{Can't Live Without}

Scott Rhea

The photographer shares his thoughts on gadgets, influences and movie favorites.

Photo gadget…

I have to confess that I’ve never been a gadget guy. I started my career with one camera body and one lens and probably worked almost 3 years before I bought any additional gear. I’m from the school of thought that if you can’t take a great image with basic gear, you won’t take a great image with better gear. I guess if I had to find one thing that I couldn’t live without it would be my color meter and light meter as they clarify what’s going on before I start to pull the trigger.

Non photo gadget…

As trite as it may be – I’ve got to say my iPhone. I can track where the sun is going the night before a shoot, check weather, and talk to my family. I recently dropped it and had to go 3 long days without communication – this is a good and a bad thing – mostly bad.

Personal influences…

I began in the fashion world and liked magazines like Taxi and L’Officiel. Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Nick Knight and Phillip Dixon were all photographers that I admired for paving new ground at the time. As I moved into more personal work, I’ve tried to limit what might influence me and spend more time looking for inspiration within. The skill of putting visual metaphors to real life situations has actually spawned the most creative visuals for me and much like what your subconscious mind will do while you are sleeping, I try to harness that process with cognitive thought.

Favorite movies…

Everything by Krzysztof Kie´slowski. I think he might be the best director that ever lived.
Amelie by Jeunet, Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders, The Fall by Tarsem are a few others at the top of my list of Favs.