Brighton Fashion Weekend

Conversations with Sam Hiscox:

A while ago BFW welcomed aboard a Mr Sam Hiscox as part of our talented photographic team. No new member gets away without a little peep at their merry selves and so Sam has bravely volunteered to let us know who this crazy kid with the camera really is, where he creeps around on a Friday night and what he is most proud of.  Oh yeah, of course, here’s a photo of the dude. Nice bow tie, we like.

Sam Hiscox

BFW: Hello Sam! Why do you take photographs? Why not music or some other creative medium?
Sam: I like painting and drawing too but since my photography started kicking off I haven’t had so much time to concentrate on that. I love capturing moments and that’s what cameras are perfect for, so that’s what I prefer to hold.

BFW: Do you only snap people, or are you partial to some landscape or abstract images too?
Sam:I definitely prefer to shoot people. People are weird and everyone looks different so it is almost like a challenge to capture a different person and take an aesthetically pleasing picture of them.  You don’t need stunning people to make stunning portraits. People are infinitely different. Each quirk, each, movement of every person is always so different and it makes those people so interesting. I could sit and watch people go by for hours and never get bored.

BFW: When did you take your first amateur photo…get your first camera…how did that come about?
Sam: My parents tell me I was always after cameras as a child. I had a toy camera when I was just a nipper that I never let go of and I remember a camera I had that I was obsessed with at the age of about 7. For a long time I hassled my folks about getting a proper camera, I had an old Minolta SLR that I bought from my uncle when I was twelve. I finally got to study the subject at college when I was seventeen and that was it for me, no going back.

BFW: When did you take your first professional picture? What’s your most treasured accomplishment yet?
Sam: That’s a good questions because I think you need some good years and respect under your belt before you can run around telling everyone you are a real pro! I don’t feel like I’ve earnt that yet. There are some pictures I’m proud of though. I have a portrait of Blaine Harrison of The Mystery Jets that is one of my most viewed photos on my flickr account at www.flickr.com/samhiscox It was a dark day for me and the weather was very strange. The man is a musical genius and the colours, the sky, his conversation and his expression all came together really nicely in this 1/60th of a second!

BFW: You can introduce our audience to one artist/individual – who do you choose and why?
Sam: OK I’m going to choose a friend. His name is Ben Parks and he is London based. You can see his work here www.benparks84.blogspot.com. Park’s work is very ‘snap shot’ based and he has this one camera he takes everywhere with him. Kind of like a holiday camera except the holiday is his everyday life and the people he meets are the sunshine. He captures things with beautiful composition.  I aspire to do such a good job myself.

BFW: Who and what are your inspirations and influences?
Sam: My inspiration and influence is life itself. The things around me. People – their feelings and their actions are what makes everything.

BFW: Where can we find you on a Friday night Sam?
Sam: On a Friday night you’ll find me snapping away at digital on the sea front!

BFW:Who. Are. You. Sam. Hiscox?
Sam: I am a boy from Cheddar. I eat chocolate like a girl with constant PMS, I like the 80’s, I like meeting new people, even if they turn out bad. I like colour. I grind my teeth and I’m too honest for my own good.

BFW: What makes you cringe when you’re snapping away?
Sam: Over pouting. People being shy when they really needn’t be because they look amazing. Drunk bimbos grabbing my damn camera lens!

BFW: If you could pick anyone, dead or alive or comatose etc to photograph who’s your subject of choice?
Sam: It’s a difficult choice between Twiggy, or going back in time with Blondie and shooting her entire career.

BFW: What are your ambitions?
Sam: To be a successful fashion photographer, write a book, live in a different country for a while and photograph a world tour with a big band.

BFW: Lastly, do you love Fashion Sam? BFW are insane about fashion, literally. What do you make of all that jazz?
Sam: Of course! Fashion never used to be my thing but now it’s a big part of my thing. Fashion has FOUND ME and everything is better now!

BFW: Quite right on that last point Sam. Fashion makes everything better indeed.