NICK PRIDEAUX. 03

Interviews

Sep 16

‘008’ / six years in

PARIS, FRANCE

It’s the first time his work is available in print, wrapped up in a zine titled ‘008’ and home to six years of selected works all captured on 35mm film.

In this interview Nick shares his path to discovering film, his approach to photography and the process behind the formation of ’008’.

Published on 16th September 2021

We have been fans of your work for years, so thanks for stopping by N.P. So who are you and where are you from?

Thanks for having me, it's a pleasure. My name is Nick Prideaux, I am from Byron Bay, Australia and currently reside in Paris, France.

Do you have a Nick-name or is that a conflict of interest?

Growing up, my surname pretty much became my nickname and it continued into my adult life. 'Prideaux' definitely has a certain ring to it in a thick Australian accent which I find endearing.

Where did your journey as a film photographer begin?

My father was a hobbyist photographer and I inherited his old Nikon SLR and started playing around with it when I was about 15. I took a few basic photography 101 classes during high school and ended up working in a Kodak photo lab as my first after school job. This led me to the path I'm on.

What would you say was the catalyst for you to be where you are as a photographer today?

I think it's hard to pinpoint a singular catalyst but I do remember Tumblr (around 2010-2014) being a huge source of inspiration for me to continue making images. They were halcyon days creatively and it felt like there was something really interesting happening there for artists and photographers. During that time I really got to participate in a conversation, both producing and digesting a lot of visual work.
Seeing other photographers make that leap from uploading their personal work to showing in galleries, making books and booking jobs was an incredible motive to stick to it and believe that I in turn, could do it.

35mm is your go-to medium for photography, so why film photography and why small format in particular?

I'd shot digital on and off when I was in university but was never really content with the images I was producing, I felt I couldn't really find my voice with what I was shooting digitally. I also loathed moving around with a bulkier SLR as it felt so inhibiting and restrictive. I moved to Tokyo in 2011 and saw how film photography was well and truly alive and kicking there so I sold all my digital cameras and picked up a little point and shoot and went back to the basics. Suddenly it felt natural to be shooting in a purely unrestrictive way, it just felt right. I've yet to explore further into 120 but it's something I'd like to try someday, for the moment it's 35mm.

I noticed that you rarely show the face of your subject in your portrait work, it portrays this unique enigmatic feel, yet still comes across as deeply personal. Can you break down in your own words your approach and why?

I think it's just a process where I feel I don't have to show everything to the viewer in order to get across my feelings. I'm more about subtracting things from a frame than addition - nothing is so 'directly' shown through plain view. Also, I love being able to play around with parts of the body through the eye of a lens - it just doesn't always have to be the face as we've become swamped by a whole world of social media which focuses on that one bodily feature. The nape of a neck can tell a story too.

“Ignore the trends - we live in a day and age where everything seems to be a flash in the pan and social media thrives on fleeting, short lived derivative work that gets replicated ad nauseam. Study the masters, not only in photography but in all mediums.”

Time for some gear talk - What you rocking currently?

I've got to a point now (hopefully) where I've stopped lusting for cameras so I've had the same setup for a few years now. A lot of my work is shot with a Konica Hexar and a Contax T2.

Favourite film stocks to shoot with?

Lately it's been Kodak Portra 160.

There is often a story behind a photograph, the capturing of a moment can be a powerful thing. You kindly obliged to selecting an image from your recent works and sharing the story behind this photograph with us:

This particular image was taken back in Australia when I was last there about 2.5 years ago. My partner and I were about to relocate to Paris and we were staying temporarily in my parents house - this photo was taken in my childhood bedroom during a particularly warm summer morning while we were still dozing in bed. I think the moment stuck with me as it's this jarring juxtaposition of such a personal moment within the 4 walls of my bedroom - like my adulthood and childhood veering directly into one another.

You have just released a new zine titled ‘008’ which is part of a series of from an ongoing collaboration between Setanta Books and Open Doors Gallery - Tell us all about it!

I'm really excited to be introducing this zine as it is the first time my work is available printed in this format. It spans about 6 years worth of work all shot on 35mm and across 48 pages. It's a great summation of my journey as a photographer and it's been an honour to work with Setanta and Open Doors on this zine. I'm really proud of it!

What did the process of narrowing down six years worth of work look like for you? Was it a case of selecting works that spoke to you the most, or perhaps was there a particular theme in mind?

I think it was a process of really ‘seeing’ the images again in a new light - that’s the wonderful thing about photography as each time you come back to an image you see something else in it that perhaps you didn’t find before. I have favorite images of mine for sure, but it was also about telling a little story (as any good photo book should) so that the viewer can go on that journey through the pages. And with the help of the editors I was working with we pulled together a final selection from a pool of about 150 images or so. I think the images chosen really reflect my own personal journey with photography.

Where can our readers go to get their own copy?**

You can order directly through setanta books here . You can also purchase the zine with a selection of signed, limited edition prints taken from the zine.

What is the most rewarding part about being a photographer?

Quite simply, I think it's just being able to look back at an image after it's been taken and to say that you made that - and you're proud of it. It's a simple feeling but always resonates deeply with me, there's no other reward on par with being satisfied and proud of what you do - in art or in life - whatever that may be.

Lastly, do you have any advice for Film Photographers out there?

Ignore the trends - we live in a day and age where everything seems to be a flash in the pan and social media thrives on fleeting, short lived derivative work that gets replicated ad nauseam. Study the masters, not only in photography but in all mediums. Go buy a photobook and pour over the images, invest in research rather than gear as there is no 'perfect' camera. Tell your story, show the world the beauty that you are a witness to.