About
Homepage → Helene Suarino
My name is Helene Suarino, I’m a color film and digital photographer. I’ve been taking photos from a young age but it wasn’t until I went into high school and started taking photography classes is when I knew I wanted to pursue photography as a career and not just a hobby. Over the last year I’ve been focusing my work towards my friends and family. Allowing me to show my perspective on life and what makes my subjects who they are.
From this body of work it allowed me to make my first book and inspire me to start making more books for the rest of my work.
Thank you for joining us. Would you like to start by sharing any project you’re excited about?
I’m working on a couple different projects at the moment. One of them being about Long Island surfers. This project has been a great opportunity for me to push myself and take portraits of strangers doing something they love. Another project I’ve been working on is shooting local hockey teams playing, this has been a new experience for me considering this is my first attempt at sports photography.
I’m really looking forward to seeing your sports photography. It seems so exciting! What was the inspiration behind this project?
For as long as I can remember there was always some type of influence of surfing while growing up whether it was photos in the house or watching them at the beach. It’s a common hobby to have while living on Long Island and eventually my sister started surfing a couple years ago and she was the first person I photographed.
Rewinding a bit, how did your interest in photography first develop?
My mother gifted me my first camera on my 14th birthday it was just a simple point and shoot Nikon. I carried that camera everywhere with me and captured everything I saw.
I started with walking around my house and photographing everything I possibly could from detailed shots of mushrooms and flowers to landscapes Then I would follow my family around with it, at the dinner table, on trips we would take or just simple day to day things we were doing. To this day I still follow them around with that camera.
That’s a lovely story. What role does analog photography play in your life?
It was more of a hobby when I first started photography. Then when I got my own film camera I only used it every once in a while. I took the camera on a trip with me and shot a lot of landscapes then I put it down for a good year. Until I got to SVA and finally got the film developed that’s when I fell in love with color film. Then my second year of school i was shooting film still just for fun sometimes it would it make its way into my work but now I can say film is fully part of my work.
Can you describe your creative process?
Honestly, I don’t really have a creative process, I wish I did but a majority of my work is in the moment, it’s happening right In front of me. Sometimes when Im documenting my friends or family and I see them do something I’ll ask them to stay like that or to repeat what they just did so I can capture it. Here and there I’ll see other artists work and get inspired from them.
Tell us about the equipment you use. Where did it come from, and what does the camera you use represent to you?
My 35mm is a canon rebel T2 it was handed down to me by my mother a couple years ago. Besides the 35mm I’m all over the place with my cameras I can never just shoot with one I’m constantly going back and forth between my point and shoots, 110 film, my Nikon D5600 and my 35mm. A majority of my cameras are handed down to me by family members which I feel like makes the cameras a bit more special.
As we end this conversation, are there any artists, from any discipline, who have profoundly influenced your life and artistic vision?
There are a couple artists that inspire me. For one Tina Barney, from the colors in her photos to the actual photograph is amazing. Larry Clark, Christopher Dawson particularly the body of work called “familiar haunts” and lastly Larry sultan.
Thanks so much for being a part of this interview, Helene. You can explore more of her work on Instagram: @helene_suarino.