Thursday, Sep. 10, 2009

Fashion Flair Wins Surge Photo Contest

Those legs catch your attention first, bare whitewhitewhite legs, looking whiter because the photo is black and white, wearing go-go boots and thigh-high fishnets.

Then you see the other two teens in their avant garde clothes and hair, and the carnie backdrop that so perfectly illustrates kids looking for fun and working hard to look cool. The composition is exquisitely balanced, from placement to the opposing movement of the people and the swings behind them.

It's the rise of another generation, a new voice saying, "We are the young Myrtle Beach."

The teens look like they are dreaming of another place, any other place, but in the meantime they're making do with their home town, the tourist town where millions of other teenagers would love to hang out.

Maybe this message is captured so well because a teen, 18-year-old Andrea Tuton, took the photo. Hers was among the top 10 favorite photos voted for by Surge readers out of a field of 66 entries. The Surge staff then voted on the top 10, and hers was the favorite. The photo will be blown up, framed and displayed at Collectors Café. That's it on the cover this week, too.

Tuton, the contest-winning photographer, is not pursuing a photography career, but she definitely has artistic flair.

We caught up with her recently in Rock Hill, where she is a freshman at Winthrop University.

QUESTION | Where is home?

ANSWER | Myrtle Beach is home. I was born and raised there. I resented growing up in a "tourist town" in my teenage years, but now that I've gone off to college I miss it more than I could've imagined.

Q. | Describe your family.

A. | My family is kind of all over the place these days. My dad is in Jacksonville, N.C., with his entire side of the family doing whatever it is he does all day. My fantastic mom is at home in Myrtle Beach surviving the hell of being a real estate agent at this time, taking care of our animals, being social, etc. My brother is also in Rock Hill with me, but he has a job and goes to school, so I have yet to see him.

Q. | Is anyone else in your family into photography or the arts?

A. | Well, my brother is skilled in the music and theatrical department, and my cousin Rachael is also skilled as far as theatre goes, but that's about it for my family. I don't know where our creativity came from.

Q. | What else interests you in addition to photography?

A. | Fashion design. That's what I've always done. My photography and designs kind of go hand-in-hand.

Q. | What kind of music do you like?

A. | Ohh, where do I begin? Basically music with feeling in it. Things like classical music, Air, Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Crystal Castles, CocoRosie, The Decemberists, Devendra Banhart, Fleet Foxes, Freezepop, Iron & Wine, Kings of Leon ["Use Somebody" minus guitar], Led Zeppelin, M.I.A., Manchester Orchestra, Metric, MGMT, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Ratatat, Sia, Silversun Pickups, Sufjan Stevens, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Q. | Where did you go to high school?

A. | Well, I went to Socastee High School for my freshman and sophomore years, but then I transferred over to the Academy for Arts, Science and Technology to major in art. Going to AAST was the greatest decision I've ever made.

Q. | Where do you go to college?

A. | For the time being I'm at Winthrop University in Rock Hill. I may be transferring to the College of Charleston or Coastal Carolina University next semester though. I miss my boyfriend an unbearable amount.

Q. | What is your major?

A. | I don't have a major at Winthrop. I'm transferring to The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City next fall for fashion design. So this year I'm just getting my general education classes out of the way in preparation for FIT.

Q. | Are you involved in any extracurricular activities at school?

A. | I joined a Society of Illustrators club this week, but we basically just watch movies during the meetings. Sooo, yes and no. But mostly no; I've never been into joining clubs, doing sports, socializing, etc...

Q. | What are your career goals?

A. | To be a successful fashion designer. It's been my one solid goal in life since I was 6. It'll happen.

Q. | How long have you been a photographer?

A. | I began doing photo shoots as soon as my mom introduced an old 35mm camera from [when she went to] college to me. I believe I was 14 or 15. I used my best friend's little sister as my model, and those pictures are still my favorite to this day.

Q. | Why did you become interested in photography?

A. | I honestly have no idea.

Q. | Who and/or what inspires your photography, both locally and historically?

A. | Anything involving creativity. Movies, music, other photos, etc. And then of course naturally beautiful locations just make me want to take pictures of them.

Q. | Which photographers do you emulate?

A. | Tim Walker. His work is just dreamy; I love that.

Q. | What photographic training do you have, such as classes, a job or an internship?

A. | Zero. I barely know how to use my camera, but I try.

Q. | Do you always carry a camera with you?

A. | I did at one point, until I realized the heavy weight pulling down on my shoulder was the camera.

Q. | Have you ever missed a photo you really wish you had been able to get?

A. | Due to my extreme laziness and leaving my camera at home 90 percent of the time, the answer would be yes. I've missed a thousand. In fact I went to London this past year, and I didn't take a single picture. I will never forgive myself for this.

Q. | What kind of cameras do you have?

A. | I have my mother's old Canon T50 35mm and my Canon Rebel XT.

Q. | Which camera is your favorite?

A. | Definitely the old one. The pictures look gorgeous, but getting pictures developed is suchhhhhhhh a hassle.

Q. | Why did you enter the Weekly Surge contest?

A. | [Weekly Surge photographer] Scott Smallin posted a bulletin about it and complained of many sunsets. So I decided I would throw in some versatility.

Q. | Who are the people in the winning Weekly Surge photo?

A. | My good friends Sage Graham and Wendi Logg, and Brandon Payne.

Q. | Was it a random shot, or did you set it up?

A. | It was random, we were gallivanting around [Broadway at the Beach], and it happened to be back when I actually carried around my camera.

Q. | When was the photo taken?

A. | Sometime during late junior year (spring of 2008).

Q. | Where was the photo taken? (Is it at the old Myrtle Beach Pavilion rides at Broadway at the Beach?)

A. | Yes, it was at the Nostalgia Park.

Q. | What technical info can you provide about the winning photo, such as your camera settings?

A. | Hah, I have no idea.

Q. | Is black-and-white your favorite photographic medium?

A. | No it's not my favorite, but it definitely looks better on some pictures, and this picture happened to be one of them.

Q. | Describe what you like about this photo.

A. | I basically just like the people in it. My picture managed to kind of capture the essence of our youth and friendship together. At this time I was just becoming friends with them, and I just loved how weird and different they were to me. Roaming around town and looking ridiculous [was] something we liked to do.

Q. | Is there anything you would change about the photo if you could?

A. | I'm sure I would like to change several things about it to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing, but everything in the picture says a lot about my life in Myrtle Beach at the time. So I wouldn't like to have anything changed.

Q. | How would you describe your photographic portfolio?

A. | Not as endowed as I would like it to be.

Q. | How do you describe your photographic style?

A. | Perhaps I would say it's dreamy and depressing.