Zeno Gill's "Mixing Console"
Zeno Gill is a longtime contributor and friend of ALTER/ANALOG. Not only does he run Fuzz and Film Without Frontiers online photography magazines, but he's also a prolific photographer, shooting mainly in New York. One thing that stands out in his work is energy and vibrance. In these images, he achieved that with double exposures and treating the exposed negatives with food dye and other substances before scanning. His extensive interview follows.
Model: Shannon Berkeley (http://shannonberkeley.com, https://instagram.com/shannonberkeley)
Photographer: Zeno Gill (http://zenogillphotography.com, https://instagram.com/zenopox)
ALTER/ANALOG: How did you get your start in photography?
When I was in grade school — many years ago, before digital anything — I learned the basics of photography: shooting manually with an SLR, processing film, and making prints. I enjoyed it, but didn't develop a passion for it. Many years later, I became a father and began shooting hundreds of images of my daughter with my phone and a cheap digital point-and-shoot. Finally I realized that I was passionate about it and needed better lenses, so I bought a DSLR. Soon after, my family moved to Brooklyn, and I began shooting even more, until my daughter and wife demanded relief, and my wife suggested that I tap into the NYC modeling community to find victims.
ALTER/ANALOG: What got you interested in film?
I can't pinpoint the moment that I decided to venture back to 35mm film, but one day I went onto eBay and found an old Canon AE1. I shot a roll to make sure the camera functioned correctly and was hooked. Then, with encouragement from photographer Beth Maciorowski, I began processing my own film.
ALTER/ANALOG: You work with so many amazing models. Do you go through agencies to find them?
I do some test shoots with agency models and sometimes publish that work, but most of the models I shoot with I find via word of mouth, Instagram, or sites like Model Mayhem.
ALTER/ANALOG: Can you tell us about Film Without Frontiers and your other projects?
A few years ago I started Fuzz Magazine as another online outlet for photographers doing creative, noncommercial work. We feature everything from street photography to portraiture to experimental photography. More recently, I saw a need for another online outlet specifically for film photographers, so I started Film Without Frontiers. Both projects are still growing, but are very rewarding.
ALTER/ANALOG: Some of your work has nudity. How do you feel about censorship?
I don't like it, but I do understand why some businesses feel pressure to do it. I wish that the US were less puritanical about silly things like nipples. I see and hear many things online, in movies, and on TV that offend me much more that images of naked people.
ALTER/ANALOG: What advice can you give to novice photographers?
Be creative. Have fun. Learn to identify your own best work.
ALTER/ANALOG: What can we expect from you next?
More of the same! Winter is always slower for me, since I live in NY and enjoy shooting outdoors, but I plan to stay productive. And I'm always trying to think of new ways to experiment with film, so I hope to have more work to share with Alter/Analog soon!