Insta Fav #88: John Bozinov

Follow: @johnbozinov

Where are you from? How does that place influence the way you photograph?
I was born & grew up in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. NZ is a small island country that’s fairly isolated from the rest of the world which means you’re never too far from the ocean. I guess this close relationship with nature is reason as to why it features so predominantly in my photography & why I like to spend a lot of my time enjoying the outdoors.

What are your favorite environments to shoot in?
The iPhone camera has a particularly poor dynamic range – meaning it struggles to capture detail in the shadows & highlights of situations lit with harsh light. For this reason I naturally lean toward shooting outdoors in overcast or foggy weather which creates a nice even light that helps to get a good exposure. New Zealand is known for its stunning landscapes & for me its beauty is best shown during the winter which is also my favorite time of year, so I love shooting anywhere that’s cold. I’m heading to Iceland for a few weeks this October which will be the dawn of their winter season, so I’m really looking forward to that.

What are the strengths of shooting primarily mobile? How does this affect your imagery?
The convenience of always having a camera in your pocket means that you seldom miss a good shot & it’s never a burden to carry with you on long hikes. I love being able to shoot & edit on the same device so easily too, it guess it allows me to spend less time on photoshop & more time outside shooting.

Who and what are the things that inspire you?
I’m inspired a lot by music & poetry – mostly the neo-classical compositions of Ólafur Arnalds & the spoken word poetry of Anis Mojgani. If I could create a visual representation of the emotions their work evoke, I’d be a very happy man.

Favorite instagrammers?
Oh goodess the list is very long! it would be tough to pick just a few, but off the top of my head
Anastasia Glebova – @glebovaanastasia
Sam Elkins – @samuelelkins
Kevin Russ – @kevinruss
Eric Bowley – @erickimberlin

Tell us a little about your everyday.
My day to day life isn’t all that exciting; I spend a lot of my free time alone reading or planning trips. I moved to Hamburg almost a month ago with my girlfriend which means I’m no longer living close to my family & friends back home; though being in Europe makes traveling abroad a lot more accessible. I’ve recently begun a career as a freelance photographer while also selling photo prints on the side which has all been going really well so far.

Which Apps do you use to edit your pictures?
I guess it’s a little different for each image & often a combination of a few, but as a general rule I use VSCO Cam from colour grading & Afterlight for fine adjustments.

If you’d like to become a future Insta Fav, follow @ignant or post your profile in the comments below. We’ll look into it.