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DD: How do you come up with concepts for your shoots?
EH:
I think the main thing that inspires my shoots is what most would call
"household junk." I love to buy bizarre props from Charity Sales to use
for my shoots – these props can vary from motorcycle helmets, to
typewriters to bridesmaid’s dresses. I have recently grown fond of
using furniture people throw out. A couple of weeks ago I noticed a
discarded bath outside a home, perfect for a shoot, and approached the
owner to ask if I could have it for a shoot, and they were thrilled
that the old bath would be of some use. Aside from these objects and
furniture pieces, I often feel inspired by various concepts including
literature, gravity and puns. I have done several shoots based on Alice
in Wonderland and Shakespeare.
DD: When did you start uploading your photos onto Flickr?
EH:
I joined Flickr when I started my doll collecting so that I could
upload my doll photos and holiday snapshots. Most of the contacts I met
on there were fellow doll collectors, although I did meet a number of
portraiture photographers in my early days too. I love flickr because I
have met so many close friends on there, and without the support
everyone has given me, I’m certain I would have lost interest in
photography and dropped the camera in a dusty corner years ago.
DD: You have a lot of commentors - how did that build up?
EH:
I would say that since the beginning of 2008 I have certainly gained
much more popularity on flickr than I had in the past. This year my
interest in portraiture photography grew more than ever, and I learned
to put the effort in to create the ideas bursting in my head. I take
photos the same as I wake up in the morning or brush my teeth, it is
just something that comes naturally to me, as if my whole life is one
photo shoot. I know that to make it in the photography industry, I have
to be dedicated and passionate about the subject, and I think my
increase in these factors this year is what has increased my popularity
too.
DD: Who/what/where would you most like to shoot?
EH: My dream shoot would be in abandoned hospital or in a huge
Marie-Antoinette palace with a model like Gemma Ward, Natasha Galkina,
Twiggy or Scarlet Johansson. I love dreamy, feminine shoots, but at the
same time I have a love for moody, cinematic photography. I think if I
had the money and the reputation, I would be as outrageous as I could
possibly be. I’ve always wanted to do elaborate set ups of houses in
swimming pools, though obviously, a fourteen year old girl would
struggle to get hold of a pool to fill with furniture and willing
models, not to mention the underwater camera equipment.
DD: What is your ultimate ambition?
EH:
My ultimate ambition would be able to walk down the street and notice
my photography on a billboard, or to open an issue of Vogue and stumble
upon a shoot of mine amongst its glossy pages. I would love to be able
to show my work in exhibitions around the world and share my passion
with everyone. I am ambitious, but I am also prepared to work for it. I
cannot imagine my future without photography in it.
