Laura-Lynn Petrick may be all of 26 years old, but her portfolio as a photographer carries the weight of someone wise with age, and the trained eye to really nail down a shot. She’s captured everyone from Allah-Las to Mac DeMarco to Casey Affleck, but still considers the moon her favorite subject. “Can the moon be a subject? That’s my favourite to photograph, I admire it’s beauty every time. It’s a tie between the moon & Method Man.” Read our interview with Petrick below, and enjoy a trip through her captured memory. —Maya Eslami
Name: Laura-Lynn Petrick
Age: 26
From: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Describe your approach to photography?
As natural as possible… I like my subjects to be comfortable, so we usually will hang for a few hours, ease into it. I like to get to know my subjects and be on their level. If I’m photographing nature, same vibe, I try to immerse myself in the environment for the afternoon, and get a feel for the mystics of the nature around me.
First photograph you remember taking?
My memory is really awful, that’s partly why I photograph my life… But I do remember taking a photo of a lonesome training wheel bike, outside a famous butcher shop in Thunder Bay. It’s still to this day one of my favourite photos.
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Whose work inspires you?
Right now I’m very inspired by the work of directors Antonioni, Dennis Hopper, Terrence Malick and Francis Ford Coppola. And of course the timeless photographs of William Eggleston.
What makes a good photograph?
I would say, the ability for the photograph to capture a unique emotion, and convey that sensitivity and feeling to the viewer. I personally enjoy natural photographs, un-posed, candid and with a rawness.
Favorite camera?
My favourite is my TLR, Yashica Mat (medium format), it’s so unassuming and really helps capture the moment.
Digital or film?
Film, all the way baby, all the time. Because, I find it less intrusive and film captures a natural feeling better than digital. Cellulite translates light gorgeously. I feel it is more similar to the human eye, than a digital lens/camera. I worry with digital, that one day your hard drive or whatever will just blow up. With film, you have this dense negative filled with information, it’s a beautiful relic, a piece of your history…
Interests outside photography?
So many. I really enjoy gardening, apothecary, swimming, hiking, wine and cooking.
What pushes you outside your comfort zone?
Using new mediums. Working on challenging shoots. Shooting in the winter of Canada. Trying to make things happen on a small budget. What’s great about this work is it is always presenting new challenges, so you are motivated to learn more about your craft and do better.
Why do you take photos?
I started out by wanting to document my life, because as you get older it becomes more difficult to remember things… I really began to enjoy what I was seeing from my past memories. Then eventually I realized I wanted to depict the world I see, through my photographs. To try and capture the little beautiful things everywhere and remember them forever through a photograph.
View more of Laura-Lynn’s work here.