NEST HQ was created with the intention of being a platform aimed at promoting and encouraging the growth of artists of all genres and mediums. While we’ve worked mostly within music up to this point, we are expanding on a new content series that will showcase multimedia artists of various backgrounds including painters, graphic designers, architects, and others of the sort; this is installation. Every week, we’ll post hand-selected pieces from our featured artists via our Instagram @nesthq, along with excerpts from the full interviews which will be posted on the Friday of that week.
This week on installation, we present photographer Ivan Lanz. Ivan is currently a photographer, creative planner, and project manager at Puma in Boston.
Can you tell us a bit about how your story as a photographer began?
Just over 4 years ago I was introduced to this social media app called Instagram and it honestly changed my life. It’s sometimes weird to say that out loud but at the same time I have to give full credit to this app that allowed me to start expressing myself with pictures on a daily basis.
Like many others, I started my photography journey by messing around with my iPhone taking shots of sunsets, nature, anything that I would consider “beautiful” at the time, which was not hard to do since I grew up in South Florida. Over the course of time I began shooting with friends who had DSLR cameras and they would teach me a thing or two on how to capture sunsets with their camera on manual. At the time I remember thinking, “wow, thats so complicated, I rather just use my phone”. Little did I know that soon enough I’d want to create more, and my phone camera wouldn’t allow me to do so. After just a few months of shooting with my phone, I decided to ask for a camera (DSLR) for christmas. My parents weren’t sure how serious I would be taking photography at the time, so like many other parents who’s kid wants to take photos, they bought me a beginners camera – a Nikon D3100. With the Nikon I learned lots of things; most importantly how to shoot on Manual, which I remember at the time was so confusing. Having to constantly change the aperture and shutter speed and ISO etc. It was too much for my young amateur mind to understand. Certainly, after a couple of months of shooting with friends and bringing my camera everywhere with me, I learned. However, in my eyes, I still wasn’t taking the shots I wanted to take. Obviously from the jump, friends and family encourage you and tell you your photos are great but when I look back at those first photos, I just shake my head, lol. It’s not that they were bad, it’s that you can just tell I just didn’t have a clue about composure, or lighting, or anything fundamental to taking a good photo at the time. That didn’t stop me though.
After just a year with the Nikon, I decided to purchase a “step-up” from my camera and bought myself a Canon 70D. Not going to lie, a lot of this decision was made because my friend Allenn (@oyedood), who I shot with almost always, had a Canon (mkii). When he used to show me how his shots came out, I would be amazed. One thing that impressed me about him was how easily he would be able to change his settings. He would be able to adjust all his settings so comfortably that it really made me want his camera, lol. When I looked up how much a Canon MkII was, I realized it was way too out of my budget at the time so I invested in the 70D. With the 70D, I definitely pushed my creativity to the max in terms of using the camera for all it’s worth. As I learned more, I started investing in quality lenses to give my photos the depth and focus I wanted. After almost 2 years of shooting with the 70D I felt like it was time to invest in my craft, so I decided to buy a Canon Mkiii. Ever since I purchased the camera, I can say without any regret that it was the best $2,000 I’ve ever spent on an object.
What is the reason for the medium you choose to become proficient in? What does this medium allow you to do that other mediums may not?
Photography was something that definitely fell on my lap, I didn’t go out looking for it. I’ve also been designing for a long time but it’s never made me feel what taking a great photo makes me feel. I feel like I’ve always been into visuals whether it’s a movie, a design, or a photo, I’ve always been intrigued in the visual arts. When I was young I took some art classes here and there but found myself not being any special with the paint brush. When I began taking photos, my mind would start brainstorming possible future photos. I started thinking about how all these cool photos were taken and how I could recreate the same effect. Once I picked up a DSLR and noticed how much nicer the quality of my photos were coming out, I decided to take it from there.
What were the inspirations behind these 3 pieces specifically?
1. DTX – Inspiration behind this first shot is the city of Boston. I currently live in Boston and have been living here for the past 4-5 years. I love shooting cityscapes and street photography so walking around Downtown Boston you’ll definitely get a little bit of both.
2. Miami Sunsets – Miami is my hometown. I was born in Venezuela but I definitely was raised much of my life in South Florida and got to show it love. I think I’ll eventually end up back in Miami just because of the people, the food and just the overall vibe.
3. Forever Faster – This photo was actually taken while I was on a photoshoot for Puma (when I was just a freelancer for them). This is a buddy of mine which helped me on the shoot by modeling the shoes and apparel. This shot along with many of the shots from that shoot helped me get the position I have in Puma now, so it’s definitely a special photo for me.
What are some of the defining moments in your career so far? How have they affected the way you approach your art and your creations?
I think some defining moments in my career have been to see a significant amount of people who follow my art use their hard earned money to buy a print or mine or my calendar, which I made/sold last year.
How do you feel the industry is doing right now? Which trends are really pushing the industry forward, and which are holding it back?
I feel like photography is growing at an incredible rate right now. These new social media platforms allow photographers to reach such big audiences that I feel like it really pushes people to have fresh content to post. There are some trends like rooftopping and stuff which sometimes can be fun, but I also find a lot of photographers solely shooting rooftops, which I think can become a little boring to the viewer.
What are some other artists that you are currently into?
Some of my biggest inspirations at time are @Trashhand , @Sklvr , @Perspec7ive and @Ri_ft . You can check out their work on Instagram, it’s truly incredible.
What are some of your goals for 2016?
My goals for the rest of 2016 is to travel more. Unfortunately due to work, I’ve had very limited amounts of time/money to spend on traveling but I hope to change that soon. My biggest goal this year was to land a position at Puma, which I accomplished, but of course with getting a job comes a lot of work and less free time to go shoot and travel.
Why did you choose these pieces to represent yourself on this spread?
I chose these pieces because they’re a bit of everything that I shoot, I like to change up what I shoot all the time. I think it’s important as a creative to challenge yourself by putting yourself in environments that you’re not used to which makes you grow in the long run. I think it’s important to constantly change up what you shoot.
Find more from Ivan on Instagram or via his website.
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