An interview with photographer Felix Wong

Ah! One show down and four more to go..

There was so many flashing lights and cameras going off that I thought it was appropriate to post this interview. I have been saving it for a bit but it’s time to share.

Enjoy!

Photography is one of my main inspirations and when I saw the work of Felix Wong in Cheek Magazine Issue 14 I fell in love. A few months later I met Felix in the flesh and as I started chatting with him I naturally asked him questions about photography.What I initially found out was that Felix’s work is amazing ( I knew that already), he is such a sweet guy and he’s only 23!!

I wasn’t able to dig as much as I had intended to as we were in studio working but Felix being one of the nicest people I have met offered to answer all my questions so I could share it with you. We did make time to take photos of us surfing the loose wood boards with male model Peter Tomasz from Nam Models. Another one of the sweetest people I’ve met, he loves chocolate and he’s a great model!

Interview with Mr. Photographer:

Name: Felix Wong

What program did you attend where and when?

I graduated from the Professional Photo-Imaging Program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC in 2007

Did you always know you wanted to get into photography?

No, I came across photography by accident. A friend of my dad was a commercial photographer back in Hong Kong, but I had no interest in it at all when I was young. I had an interest in architecture and engineering. It wasn’t until we came to Canada and a friend of mine ‘made’ me take the photo class with him back in high school so he would not be by himself. So I took it just for the heck of it but after the first roll of film I’ve taken, I was in love with it.

Were you shooting fashion in school and if not when did you realize you wanted to shoot fashion?

I also came across fashion photography by accident. Just right before I went to Langara, I was in Whistler, BC one night with my family and I was browsing through the photography magazine section at the grocery store. At the time, I was mainly interested in landscape and wedding photography. Then an issue of Elle Canada with Heather Marks on the cover caught my eye…of course, I did not know what Elle Canada or who Heather Marks was back then. I flipped through the magazine to the main editorial continued from the cover by Chris Nicholls, and I had thought to myself…wow, this is very very beautiful, from the lighting, to the aesthetics and the model. I ended up buying the magazine and researching Chris’ website. After seeing his work on his website for the first time, I just knew it then right there…this is what I wanted to do.

Who have you assisted and do you think it has been a valuable experience?

I think it was only sensible to assist Chris since it was his work that got me interested in the whole fashion photography business. In fact I did, I did a 2 weeks internship with him here in Toronto when I was attending Langara. I then moved to Toronto in the summer of 2008 and ever since, even till today, I still assist him. It has truly been an honour assisting him, watching and understanding how he works, I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am.

What has been your favourite shoot so far why?

There hasn’t been one yet, I can’t sit down and clearly point the one out. There might be certain elements from each shoot that I like, but there hasn’t been a favourite one yet.

What photographer’s work do you admire?

On the top of list would be Chris, and then Greg Kadel, Ishi, and Camilla Akrans.

What magazine would you like to see your work in?

Numéro, Vogue Paris, Flair, Flare

What’s your next step after Toronto?

Eventually, I would like to end up in New York. When? I do not know.

Any future jobs you are looking forward to?

It’s almost midnight and all I can think of is just Mini Eggs

Dream gig?

I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.

Any advice to fashion photography students?

Taken from my own personal experiences, remembering to take off the lens cap and turn on the camera seems to help with the picture taking.