Photographer Interview:
Fela Raymond
BIO
As a child, Olufela "Fela" Raymond stared up at the large painting of his father that hung in his family's living room. The color and textural strokes brought his imagination to life. Further inspired by his uncle's sculptures and garden art, Fela began shifting from excitement to dedication and launched his art career.
From Africa to Australia, and back to the States, he has taken film with him everywhere, focusing on the traditional photographic style that is symbolic of the meticulous and steady development of the humanity he captures.
Fela's work is natural, he focuses the lens more than he does on a detail in editing. He wants the world to see the moment as untouched as he first encountered it, believing in honoring the original subject more than tweaking it to fit someone else's preference or comfort. Instead, he is an astute observer of the variance of light, textures, and patterns in each shot, making sure the environment and subject are working together.
How long have you been shooting for?
I have been capturing images professionally for 10 years
Did you buy your first camera or was it a gift?
I saved up enough money in high school in 2007 to buy my first camera which was a touch screen digital camera I believe by Fuji. It was amazing, I believe I spent $400 bucks.
Is there a moment that stands out when you knew you wanted to pursue photography?
That moment for me was at Texas tech. I completely dove into photography thanks to professor Robin Germany for giving me the push I needed. She influenced me to push towards photography (while I was a graphic designer studying art direction) because of her I took more photo classes and pushed towards photography and never looked back.
Has your style of photography changed since when you first started? How so?
I think my style has changed just a little but not too much. I am still a very portrait focused photographer, but I am starting to get more into nature, street photography and shooting architecture more than I ever was before.
Do you prefer digital or analog? Why?
I prefer film. It requires a lot more attention to detail.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Where do you currently reside?
I was born in Lagos Nigeria , lived in Ibadan for half of my time in Nigeria and Lagos for the rest before moving to America in the early 2000s. I moved to Dallas Texas metroplex when I arrived in America , went to high school in Mansfield Texas then went to Texas tech to pursue a bachelors degree in communication design. After Texas tech I transferred to UNT for a short amount of time before dropping out because the cost of college was too high. I then moved to NYC with my family for a few years to attempt to join the navy. I was in the military for a short amount of time (very short) before being discharged. After my short military experience in the navy I moved back to Texas where I continued to pursue my career as a photographer and Dj.
Does your environment influence your work? How so?
Yes I am very influenced by whatever environment I place myself in. I am a very emotional person at times. I tend to feel other people and surrounding emotions before they are communicated and I try to share that in my work.
Do you try to incorporate some elements of home in your photography?
Yes I think I am constantly comparing and relating home to anywhere I am. In my head I tend to capture things that remind me of home or the contrast of what home is for me. I have even contemplated putting together a visual project comparing things people do in America to things people do in Nigeria and showing they are the same just done in different cultural ways.
You mentioned in previous chats with us, about a series utilizing double exposure where you shot photos on a roll of film and then shared that same film to be reused by another photographer - can you tell us about your curiosity and interest in that?
Yes it started when I took a trip to Australia. I was already shooting a lot of film in Denton Texas, so I took some of that film with me. Long story short I was able to merge Texas with Sydney by shooting over a roll of film I shoot in Denton and reshooting over it in the blue mountains of Sydney. It opened my mind to the idea of bringing two different peoples perspective Together through double exposure. I tested my theory with Joonbug and a few other artists like Dj missblkamerikah and Wil Von Bolton. The results were great. There were a lot of moments where our visions came together to create a beautiful image.
What would you like to see with the use of film photography moving forward?
More accessibility. I want to be able to develop film at Walmart again and get the images in the same day. I want new film cameras to get made in 2021. Not just us sorting vintage cameras that were made over 20 years ago.
Any specific subjects you gravitate towards while planning a shoot?
Plan as much as possible so you can spend your time being creative during the shooting instead of worrying about other things.
Would you say you have a consistent style of shooting? (Regarding specific lighting, location or subjects, or regardless of those things)
No I think I like to jump around based on where I am and how I feel in moments. But I would say I am obsessed with natural light and recreating natural lighting in my imagery.
When it comes to photography what moves you?
Being able to see emotion and read a story without any words being said.
“When people see my work I want it to take them to nostalgic moments and memories of their own personal life.”
How many cameras do you personally own? Do you use all of them?
Hahahahaha this is a great time to ask me this question. I currently own over 45 film cameras and 1 digital (Sony a7rII) Yes I do use them all. Thanks to the Jar of film I have the supreme duty of testing every camera we sell.
Tell us about Jar of Film. What is it? What do you hope to achieve?
Jar of Film is an idea of bringing people together who have a passion and interest for analog photography; we want to build a community that supports one another in learning and teaching. Both Manorath and I have a strong passion for photography, and we hope that we can help bring people together with Jar of film.
Our future goals are to help promote other film shooters by sharing and release a monthly zine of work from people who subscribe to Jar of Film, hoping that it inspires those who follow to go out, have fun, and take photos.
We have some other stuff in the works and hope to share this with everyone soon.
What camera would you want to be your last?
Contax g2 / contax t3
Fave film stock? Why?
Fuji superior 400, Fuji 1600 when they used to make them.
Candid or posed? Flash or no flash? Why?
Candid and natural light, I don’t like artificial or set up scenes.
Any specific subjects you gravitate towards while planning a shoot?
Plan as much as possible so you can spend your time being creative during the shooting instead of worrying about other things.
You have a young son, do you find that documentary work somehow plays into your life as a father and do you find yourself documenting more of your personal life than you did before having a child?
Yes I do. Most of the images of me as a kid were shot on film. I try to capture my son in moments I never want to forget while also trying not to get to caught up in the picture taking so i can actually enjoy the moment.
You mentioned in your podcast with Joonbug that music plays a big part in your work, how does it parallel to photography for you?
Yes it does for me feel parallel, I have always played a music instrument, and I don’t recall one day where I didn’t listen to any music.
What is one place in the world - city, country, area, particular structure, whatever - that you would love to go shoot but have not yet?
I want to go to Egypt. Just because of the history would love to capture it from my lens.
What would you like people to take away from your work?
I just want my work to be seen by the world. I just want to share my perspective and inspire others to share theirs too. When people see my work I want it to take them to nostalgic moments and memories of their own personal life. I want my images to feel natural to all human eyes. Like they’ve been there before or met that person before.
Interview by 35s & 45s
2.26.2021