Electric Eleven: Alex Bohn

     Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce the first member of the Electric Eleven. Eleven people that fill the roster of our own personal Dream Team. Everyone who follows us or gives a shit about what we write here is a member of the Dream Team but these people are the innovators. The people that make this website tick and our personal brand truly personal. Without hesitation, meet Alex Bohn.

     It's kind of a typical story how Alex and I met. College darkroom buddies but after getting to know each other, we were strangely identical. Both into photography way too much, both had hip, although different styles and both listened to the same types of music. The similarities get weirder. We both attended Drexel University the same year, both studied the same major (which we found wasn't for us), both had the same professors, both played Ultimate Frisbee in high school and both wore similar glasses. Weird isn't it? We're like ghost twins.

notice extremely hip style

     Alex is currently attending Rochester Institute of Technology, along with another member of the Electric Eleven, studying advertising photography. We all know he is going to succeed because it only takes one look at the kid's work to see he is really a budding master of his craft. Portraiture.

     Just so you can get to know him a little better. Here's a quick interview we did earlier in the year while we were still classmates.

Introduce yourself here.
Alex Bohn. 20 years old. Photo geek from Philly. Currently enrolled in Rochester Institute of Technology for Advertising Photography. 

What got you into photography?

I suppose I got started the same way a lot of kids do. I always saw my parents taking pictures of my sister and I with their film SLRs, and I just thought the whole concept of freezing a moment in time like that was so cool. I think my first camera was a Nickelodeon 4-shooter from my aunt. I used that thing till it broke.

How long have you been shooting?

I first started taking pictures when I was around 8, I’d say, but I’ve been seriously shooting for around a year and a half. In August of 2009 I was hired to shoot a women’s triathlon along the Schuylkill so that sorta motivated me to try harder for other freelance jobs and just to push myself further.

What's the best part of photography?

Personally the entire process fascinates me. The ability to capture the essence of someone by converting the energy of photons into pixels (or silver crystals if you’re kickin it old school) is one of the coolest concepts to me. I don’t think I can pick anything more specific, because for me its the process from start to finish that captures my interest.

What really drives/influences your artwork?

Right now, no one inspires me more than Joe McNally. He is an absolute legend behind the lens. Yeah, he’s shot covers for Time, National Geo, Sports Illustrated, and LIFE, and has a clientele base that would knock the film right out of most photographers’ cameras, but beyond all that he is a genuinely inspirational person. In light of the events of 9/11, Joe created a series of images titled "Faces of Ground Zero — Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th" that glorified the heroes of the terrorist attacks. He used the world’s only giant polaroid camera to take 246 life-size portraits of those heroic men and women, and later exhibited a selection of the photos and printed a book, which ended up raising $2 million for the relief effort. So all in all its his unparalleled knowledge of photography combined with his compassion for people and the art that makes him my number one inspiration.

What are your current plans for the future?

Simply to do what I love and make the most of what I can with a camera for as long as I can. Realistically though, after I graduate I’d like to get a job assisting at a studio or with an advertising company. Eventually, and I mean far down the road, I’d love to be my own brand and just do freelance work for people. When I do work for clients now, its necessary to make it a personal experience and really talk to them about why they need the photos. Hearing their individual stories motivates and helps me produce images that both the client and I are happy with, and I fear this experience would be lost working for a larger studio or company with lots of people.

I heard that you're a long lost twin of Pat's?

Yeah I heard that rumor going around... probably got started because we were both at Drexel at the same time, studying the same major, then left Drexel the same year, and both have interests in cameras, music, ultimate frisbee,  and clothes. To top it all off, we ended up in the same photography class at MontCo. Weird am I right?

You've got a pretty hip style. Where do you draw style influences from?

Uhhh someone gave me a gift card to Urban Outfitters and it all went downhill from there....

What kind of music are you into right now? Some of your favorite artists?

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of music from the UK. I started streaming BBC Radio 1 online a few months ago and I discovered so many good artists I’d never heard of before. They listen to a lot of dubstep and Drum n Bass over there, and I got really into one duo in particular called Chase & Status. I think its safe to say that their newest album No More Idols is my favorite album of 2011. Tinie Tempah is another great UK artist, he’s probably one of my favorite rappers. He’s collaborated with a huge variety of other musicians and thats definitely one of the reasons I like him.

Aside from Radio 1’s influences, I’d say my favorite artist (and overall person) right now has to be Childish Gambino. Better known as Donald Glover, he stars on NBC’s Community, but few people know that he’s also a super talented rapper. He’s also just one of the funniest dudes around. He was a writer for 30 Rock, and his stand-up is straight-up genius. I guess I got a little carried away there, but bottom line, he’s easily one of the most underrated rappers in the game.

Hypothetical question. Your aunt comes to you with her brand new D700 and asks you how to work it. What would you do?

Not gonna lie, this question had me stumped for the longest time. I guess if she really wanted to know how to work it I would only have one rule for her to follow: never use the built-in pop-up flash. Nothing kills me more than seeing a beautiful camera like the D700 being used and abused by taking pictures with the pop-up flash. In the words of McNally,

“Ahh, the pop-up flash. Lets talk straight, okay? It is the condom of on-camera flash. Use it if you really gotta, right? The only situation I can think of for an acceptable use of the pop-up is if you ever get caught up in a rugby scum of paparazzi and get knocked over and your speedlight unit goes tumbling and you roll into the gutter in between the horde and the limo and you look up desperately from that angle as the door opens and out steps Paris and Britney in short skirts (and nothing but short skirts) and you can retire on the stock sales of the next series of frames, then by all means, go for it. Use the damn pop-up.”

So yeah, I think that about explains it.

Where can we find your work?

I’m still working on trying to get an actual website up and running (web designers hit me up!) but for the time being I have a temporary site. You can check it out at alexbohn.com.
Other media:
52 Weeks blog: http://alexbohn.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexanderbohn/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alexanderbohnphoto

     We wish all the luck in the world to our friend Alex but we all can see he needs none of it.