FOREIGN INSPIRED, AMERICAN MADE.

All art emulates, but not all art becomes its own. How does one reach the latter? I was in search of that answer for years.

Megumi at Cyphacon in Lake Charles, 2024

In a previous blog, I had mentioned two of the biggest influences on my photographic studies were Canadian photographer Greg Girard and Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama. Both have extremely distinct methods and aesthetic preferences for collecting imagery, therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my photography was born from them.

Abandoned on Tchoup, 2024

I did want to have a style recognizable as mine though. One where as soon as a person saw a photograph they’d think, “Rhone Sama”. So as usual I kept shooting, taking tidbits of what I liked about my heroes, and throwing in my own ideas on what I considered to be unique for taking a photograph. Once I combined that process with my newfound drive for editing, I ended up developing my first successful aesthetic I named American Gothic.

Carnival Tent on the Westbank, 2024

From 2015 - 2019 when I was a young graphic design student, me and my classmates had been taught to use multiple layers in computer programs like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop for designing posters, documents, illustrations, infographics etc.

Wanting to achieve this same approach in photography, I had incorporated an editing process that I like to call Triple Layer Editing. I had theorized that photographs shouldn’t have been any different from the layered designs I was producing in college.

Here’s how I broke it down:

First, there’s what can be controlled and edited “in camera”. This could be aperture, shutter speed, ISO, flash, or white balance. This is the First Layer.

For example, with my Nikon COOLPIX W300 I had a love for shooting in the cloudy white balance. It gave my photographs a very warm tone and I wanted to keep this consistency across the board. Even when shooting in less ideal situations. Without thinking about it I was already “editing” in-camera.

I’d then upload my photographs to Adobe Lightroom.

Warped, 2024

In program, I’d bump the contrast, the blacks, and push the saturation until it looked painterly; and to not have to make the settings from scratch again, I would then save those settings as a preset called American Gothic X. I also included iterations for different scenarios. Like if the image needed lower exposure (American Gothic Y) or if the photograph was shot with a completely different camera (American Ricoh).

Rooftops in the Crescent, 2024

I call this the Second Layer.

Night Flood, 2024

Photographs exported in these presets are then uploaded to an app I found on the Apple Store called RNI Films.

This program pairs extremely well with Lightroom. And honestly, there was no denying that film photography had a certain look I coveted. I had to find a way to apply it to my digital photographs.

Rob's Bike, 2024

The program has five categories: vintage, negative, slide, instant, and B&W.

Fallout Mardi Gras, 2024

Not having any idea on where to start I just jumped right in and observed the various effects of each film. Once I reached the negative film category and chose Kodak Ektar 100, my photographs had been rendered to perfection. The colors were rich and seemed to pop out of the photograph, the contrast was like that of any American graphic novel, and the film grain dispersed evenly.

My usage of this program is the Third Layer.

Empty Shot at Brothers III Lounge, 2024

It took years of experimentation and perseverance to reach this point. And if I had to summarize it all, I’d say this aesthetic was Foreign Inspired, American Made.

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