Today we’d like to introduce you to Liam Gildea.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always had an appreciation for the creative side of things. My interest in photography started in High School as a hobby, my friends and I would scout locations and then make photographs at those locations. I always was drawing, painting, and doing other stuff, but the camera was by far the largest outlet for my creativity. Back then, I did not think I would be going to art school to pursue my creativity. After I had heard back from the colleges I applied to I only had a few options and SCAD stood out as the most logical option. It was a bumpy ride with Covid and other personal things going on in my life but living in Savannah helped me figure out who I am and really polished me off as an artist, not just a photographer.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Covid was probably one of the biggest struggles as a college student, as well as personal relationships tanking.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work with a variety of analogue cameras which use all kinds of formats. For over the past year or so I’ve been working a lot with my half-frame camera. A half-frame camera splits a regular 35mm full frame in half, this results with diptychs which can be made in the camera. My work focuses on the oddities that stand out to me during my day-to-day life. The diptychs display witty humor, pleasing forms, and saturated colors. My other work is a documentary approach to a variety of niche topics, as simple as photographing my walks with my dad and the dogs, to being a fly on the wall, photographing mechanic shops. This work is mostly produced in black and white.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
For the past few years, I have done various work for the Finnish athletic brand Karhu. I have had an editing position sorting photographs, I have been commissioned to do still-life photography for creative purposes, as well as product photography. Some of my work for Karhu was displayed at the Olympic Sports Museum In Helsinki Finland. (see on my website under Karhu Deconstructed tab) I am now starting work as a sales rep. Karhu has a tremendous history, being around for 105+ years, they were the original owners of the three stripes and sold the logo back in 1940 for €1,600 and two bottles of Whiskey to Adidas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.liamvgildea.com/
Image Credits
Images taken by Liam V. Gildea
