JOSH SHINNER

Josh Shinner is a photographer of sweeping landscapes, big skies and beautiful faces. His work is infused with movement and light, and he has a certain way with the lens that pours light across his subjects, bringing them vividly to life. No wonder he’s captured the likes of Albert Hammond Junior, Laura Mvula, Sam Smith and Florence Pugh.

His joyful COLAH photographs sit somewhere between theatre and fashion, using dramatic backdrops of deserts and lakes, iconic record sleeves and board games to bring a colourful sense of unreality to every shot. 

Your photography and hand-written captions capture an element of playfulness. How has play been important during the last few months?

Play is ALWAYS important! Over the last few months it’s been particularly important though, even if it’s just as a momentary distraction from the madness.

We love your collages. What is your process when creating them? Do you know how you would like them to look when you start? Or do you just see where it takes you?

It’s definitely a bit of both. I usually have a flexible idea in mind, but then during the process of putting the collages together things appear or happen that are just pleasant surprises that are fun to embrace. Things like scrapbooks and collages are never perfect and that’s the joy of them - so it’s nice to be led by them to a certain extent.

What rituals have you adopted to keep spirits high in isolation?

There’s an amazing board game we used to play as kids called Frustration, so my family started doing Old Fashioned Friday Frustration Fun over video chat. Ten Fridays running of Old Fashioneds, catch-ups and, of course, Frustration. So in this case, spirits are very literally high, much to the detriment of Saturday morning.

Have you discovered any new writers/artists/musicians that you could share with us for a dose of inspiration?

I read a wonderful book called The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane, which when stuck inside a London flat has been an amazing mental escape. Music-wise, despite them not being a new artist, The Strokes’ new album has pretty much soundtracked lockdown for me, along with Chilly Gonzales’ beautiful album ‘Solo II’.

With travel and adventure being restricted at the moment, what has your lens refocused on?

Pigeons. I photographed the pigeons from my windows for the first 49 days of lockdown as part of a new project. I named one of them Jenny. I would have named more but they’re hard to tell apart.

What’s the secret behind a great shot? And what are the no-nos?

Well, this would vary hugely from photographer to photographer, and I don’t think there are any right and wrong answers. For me though, the only thing that matters is being able to relay a specific feeling from the subject to the viewer. I’m just in the middle trying to stay out of the way, well with the exception of these collages for D&D where I had to resort to the self-timer! A big no-no for me, aside from the heavyweight topics that need more than a cursory line anyway, are those bloody filters that make everything black & white apart from one colour. It’s usually red, and it’s usually a London bus. In my dentist’s waiting room there was a big canvas printed photograph (itself an abomination) of Piccadilly Circus in black & white apart from a red bus. It eventually forced me to change dentist.

What aspects of isolation have you embraced? And what have you found the most difficult?

I’ve embraced the concept of making time for myself - something I’ve never been great at. So whether it’s drawing, playing piano, reading or just sitting and having a cup of tea, I’ve enjoyed that time a lot, and will hopefully be able to carry that forward. In terms of what’s been the most difficult - I think it’s hard to look past the obvious: missing friends and family, hugs (or a solid high five) and the atmospheric buzz of a good restaurant. Oh and I really miss self-raising flour - seriously, all I’ve wanted to do is to make a coffee cake for the last 5 weeks.

Talk us through your ideal post-isolation Sunday.

It’s made up of the following things, and the order is always interchangeable: Going for a walk and failing to identify trees. Puns and bad jokes. Watching a film. Drinking red wine. Listening to Lou Reed/The Rolling Stones/The Beatles/David Bowie. Playing chess (or Monopoly) - and swearing heartily throughout. All the food. Getting lost in worm-holes of architectural/interior design porn. At least six references to Harry Potter.