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Featured Artist: Laura Ward

Artist: Laura Ward

Location: London

Instagram: @laurakiora

Featured Series: 'I Am Trying To Find You'

Taken in a Belgian tunnel with a Diana Mini

SFUK: Tell us a little about yourself and your background in photography.

LW: I’ve been taking pictures since I was 15. I started with film using an old Pentax my dad gave me. I always wanted to be a writer and started very much using photography as a way to supplement words. In my early twenties I realised I wasn’t particularly good at writing and preferred visuals. I’ve been shooting ever since. It’s my creative outlet for channelling everything into. I occasionally curate exhibitions but I try to exhibit something at least once a year.

A double exposure taken in Paris on a Sprocket Rocket.

SFUK: Why do you shoot film, have you always shot film & do you switch between digital and film?

LW: I went through a long phase of shooting digital but always had film on the go. It was a cost thing during my twenties. I still do shoot digitally occasionally but it’s not my preferred medium. I am drawn very much to imperfections, light, textures - everything that film is superior for.

Taken on a Konica C35 from a boat in Marseilles

SFUK: Who inspires you, any favourite people or places you frequently go to for inspiration?

LW: I am inspired by conversations with other artists, music and experiences. For the last 3 years my work has centred on the themes of journeys, identity metamorphosis and water. Some of the pictures that are featured in this article are taken from a series called ‘I am trying to find you’. It’s a very personal series about trying incredibly hard to meet a particular person. I still haven’t met them yet, so it’s an on-going thing. I went on a journey to places from my childhood, to new cities, to quiet spaces and around my familiar neighbourhood. The series has a part two and three which are very different. Part two might not see the light of day but part three is almost finished and it’s probably the work I am most proud of.

Taken with a Canon AE-1 in Dungeness a few months ago.

SFUK: How would you describe your style of shooting?

LW: Usually very unplanned, emotional and rough around the edges.

Taken on a really bad day in central London. I used a Holga Pinhole

lens on this but I can’t recall the camera body.

SFUK: If you could have any camera in the world, which would you choose and why?

LW: I have a lot of cameras – many of which break because they’re old or made of plastic. I currently have everything I need but I’d love a small Leica. One that won’t break easily. I’m not someone who needs the best of everything. I have all bases covered at the moment.

Taken with a Canon AE-1 from a boat in Northumberland.

SFUK: Do you have any plans for your next project?

LW: Part three of my ‘I am trying to find you’ series is under the working title of ‘Serpents’. I’m just finishing up the editing and talking to a few people. I want to put it physically out somehow. It’s been a really important piece of work for me, so I need to do it justice. Even if it’s only for me.

Taken from my living room window.

Keep up to date with Laura's work at www.lauraward.co.uk and follow her on Instagram @laurakiora

Thank you.

If you'd like to share your work in the Artist Features space, contact ShootFilmUK by using the form at the bottom of the home page.


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