Today we’d like to introduce you to Zac Bodner.
Hi Zac, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started taking photos in my high school photography class. It was 1998 and we still used film! We had a darkroom and everything, it was awesome. I loved taking photos, but I also loved the physical process involved in bringing the photos to life.
You had to load the film strip onto a canister in the dark, and then wash them in chemicals to develop the negatives. You put the negatives into a machine that shined light through them and exposed them to a piece of paper. Then, you washed the paper in more chemicals to bring the exposure to life. It was like magic. And it all happened because some smart people developed (pun intended!) a way to harness electrical waves of light to create something tangible, something that could last forever. Think of all the incredible things a photograph has made possible!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not a smooth road! After high school, the film started giving way to digital, and when I went to college there was no more dark room. The magic was gone! I was studying radio-television-film at UT Austin, and we were using video now. I kind of forgot about my love for photography and was focusing on writing screenplays and making documentaries. This was such a long time ago, that if you wanted to be a filmmaker, the plan was to graduate and move to New York or LA and try to get into the movie world as an assistant or something. That was hard and didn’t pay much. These days, you just grab a DSLR and start making films yourself and put them on any social channel you want. It wasn’t like that then.
When I graduated I kinda lost my dream and wound up taking a job in public housing to pay the rent. That continued for about ten years. I missed being creative, but I guess I was depressed and didn’t know how to get back into it. Eventually, I picked up a digital camera and started taking pictures again. I began using Adobe Lightroom to develop them, and realized that this was the new dark room. You could do anything you wanted with the pictures, and create whatever you saw in your head. It didn’t have the physical sensations of the old dark room, but the magic was back! I re-discovered one of my first loves and I’ve been back at it ever since.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a photographer! The bread and butter of my business is real estate photos, videos, and drone work. There is steady work and good money to be made in it, but to tell you the truth – it’s not what I really love. What I really love is using my camera to help people!
For example, maybe taking some headshots that can help someone grow their business. Or doing some family photos that someone can use to think about the people they love. Or maybe taking a dating profile pic that helps someone feel good about themselves and the way they look. That’s what I’m really into – the service aspect of photography.
One day, I hope to be a teacher and use photography to give kids (or adults) a positive outlet. Just like it was for me when I was a teenager. Photography can be so powerful for so many reasons. Sometimes you have a lot to say but nobody ever asks you anything! Or sometimes you have a lot to say but you don’t really have the words to express what’s going on inside of you. A photo can do that.
Through your photos, you can tell the world how you feel about life, yourself, and others. You can show people what you thought was beautiful, or interesting, or funny, or important. You can show the world what you were all about, without even saying anything.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I think we’ve all learned how much we need other people! Not that we just learned it during Covid, I think we definitely already knew that. But now it seems so much more obvious, and so much more important. I don’t know about anyone else, but these past years have been so scary. We have so much division over our points of view. Our planet and its resources are being torn apart. New diseases are popping up that can take over the world. It’s scary!
Now more than ever, it’s so important to come together and keep the big picture in mind. We all love our families. We all want our kids to have nice lives. We all like coming home from work and having dinner. We’re all basically trying to do the best we can. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a lifelong hip-hop lover. One of the greatest lines in hip hop is ALL IN TOGETHER NOW! It’s a philosophy, an imperative, and a way of life. We gotta live up to it before it’s too late.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zacthephotographer.com | www.zacbodner.com
- Instagram: @zacbodner | @zac_thephotographer
Image Credits
Zac the Photographer
