Artist of the Month: Denim x Zona

Photo by Denim; Editing by Antony Ohman

Hi guys! This is Denim here and I am really excited for this new project we are going to start doing called Artist of the Month! I might come up with a better name but that's what it's going to be for now. This month, I am so honored to introduce you all to one of the best photographers I have ever met, Antony Ohman, also known as Zona! Not only his work is amazing, he also have great style and below is some Q&A that we did. 

Denim: Describe yourself in 5 words.

Zona: Trill 

D: What camera do you use? Lenses?

Z: I have a bunch of cameras. Right now I've been borrowing a friends Canon 7d for a lot of shoots while I save up for a 5d Mark II. With the 7d I mostly use a 50mm f/1.4, I've always been a huge fan of prime lenses. I really enjoy shooting 35mm also and for that I use a Yashica t4, Nikon EM and sometimes my Polaroid. 

D: When and how did you start investing in photography? Is there a "first time" story?

Z: Not particularly. I went off to Italy for a month by myself during my sophomore year in high school and my Dad was brave enough to let me bring his DSLR along with me for the trip. I shot a few thousand photos during this trip and soon realized that I really enjoyed taking photos. As High School went on, I started taking photography more seriously and would bring my camera everywhere to capture moments spent with friends and sights that I found to be worth capturing. I took an AP 2D Design Class last year with a concentration in Photography and I absolutely hated it. I don't believe that Photography can be taught in the classroom, but only by practice and thats why I didn't attend an art school to study photography. 

D: What are you studying/ doing in college to pursue your career? Is your plan after college being a professional photographer?

Z: I am a Communication Arts major with a focus in PR and Advertising. I would really like to continue with photography, however there are certain types of photography (wedding) that I'd like to stay away from. My ideal job as a photograph would be as an Editorial Photographer for a newspaper or magazine. 

D: Who is your role model in life? Who is your favorite photographer?

Z: I don't have a particular role model or specific favorite photographer. There are so many great, young photographers out there and it's their work that I generally admire. To name a few of those guys, Evan Tetreault, Bryant Eslava, Grant Heinlein and Jack Davies are among some of my favorites 

D: Rank in order of importance when taking a picture: lighting, composition, tone of color, object, whatever else you consider when you take photos. I don't know enough.

Z: Lighting is definitely huge, I'm a big advocate of using solely natural light in my photographs. Composition and subject is what makes a photograph for me however. I really enjoy shooting people in all types of situations and locations rather than just a landscape photography. 

D: Describe who you want to be in 2 words. 

Z: Yung Zona 

The next post is going to be about his style specifically and it will be up on Friday! Stay tuned.

Check his work out @ antonyohman.us

-D