reg beaudry

REG BEAUDRY ANSWERS OUR EVER EVOLVING TOP 5:

why art?
Artist are born, not made. We have no choice in the matter :o Getting up in the morning and pouring myself a cup of coffee is a choice, but when it comes to art/talent/whatever, it's just in you and there's nothing you can do to stop it, aside from just accepting it and maybe trying to make some damn money from it lol.....

what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
To be honest, I'm pretty low key and shy away from fame so I'd rather not be asked anything at all lol.

who or what inspires you?
The city of Hamilton inspires me tremendously. I don't think I would have such a hard-on for photography if I had been raised in other city/town. My original passion was film, so it's not too far off :o Life in general inspires me, really. Nothing overly complicated to be honest lol.

any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
Yes...I'd have to say that if someone is interested in photography, they should study life rather than photography.

Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
Not really...it's all there for the world to see. :) Take what you will from it for sure....

Born in Espanola Ontario in 1966, I was the youngest in a family of 6. My family moved to Hamilton, Ontario when I was in grade 2 and at that time in 1972 the city of Hamilton was booming. It was a great place to be. Despite Hamilton's downturn since the late 80's, it still remains quite the city. With a brilliant past and burgeoning presence, it's impossible to ignore Hamilton's hard beauty, especially in the lower city where it all began. Whether working in the Yukon, working across Canada, waiting for tables, waiting for my royalty check from National Lampoon, owning an urban lounge, an urban magazine, and everything else in between, I've always been lead back by fate's hand to Hamilton and, in particular, photography. Because I capture most of my subjects in total agreement with the moment, I use natural light, set the camera on 'automatic', periodically use a flash and then go to town. This sets the stage for my preference - the raw energy that exists at any given moment of my photograph. Except for contrasting, none of my shots are cropped or altered. I shoot in black and white for the simple fact that I find colour distracting. Black and white (much like me)' cuts to the chase - Reg Beaudry

Source: republished with permission
reg beaudry