Interview Nika States
“How grand that the world keeps happening, and how grand that we happen with it!”
Name: Nika States
Hometown: I’m transcontinental
Style of Photography: Accidental
Type of Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTti
Website: http://nikastates.com
What gives you inspiration?
When it comes to photography I very rarely think of inspiration – mostly I’ve fallen into it because I’ve found that walking around with a camera helps keep me emotionally and physically healthy – but part of that, of course, is the sense that the world has some ineffable beauty that I need to communicate. I suppose I’m inspired by the way snow is crunchy and dazzling after a few days in a very cold sun, or the way a patch of wet sand gets printed onto the seat of somebody’s jeans, or the UCLA sweater that drifts a little lazily in the German wind on the balcony across the courtyard. These are simple things that make my chest feel impossibly tight.
What are your influences?
Nearly two decades given over to the inability to appreciate my surroundings, and then a slow, happy epiphany – that’s something that influences not just my photography, but also my writing, my circadian rhythm, and the way I interact with people. I also find that the poetry of Derek Walcott and the music of Josh Pyke and Christ Thile have made a real impact on the things I do. A few people I love clued me into the idea that I might be a photographer long before I would ever have admitted to any such aspiration. I admire and respect their creative output and the way they approach the world, and their advice and support has been very important; most of my photographs do not have human subjects, but I like to think these people are still in there, somewhere.
Why did you choose these photos?
They were all surprises of a sort – finding something new in a place I’d known for ten years, a first evening of snow in a place that usually doesn’t get much, a fog that came in so quickly, the perfect coincidence in force of wind and bend of body to obscure a face. Good moments.
What does photography mean to you?
It’s an ongoing refusal to spend my time here slowly dying, unaware. The crucial sense of wonder that says “How grand that the world keeps happening, and how grand that we happen with it!”
Photos:
Copyright reserved by Nika States
