Q&A With Film Photographer Tafv Sampson
Tafvsampson is a film photographer based in Brooklyn, New York who
shot our latest video project, DITCH ⚡️ DAZE - filmed on her Super8 & VHS and featuring Nikita teamriders. We had to know more about her, so we took some time to interview her below- enjoy!
Q. Where city are you based in and how does that inspire your work?
A. I’ve been in New York for 9 years, to me it’s just the best. Most places to get around you have to be in a car, but NY you can just walk for hours, or somehow get lost in Chinatown on your way to lunch and stumble upon the most incredible and bizarre things. Everyone here is trying something new, New York is a sea of freaks in constant creation and you just want to get in and swim as fast as them.
Q. When did you get into photography & do you typically/ always shoot film?
A. I started shooting black and white film photography in high school and basically lived in the darkroom all of my sophomore and junior year. I still to this day don’t know my way around a digital camera, the bells and whistles of it all make me crazy. I’m much better with the tangible in general- much more comfortable tinkering in the darkroom than using Photoshop, or physically collaging something than using inDesign. I can be stubborn about technology.
Q. How is shooting video different for you than photo, and can we expect to see more video from you in the future?
A. Video is something new for me, I’m still learning the ins and outs of the super 8 and all the ways to manipulate and play with the footage, but it feels like an easy transition from shooting 35mm- both you need to take your time, if you can, and think about your shot before you start shooting. I’ve always like the pressure that there’s only so much footage you can shoot, so use it wisely.
Q. What was your experience like with shooting skateboarding/ skateboarders for the first time? Would you like to do it again?
A. Oh man that was new for sure. Those girls really pound the pavement and I was lucky if I could just keep up. I watched a few skate videos before and was just like ok…keep as low as I can and try not to get trampled! But it was fun, if you can commit to just getting as dirty as possible you’ll have a blast.
Q. Where do you typically show your work? Do you have any favorite publications to recommend we follow?
A. Instagram of course is the main platform, but I have been lucky enough to be involved in some exhibitions the past couple of years here and in London. Lately I’m less focused on individual publications but individual people, there’s some people I follow who are off the beaten path that I truly think are artists in their own right; a bread baker, a perfumer, etc. I’ll stumble upon and I’ll follow threads of places, and people they’re linked to till dawn- till I’m nowhere near where I started. Like there’s a suburban mom who bakes cakes and paints lampshades and posts them, she has like 20 followers and I’m a little obsessed with her. Explore!
Q. What is your favorite item from our SS18 collection….(send me your address and I’ll get some product out your way!)
A. Those deck pants! As if these girls couldn’t get any cooler, they show up in their tomboy cuffed deck pants and you just swoon over how badass they are. I want to pull off that look.