Jan Kayas Interview
Photographer Jan Kayas from Congers NY got his start in photography 2 years ago. He started out by capturing candids and special moments, but it was a year ago where he began to study the art. Jan has a unique style and we learned a lot about his work from our interview!
BRP: What gave you the start in your photography?
I got myself an analog camera, like one that uses film and you have to develop at the lab and it made me really focus on what I was shooting, I couldn’t waste any shots as unlike in digital I had to pay for every shot I made and I couldn’t see what I took until I got it developed. I started to look at other peoples work in street photography and it really inspired me to try to capture a moment on my own terms
BRP: What kind of gear do you use (e.g Camera body, lens, tripod, filters etc.)
I currently use a minolta srt-201 with a 50mm lens and mainly use fujifilm superia or portra 400 for my film but when I use a digital camera I use my fuji xpro2 with a 24mm nikon lens
BRP: Do you have a favorite lens? Why?
I personally like using a 50mm lens, it forces me to get close to the subject and it’s something that I’m personally used to
BRP: How do you educate yourself to keep improving on your pictures?
I ask my dad who’s into photography but I’ve been watching youtube videos mainly by KingJvpes, William Verbeeck, MangoStreet and Jessica Whitaker.
BRP: Do you have someone whose work inspired you?
Mainly the YouTubers I listed above but when I got to reddit.com/r/analog there’s so many users who post really good photos I don’t remember them all.
BRP: What is your favorite subject to shoot? Why?
I really like to try to shoot couples while I’m shooting, I don’t know why but it’s just really interesting to me to capture a moment between two people and it’s most evident to me when I see two people who enjoy being together.
BRP: What is your least favorite subject to shoot? Why?
I think the hardest subject for me is like anything that moves a lot. I only use a manual lens and it’s hard for me to focus on a subject that’s moving or when I get a photo it’s always blurry since I don’t have the right amount of shutter speed going off.
BRP: Tell me about your photos, do you have a favorite photo?
This is one of my favorite photos that I’ve taken. I took this while I was in Japan and I just really like the various lights pointing in different directions and that each leading line moves from one source of light to another.
BRP: What are your settings of choice on your camera? Why? (e.g aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.)
I usually have my ISO at 400 since that’s what most film is set to for the ISO and for aperture and shutter speed really depend but I try to have my aperture set to 1.8 to really help to give a blurred background but if I have to change that depending on the light situation and the same goes with my shutter speed.
BRP: What photo-editing programs are your go to?
I only use lightroom.
BRP: What does photography mean to you?
To me it just means capturing a moment in time and when I take those photos I want to be able to invoke some emotion with the pictures I take.
BRP: Is there anything else you’d like the audience to know about you or your craft?
Nothing in particular, but taking a photo with a camera is so much more difficult than most people think that it is and it really is an artform that takes time to learn
Keep up with Jan here:
Insatrgam @_janbajuicy and @jpkay
- Published in Interviews, People