NSFW): http://www.justinfoxphoto.com/

Domo’s been a naughty naughty boy! Fun shoot earlier today with Japanese model Mika, yet another girl who’s domo crazy! View the rest of the set on my folio site (nudity warning!): http://www.justinfoxphoto.com/stories/#/mika-domo/

I’ve been meaning to check out my interview in the latest issue of InFocus Australasia for ages now. I finally found my first gen i-Pad, charged it up, found InFocus in iTunes and bam! My i-Pad is just too old to run the latest issue of InFocus! Haha! Sydney based Photographer Sam Law of 300C-PO has come to the rescue though, with these screen grabs of the feature (cheers Sam!).

Download the latest issue of InFocus Australasia here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/infocus-australasia/id627335324?mt=8

Interview as follows:

What sparked your first interest in photography?
A university assignment which required us to use a manual camera. A few years after I went digital and picked up a Nikon 990, it’s twist body and great image taking capabilities made it a much loved camera/toy of many designers at the time. Mine eventually broke and I dropped the ball for many years until the Panasonic GF1 came out in 2009.

What was your first camera?
My Mum handed me down her 1966 Canon FT QL (quite a brick of a camera!) which I used for photography related assignments when I was studying Design at the University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts. That camera got me into shooting friends. It has a sweet 55mm lens on it, and at the time I was developing Ilford film at 1hr colour photo labs for unexpected colour results.

What do you particularly love to shoot?
Moments. I love shooting for my blog. Blogging has always been a therapeutic thing for me. I find taking photos, and publishing them therapeutic (and of-course, in many ways rewarding).

What kind of shooting/subjects do you find the most challenging?
I’ve done all the behind the scenes shoots of models wearing Zen Garage gear for the past 3 years, but for the past 6 months I’ve been shooting the girls myself, and I’ve found that shooting people you aren’t already friends with, and trying to make them feel comfortable as quickly as possible, to be quite challenging (and the positive feedback post shoot really rewarding). I’ve developed a few tricks to help with shoots, the process is constantly developing and getting better each time.

What gear would you take out if you wanted to travel light without a plan, but be ready for anything?
My every day is just the GF6 with the compact 20mm lens, but even when I’m all loaded up I have both cameras, multiple lenses, my macbook and more in my Chrome Niko Pack (which I love wearing/using).

What bit of gear do you currently covet (desire/want)?
I love my GF1 and GF6 Micro Four Thirds cameras and I’m proud that I was on board since they were first released many years ago, but I’m ALWAYS wondering what if… what if I upgraded to a 5D Mark III? Would I take better shots? Etc.

Which other photographers are your biggest inspirations?
My friend, Matthew Mead, who captures light like no other and Van Styles for his style and passion. Terry Richardson for being a game changer (I’ve been a fan of his work since he did a shoot for Sisley with Josie Maran many years ago).

What drives your ongoing photographic evolution?
For me it’s always publishing, in my case blogging. So long as I’m documenting my life then I’ll always need a camera, and when one starts to die, it’s always an excuse to upgrade!

GEAR LIST
Cameras
Panasonic Lumix GF6
Panasonic Lumix GF1

Lenses
Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4
Panasonic 20mm f/1.7

Spotted! 3 of my images on Shock Mansion. No credits, but hey, it’s still nice to see my work get out there (even if it is to a demographic of horny young teens… I don’t mind whether people see my work as art, or tits and ass, really!).