for the love of film

we'd like to introduce you to our first wallflower friends scholarship judge -- jonathan canlas.

for those of you, who are not familiar with jonathan canlas, he's an absolutely incredible commercial, portrait and wedding photographer, based out of salt lake city, utah.  and he shoots 100% film.  his work is pure, beautiful, heartfelt and needless to say...extremely inspiring!!  

when we first saw jonathan's blog, we immediately fell in love with his work.  and then we ventured to his website and read his mission statement and loved him that much more.   jonathan's mission statement reads:

as an independent artist, i seek to do things in my own unique way.  i shoot film because of its seamless process and unparalleled ability to produce the images i love.  i view every shoot as an opportunity to showcase the inherent light, beauty, and subtle humor in the world around us.

how powerful is that?!  we all should have the confidence in who we are and the photography we produce to lead our business with a mission statement.  jonathan's website truly is one of those sites that you can can get lost in for hours.

and we're thrilled to share that jonathan is going to be a guest speaker at our wallflower friends retreat this fall.  woot woot!!

we asked jonathan:

what inspires you in photography?
The whole creative process.

who is your all-time favorite photographer and what draws you to their work?
Richard Avedon's truth and his interpreted truth in his portraits.

we talk about the roller coaster ride in this photography journey, aka funks. is there anything you do to get through the more challenging times?
No matter what, be shooting for yourself. There is no way you'll get better at what you do and refine your vision without shooting personal work.

you are 100% film. ever tempted to try digital?
I am contemplating getting a 5dii just for doing movies. It looks like film and is pretty phenomenal. But I have no intentions of ever not shooting my beloved film :).

any advice you would like to share with those just starting out in this business?
Don't take mind/care of what anyone else is doing. Blaze your own path and do everything in your power to find YOUR voice. That is what sets you apart.

would you mind sharing a few of your favorite photographs?