Jobi Manson seeks what we normally don’t notice in her photography. The surfing, travel loving and, most importantly, photo taking twenty one year old describes her style as ‘vivid, spontaneous and eccentric’, qualities all important to a good shot. Currently on exchange at the University of Wollongong from Indiana University in the United States, Jobi began her photographic odyssey by stumbling across an old camera in the attic, and her first assignment was no easy one: shooting a roll of film every day for a year.
So one roll of film every day?
Yeah, my dad hated me for a while.
What were you taking photos of?
Well a lot of what I did at the beginning was just random and candid shots, which are still what I try and achieve, but in a more articulate manner now. I know what I’m looking for. I know every time I take a picture I’m trying to capture something that somebody else wouldn’t see, and I know that sounds very clichéd, but it’s true. When you’re looking at something you want to be able to exemplify and portray it the way you see it, in a way that somebody else wouldn’t necessarily notice.
And that feeling you get when you know a photo has turned out…
Oh I get so pumped, it’s really exciting. A lot of work I’ve been doing here in Wollongong has just been for different people. Last weekend I shot a friend’s 21st, and I got a bunch of images of her just enjoying herself and her family and friends.
I saw those photos, and I notice that there were a few in there of stuff that no-one else would see. People just standing in the background talking…
She asked for stuff that would resemble actions and moments like that so I tried to encompass that in my two or three hours shooting that night. It’s just a hit or miss thing- people like it or they don’t. It appeals to different people. People tend to like the stuff I do because…for some reason or another, they tell me it stands out to them.
Speaking of stuff that stands out, where would you go to take the perfect photo?
Anywhere? The best time I had shooting was when I was in South Africa, and I was driving down the coast for a couple of weeks, and I actually stopped in this little town called Gansbaai. It’s where they do shark diving, and it’s the great white shark capital of the world. We went out on this boat, and just seeing these monstrous, monstrous creatures circling the boat, and thinking ‘Oh my god, I’m actually going to get in a cage and start shooting photos…holy s#@t!’ That was probably the most enthralling experience I’ve ever had.
What kind of personal style do your photos convey, in three words.
Vivid, spontaneous and eccentric. Not in the sense that photographers manipulate artificial light and create very artsy photos. I haven’t gone down that path yet, and I don’t know if I will. That’s not the kind of thing I enjoy. My photos are more real in a sense- I like capturing what’s real and what people can relate to and understand, and can say ‘Oh yeah, I remember that.’
What’s in Jobi’s kit:
- Canon EOS 20D
- 70-200mm lens, f2.8
- 100-400mm lens, f4.5-5.6
- Tamron 17-55mm lens, f3.5
- Fisheye 15mm lens
- Macbook Pro
