Name: Reuben Wu
Hometown: Liverpool
Current town: London
Film and/or Digital: Film
First camera: Agfamatic 110
Current camera: My current favourite camera is probably my Polaroid 195
Thoughts about first images ever taken, describe them?
I was 6. I took my Agfamatic on a school trip to Dinosaur World in North Wales. They were undeniably shit.
What do you see when you look at your work now?
That my photos are a bit better than they were when I was at Dinosaur World.
What do you hope others will see, if anything? Their experience?
An anti-tourist’s view of the world.
What do you look for in an image? What makes a great photograph for you?
An arresting/potent subject matter and good composition.
Favorite artists?
Moebius, Guy Bourdin, Syd Mead, Chris Foss, Edward Burtynsky, Chuck Close, Andrei Tarkovsky, Delia Derbyshire, Ansel Adams.
What’s been the greatest obstacle you’ve faced with your photography so far?
Unexpected events I hadn’t planned on. For example, when I got a gun pointed at me in an old abandoned amusement park in Spain. I had jumped the fence and did not expect there to be an armed guard with guard dogs. Good job he was a Beatles fan. Generally it’s people-related obstacles.
Artist’s Playlist: Madeline Chartrand, The Obernkirchen Children’s Choir, Eduard Artemyev, Juliet Bravo Theme, Jeanette, Wire, Harmonia, Krisma, Jeff Wayne, The KLF, here: Featured Artist: Reuben Wu
Talk about the connection between travel and your photography?
The travel has always inspired the photography. This was largely attributed to touring with my band, and we were introduced to the international touring from quite early on in our career. I’m very lucky to be in a position where I can see the wider world off the back of another activity, and there are always people who are eager to act as guides.
Sometimes I even get a few days off where I can really explore the environment in my own time. The small downside to this is that most of the time, we might only have a single night in a certain city, and it’s frustrating to have to move on without having seen some important sights, so, in some cases, I’ve found myself becoming a bit obsessive about making the most of my time.
SVALBARD, your first book, was just nominated for a Blurb People’s Choice Award? Talk about how it came to be, what you’ve learned, and what, if anything, you’d do differently?
My trip to Svalbard was actually the first time I decided to go somewhere with the intention of making a complete series of photographs for a book. It was small enough a project to be manageable with my other job and large enough to provide the substance for a whole book.
Before this, I had taken photographs of locations such as the Maunsell Sea Forts, the sound mirrors at Denge, the AWRE test sites at Orford Ness and various high altitude observatories, but those were just day trips. My friend and I were on Spitsbergen (the largest island of Svalbard) for a week, travelling across the landscape on snowmobiles and exploring anything that took our interest. It was extremely rewarding, but I realised how the cold makes everything much more difficult, from changing lens and loading film, cameras breaking, even putting the Polaroid in your pocket to prevent it from freezing before it developed, and the basic task of moving around wearing cold-weather gear. Next time, I think I’d like to streamline everything as I know what works and what doesn’t.
Lastly, using Blurb Books has allowed me to put my book together incredibly quickly without any stress. It has put my photography into book-form cheaply and efficiently and the whole editing process has taught me a lot.
Artist’s link: Website, Flickr, Blog, SVALBARD
Editor’s note: Reuben Wu’s band Ladytron is releasing their next album, Gravity The Seducer, on September 13. Also, SVALBARD has been nominated for a PBN 2011 People’s Choice Award. You can preview the book and vote for it here until August 30.