A Curious Observer - James Grossi
Japan, zines, DJ dreams, social media detox and more...
I have been a bit slack with getting interview Q’s out to fellow photogs in the community since 2024 hit, but I’m pleased to say this issue is indeed an interview one!
Before we delve into the world of James Grossi I have a couple of bits and pieces to share.
Housekeeping
If you are reading this like right now on the day it went out then you are still in time to submit your film photos to the Our Stories On Film call out and be part of the group show happening in March in Melbourne. I will be showing and I’m so excited! Hit the link below to see the details and submit.
I shot my first full fashion collection all on film and I’m really proud of this work. It feels creative and different and I love this brand “Little Tienda” so much. It would be super cool if you check it out and keep an eye on their socials for the rest of the collection to drop over the next few months! It’s all so fun and I can’t wait to style it as the weather gets cooler.
Portfolio reviews are still open for February and are available at a discounted rate for the entire month!
A HUGE thank you to the lovely people that have already booked in. I hope you enjoyed reading your feedback and felt more focused and motivated post review. This is a service open to any kind of photographer but specifically artists who feel they need help with style, direction and finding themes and focus within their work.
I am also offering this service to professionals or people who are looking to break into paid work, shooting for brands, content creation etc. This is something I am now full time at and I have lots of advice to offer anyone wanting to ask a series of questions, get feedback on their current portfolio or advice on how to best approach brands and businesses when looking for work or pitching!
This is something I am considering turning into a more structured offer this year so if you are interested or have suggestions on how I can help in this area feel free to DM me and let me know. If you have questions about any services please get in touch or drop a comment below.
That’s all from me now…let’s get into this weeks featured artist interview.
Hey James, thanks for joining us here at Love Lucy. Can you start by telling us the who, what and where of James Grossi?
Hi Lucy! I was raised in Las Vegas, NV, studied film at UNLV, and began learning photography about 8 years ago through trying street photography on Fremont Street. That passion led me to the opportunity to become a Creative Pro at the Apple Store that I was working at, which allowed me to facilitate iPhone photography sessions for customers from around the world. I did this for several years, which led me to moving to the Bay Area in CA, where I now work in Learning & Development for a different company. I live with my partner Jen and our 6 year old Bernedoodle Dottie. As for other loves, everything 80s(Goonies is my favorite movie and first tattoo), listening to synthwave and post punk music, and collecting vinyl records.
I became aware of you after you were kind enough to send me a copy of your zine "Curious Observer" can you tell us about that project and what the inspo was for it?
Earlier in 2023, I told myself that I wanted to put out a zine of some sort, but had no idea what it was going to be. Whether old photographs from Vegas, or some new collection. I'm turning 40 this year and have never been able to travel internationally and that finally changed through an opportunity from my company to travel to India(incredible), but originally was going to be a previously planned vacation with my partner to Tokyo. Before leaving for Japan, a friend recommended I watch Tokyo Story, directed by Yasujiro Ozu. I decided to watch it on the flight over. After the sadness and beauty of life washed over me throughout the duration of the film, one specific scene stuck in my mind and inspired me to capture a small slice of life from my time in Japan. Even if it was disappointing, at least I'll have tried.
Was Black and white an economical choice for this project or is that the way you envision Japan as a place?
I wanted to replicate as much of the feeling I got from Tokyo Story and so shooting black and white film that I purchased in Japan made sense to support the tribute I wanted to make to the film. Black and white street photography is also what made me fall in love with the medium so many years ago and is still the best storytelling choice in my opinion.
So many photographers either have made a zine or want to at some point (myself included) so I'm wondering if you can talk through the process of how you brought it together and what your struggles were, what you learned etc.?
I can get very self conscious of my work and have been too intimidated up to this point. I often hold back on doing things, because I'm not certain I can do my ideas justice and also that no one will care. With this project, and taking inspiration from the film, I realized that nothing is perfect and sometimes you should do what you can before there's no time to learn the next thing or even participate in life the way you used to. Would I need to learn some advanced Adobe software? Would I need to spend a lot of money on high quality printing for black and white photographs? Would anyone be interested in black and white photographs, of which I don't share very often?
I decided to take an online course with Jeff Phillips @jeffphillips and I found out that none of those were things I should worry about. Jeff taught us about some of his favorite zines that he's collected, how to quickly make the classic handmade zines, finished with a lesson in using some affordable software to build your layout, specifically Canva, and talked us through his favorite printing services online. With how simple everything was made for me, I could focus on curating and telling a story. Curation is also really intimidating to me and I had no idea how I would put it together, but I knew that I would attempt to recreate my favorite scene in the movie to begin and end the zine, which I used Procreate to draw. After reviewing the photos a few times, I realized that the last shot I took, which was the most important human connection I made during the two rolls, should also be the last image in the zine. So I started there, by writing about that moment and then worked backwards by connecting either sequential images or shapes/subjects that made sense together. Lastly, I asked my good friend and a trusted creative, Carly Cram @carlycram, to give some editorial advice. I think it's really important to ask someone who you trust who's not going to just tell you everything is awesome, but can share critical and overlooked feedback on how to make something better.
So if you want to do it, just do it! It's simpler than you think. The best achievement is being able to say you wanted to try something and you do it. After that, you're ready to do something better whether it's the next zine or something completely different!
Is there another travel destination on the list that you would like to hit up next and photograph?
We actually just got back from Mexico City for my partner's birthday. I've never been and it was incredible. The people, the art, the scenes are all magical. There is something to learn on every corner. I shot about 5 rolls and not sure how they'll turn out, but looking forward to sharing some when they are ready. Oh and we met a couple from Australia during an Airbnb experience, that we hung out with again before we left. So now we want to go there and visit them! So maybe, we'll run into you and Lux for a photo walk! :)
You recently took a little break from social media. How did this affect your photography and creativity in general and what did you do with all that spare time!?
The break was a much needed refresh from being on social media for so many years. A reminder to focus on shooting photos for myself and not an algorithm or for likes. A break from all the negative dopamine usage and misguided and ignorant hate so many feel comfortable sharing. I think criticism is important and needed whether it's art or life, but social media often makes it feel more like a currency people trade for self importance rather than an investment in goodness. I wanted to really reflect on how I engage online and what I allow myself to consume.
As for my time, I wish there was more creativity, but honestly I've been working nonstop to start the year. The last couple weeks however I began taking a How to DJ course at a local music school, because fuck it, I've always wanted to mix my favorite music and the structure of a class allows me to invest focus that I wouldn't have otherwise.
What's on the cards for 2024 James and where can people grab a copy of the zine and come say hi? (if you are back on socials that is)
I'm hoping to photograph some more of my favorite musical artists this year, improve my portrait work, travel more, improve my sleep, build a website again, and release 1 or 2 more zines, the first of which I will be curating my old Vegas street photos into a zine collection, hopefully in the spring/summer!
People can grab the zine here: https://jamesgrossi.bigcartel.com/product/curious-observer-zine
A huge thank you to James for chatting with us and what a guy! Good taste in music and movies is something that goes a long way with me so this was such a cool read. Don’t forget to support James and grab a copy of his zine below.
Thank you so much for interview Lucy. 😊