NZPhotographer Issue 23, September 2019

NAME: CHARLISE SEFO
AGE: 16
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY
PHOTOGRAPHY?
I’ve been interested in taking photos since I was
younger. My cousin is a photographer and has
travelled to Switzerland, his photos were a big
inspiration for my love of photography and an
introduction to quality photography. Watching the
process of him taking the photos always looked like
the hardest part but seeing the final outcome was
always inspiring to me. My favourite thing about his
photography was how he would always perfectly
match the colours together, perfectly balancing the
photo. This pushed me to study photography.
WHY/HOW IS PHOTOGRAPHY IMPORTANT TO
YOU?
Photography is a way of expressing myself. A photo
means a thousand words and tells a story or journey.
It’s important to me because it’s my own way of
writing a story, without the words.
CAN YOU CHOOSE A FAVOURITE PHOTO? TELL
US ABOUT IT…
My favourite photo is what I call “Dream State”. The
flower is a symbol of love with the blur on the side to
hint that it’s a dream. With the blue overall, the neon
colours pop more which allows specific things, the
important hints, to be seen. I let the viewer wonder
what it means. Is it a dream? Or a distant memory of
what once was? That’s why it’s my favourite image,
the wonder of the story behind it, is it an untold story or
fearful dream?
WHAT CHALLENGES YOU MOST IN CLASS?
HOW DO YOU/DID YOU OVERCOME THAT?
Having to use artist models can be very restrictive. My
ideas are inspired by images that may not necessarily
be done by famous photographers while the NCEA
says we have to use them. I overcome this by looking