Faisal Al Fouzan is a photographer who is being featured on Ignant. SHFT has been following this series and we thought you’d appreciate this interview and, of course, these incredible shots.
Faisal enjoys capturing the urban landscape around him and is mainly inspired by new places that he explores with his camera. We enjoy his authentic and natural captures that provide us with an insight into the daily life in Kuwait.
Where are you from? How does that place influence the way you photograph? I’m from Kuwait, and since the majority of the people who live here are expats and foreigners, they are the main focus in my photography, especially the low income manual laborers. Also there are constant architectural constructions going on and the tearing down of old buildings so it is important to me to document the urban landscape of my city.
What are your favorite environments to shoot in?
When I visit a new place, I feel excited and whatever my eyes sees feel and look fresh, everything is a photo opportunity. I remember my first day in Mumbai I was overwhelmed, I took 800 captures that day and this is coming from a photographer who doesn’t click the shutter button easily! So new places, areas, and neighborhoods is my favorite environment to shoot in.
What are the strengths of shooting primarily mobile? How does this affect your imagery? It is light, discreet, inconspicuous and always with you. However I rarely shoot with my mobile phone, I prefer using a dslr camera for my photos since I’ve decided to pursue photography seriously and use them beyond Instagram.
Who and what are the things that inspire you?
I love love love cinema. Watching movies is very inspirational, for instance looking at Wes Anderson films is a visual treat, I see each scene as a very aesthetic standalone still photo. Of course also looking at other people’s photography is very influential.
Tell us a little about your everyday.
I’m a morning person. I like getting up at 6am, two hours before I have to be at work, where I drink my big tumbler of extra hot milk and read my newspapers (I’m a news junkie) and then head to work. One thing I like about my work is the spare time it gives me to surf the net and read photo and cultural blogs (iGNANT being on the top of the list).
By 4PM I head back home listening to photo related podcasts then having lunch/dinner with my wife and playing with my 11 months old son and do some errands and other random stuff including debating with my wife on which film to watch tonight (we end up watching none because it gets late and we don’t have the energy then).
Recently I started cycling late at night while listening to my “brilliant” playlist on Spotify putting the speaker at max volume which keeps me going before heading to bed at 11 completely exhausted.
Which Apps do you use to edit your pictures?
I shoot with my Canon 5d Mark iii and do minor adjustments on Lightroom then move it to my mobile and apply VSCO Cam filter before sharing it online.
You can find more on his webpageand Photo Blog.