Kevin Russ is a fascinating chap. If you follow his Instagram you’ll already know what I’m talking about. He’s basically always on the move, an idea I personally find horrendous. Mark and I recently went on a trip to California off the back of a trade show in New York and we went to Yosemite to have a bit of a ‘away from everything break’. It was one of the most stressful experiences I’ve ever had, well maybe not, but it certainly wasn’t that enjoyable. Being away from technology, the internet and most of all civilisation freaked me out. For some people it’s a blissful idea, however I only ever feel comfortable when I’m in a position to create something or get in contact with people.
I found being stuck in the woods exactly how you’re supposed to find it, isolating, and at night quite frightening. We drove to the place with internet 2/3 days just so I could check up on things at Ohh Deer HQ, and on the drive back which was in the darkness you’d seen lots of cars parked up, with either people sleeping in them or empty because they’d gone camping in the woods. I’m not entirely sure why I get a horrible feeling in my stomach when I think about camping anywhere that isn’t an official campsite, but no doubt it stems from horror films.. So as you’ll have realised by now, this is part artist blog and part ‘Jamie having a rant about how horrible the wilderness is’. In my head, going on a hike in the mountains or somewhere as beautiful as Yosemite seems like a brilliant idea, but when I was there it just didn’t quite match up with the idea.
Kevin’s work takes you to places, you can taste the atmosphere. It’s the kind of photography that is so connected to the photographer it’s less about what’s in the photos and more about what they say about the person taking them. Such is the nature with most art and artists, but when I look at Russ’ photos I see a fascinating place that instead of wanting to visit, I’d rather not. I’m more than happy to just view them in digital form. I’m probably in the minority here so feel free to tell me otherwise in the comments. Russ’ life is about travelling, staying and visiting ‘beautiful’ places and good for him, I’ll continue to look at the photos rather than visiting the place myself! Make sure you check out his Instagram if you want to do the same!
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