Five Featured Photographers - Jeffrey Nordstrom

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Who are you and where can people find you?

Most of the time, I’m an English teacher; for the rest of the time, I’m a musician and photographer in Agassiz. People can find me at one of my various jeffnords social media pages (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr), or at my website and blog at jeffnords.com or jnordstrom.ca.

Why do you take photos?

I’ve been attracted to photography since age 10 when I joined a 4-H photography club in Victoria. Although I moved over to digital for a few years, I mainly use film today. I like to capture moments and scenes that appear timeless, that don’t give many hints to the fact they were captured in the digital, post-Internet era. I guess I like to create nostalgia where it never appeared before. It’s a sort of trickery—a personal challenge to make people wonder as to a photo’s era.

On my own time, I enjoy taking chances on expired film that I find in thrift shops and elsewhere. My colourblindness makes me hesitant to edit with Photoshop; I appreciate that film can deal with most of the colours while I focus on brightness, contrast, and framing. I enjoy the serendipity of lomography, of capturing casual moments between friends.

I believe it is important to make sure people find their way onto film and print. Tangibility is essential to memory. Great photos should be held in one’s hands, not merely stored on a hard drive.

What's your favourite lens?

Tough call. I usually carry three or so different cameras at a time: a rangefinder, a point-and-shoot, and an SLR. And I have multiple options for each of those, depending on the circumstances.

For traditional 35mm SLRs, I’ve been enjoying the Sun Zoom 1:35-4.5 28-80mm lens mounted to my Pentax K1000. It’s not a rare, “fast,” or valuable lens, but I like its focus and natural vignette. It’s been a kind, go-to lens for me for both scenery and portraiture.

I’ve also fallen in love with the lens on the Konica S2 Auto. I haven’t found many rangefinder lenses that match the energy it seems to bring to almost every shot it captures.

In medium format, I’ve recently picked up a Kowa Six with a 1:28/85 lens. I’m still learning its ins and outs, but I love everything it does so far. I’ve always had an affinity for medium format, ever since I first developed a roll with my old Brownie cameras in the late 1980s. I look forward to taking medium format to the next level; I also look forward to not having to re-wrap all of my 120 film onto 620 cartridges.

What is your favourite type of shoot?

Admittedly I’ve only hired myself out a couple times, but I enjoy working with people who want to keep things natural, who, like me, don’t mind taking chances on casual photos. I prefer to keep a low profile and steal photos here and there; I want the relationship between the lens and the film to lead the way.

One photo you've taken that still speaks to you?

Apart from family photos and photos I took 20 years ago, there’s one that stands out to me: last March, on the first warm, sunny Saturday of the year, I loaded some Kodak Gold 200 into the Konica S2 and ventured with a friend beneath the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge. It was my first time under the bridge, the sun was setting, and the Fraser River ran smooth over the rocks. As the sun shone directly onto the graffiti, a small plane turned towards Seabird Island. Somehow I caught the moment, just as the airplane’s reflection appeared on the river. This moment stands out to me as something really special, as a moment that I can carry with me for the rest of my life. It’s not framed classically, but I find it beautiful. I take a lot of pride in that photo because it feels real, even when I hold it in my hands.

Follow Jeffrey on Instagram: instagram.com/jeffnords/