HE’S DONE PHOTO-SHOOTS FOR BIG BRANDS SUCH AS DIESEL, LEVI’S AND NIKE, HE WORKED FOR VICE MAGAZINE AND NOW WORKS AT HUH.MAGAZINE. JONNIE CRAIG FROM LONDON IS JUST 20 YEARS OLD, HE’S PUBLISHED HIS FIRST BOOK AND WE CAN’T HELP WONDER WHAT HE WILL ACHIEVE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE.
Why is photography significant for you? I’m not really sure; it’s a mixture of different things. I like making pictures and I like to record things that are going on with my friends.
I grew up with a dad who was obsessed with gadgets and cameras, so I guess some of my interest has come from there. I guess the main reason it is significant is that it’s a way for me to make private jokes with myself about what things mean in pictures and what I see in them that other people might not.
What is more important for you when you take photos? The right moment or the idea – concept? I don’t think either of those is particularly more or less important. I think it’s important to have a balance of them both to make a great picture. I think it’s great to have a good concept to your pictures but that side of things also slightly ruins the whole thing for me. I don’t like that photography has become too easy to categorize.
Who do you admire most in photography or in the arts in general? I don’t really admire too many artists. I tend to like a couple of things an artist has done and then hate the rest. I sometimes think an artist is a genius then the next week will think he or she is an idiot. It depends on my mood.
What magazines do you like? I don’t really buy magazines, so not many. I like Vice and a couple of others. I think I might have a bit too much hate…
Is London the right place for a young photographer? I think anywhere is the right place for a young photographer. It completely depends on what you want to do and where you want to go. If you want to work with magazines and do professional work then London could be the place for you. If you want to take pictures, anywhere is the place for you.
Do you follow trends in contemporary photography? If so do you feel that your work is part of any current trend? I guess you could say I follow trends, but it isn’t something I do consciously. Everybody follows something weather they mean to or not. It depends how you look at photography.
Do you deal yourself with big clients such as Diesel, Levi’s or Nike? Is it hard? It can be quite hard. There are certain pressures and compromises that you have to be willing to make in some cases. Diesel was easy, Levi’s was a nightmare and Nike was easy. Sometimes they love it, and sometimes they hate it, and if they hate it you have to do it again. It’s fun though
Do you draw a line between commercial work and artistic work when you take pictures? Definitely, most of what I would consider to be my personal “artistic” work hasn’t really been seen by anyone. Most of the stuff I have had in magazines is stuff that people have commissioned me to do. Though they are still my ideas, there are certain compromises creatively that have to be made.
You are 20 years old. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Is there a dream? There are a million dreams. Too many dreams. My girlfriend gets worried that I dream of too much and won’t carry through what I have to do right now, which would be the dream I had a few months previous, like to be in a magazine or to have done something else. I think the dream in 10 years is to be able to support myself and just be doing what I am doing now but 100000 times more busy. I like to be busy.
