Photofeed Profiles: An Interview With Portrait Photographer @vmoldo

Welcome to another installment of Photofeed Profiles, where we interview photographers that are making waves on Steemit and Photofeed. This time around we are honored to showcase @vmoldo (Vlad Moldovean) from Romania. If you've ever browsed the #photofeed tag, surely you've stopped and noticed some of the amazing and colorful portraits by the one and only @vmoldo. We had the chance of "sitting down" (if e-mail counts) with Vlad, and asked him a few questions about him and his art. With no further ado, here it is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Photofeed: First off, thanks so much for agreeing to do an interview with us! To help our readers get a little background info on you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where did you grow up, and do you live there now?

Vlad Moldovean: I am from Brasov, Romania. That’s in Transylvania just a few miles away from Dracula's Castle. Brasov is a charming city that dates back to the Middle Ages, with architecture that’s as diverse as it gets, crammed in a narrow valley and bordered by forests. As you can imagine, that makes for a lot of nice scenery that’s appreciated by locals and tourists alike, yet I don’t feel at all connected to this place. I spend most of my time online with international communities and my outlook has changed a lot. I don’t fit in anymore. I’m the odd artist.

PF: What are some of your hobbies outside of photography?

VM: My biggest passion outside photography (even though it’s somewhat related) is technology. I am into almost everything media and tech related. While searching for my vocation I explored music, video editing, coding, web development, social media marketing and many more but my true passion is photography and Photoshop. Also, in the summer, what I enjoy the most is going out at sunset and juggling for a couple of hours, while listening to my favorite tunes. Juggling is like meditation, it helps you clear your mind.

PF: Hopefully that means we will see a few juggling portraits in the future. Anyways, how did you hear of Steemit? How’s the experience been so far since you started?

VM: Some dude I photographed a while ago for an advertising campaign told me about it in August 2017. I signed up, created one post that had 6 upvotes worth $0.00, looked around for an hour or so and didn’t give it much thought. That’s until January, around a week before @photofeed was launched, when @vonwong started pushing steemit on his Facebook page and I decided to try it again. This time I found the photo community and discovered a lot of great photographers, so much so that now I’m almost addicted to it and try to post at least once a day.

PF: That's awesome! Every day, we see new amazing photographers joining Steemit and integrating with Photofeed (and other cool projects). It's awesome seeing how much qualitative growth has happened over the past few months. How did you get started in photography?

VM: Since I was a child, tinkering with electronics has been one of my interests and around the 6th grade I discovered Photoshop. Back then, phones only had vga cameras and I needed some larger source materials to play with in Photoshop. So I convinced my Mom to buy me a 6 Megapixel point-and-shoot for Christmas. And I think that’s what got me started.
So, looking back it might have been the complexity of that software that caused me to be so passionate about photography.

PF: We’ve noticed you use a lot of strong colors in your portraits, which has kind of become your trademark style. How did you get started with using these different colors, and what all do you use?

VM: As a background in my studio I use a white wall. Adding gels into the mix is one of the ways I add color to it. Also, by pushing things out of the normal color spectrum I feel that my images get to have a deeper meaning. That’s because stronger colors evoke stronger emotion. Here, for example, by using complementary colors my subject gets completely separated from the background, expressing loneliness but at the same time serenity, contrasting with all of the red madness.

PF: What’s one of your personal proudest achievements (regarding photography)?

VM: The fact that last year I started to get paid for my commercial work, and lately with Steemit I am also getting rewarded for my passion. Being published in the same art books and magazines as your idols is a feeling greater than love, but being paid to do what you love the most is even better. It gives me hope that I can eventually buy better gear and start thinking about an actual studio outside my bedroom.

PF: What’s one of your favorite photos you’ve ever taken? Can you tell us a little backstory on it?

VM: In most of my serious work I put so much thought and personal feeling that you can call them Horcruxes _{(A Horcrux is an object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Taken from the Harry Potter series.)}
The one I picked here is about depression and suicide. Considering the state of mind I was in when I created this image, I think it was more like a cry for help because my depression was starting to take over.

PF: You really do create breathtaking work. It's truly inspiring. I'm sure a lot of readers (including us) are curious what your camera setup is. And if you only had one lens for the rest of your life, what would that lens be?

VM: Right now I am using a Nikon D7000 and a bunch of second hand Nikon lenses from the late 90’s that I bought based on the low price and started to grow fond of. Their imperfections create a more humane atmosphere than the latest and greatest lenses out there. Let’s take a very geeky approach and consider the fact that I use full frame lens on a crop sensor. Therefore my go-to lens is a 160-300mm (Nikon 80-200mm push and pull) and my second favorite is a 75mm (Nikon 50mm). To be honest though, having the best equipment isn't that important, because the best camera is the one you have on hand.

PF: Do you still find photography challenging?

VM: Of course, I still have a lot to learn. When I don’t find it challenging anymore, I will start looking for something else to do. Monotony is one thing I’ve been running away from all my life. But as long as I can open Instagram and notice some photo that blows my mind, I will keep learning so that I can be the one blowing other people's minds.

PF: Do you have any tips for photographers starting out?

VM: Stop looking for shortcuts and put that elbow grease in. No preset, Photoshop action or gear will make a photo great. But if you train your mind, you will be the one creating great images.

PF: Awesome man, we couldn't agree more. The photographers that grab your attention through their photos are the ones who have put countless hours into their craft, and by constantly pushing themselves they can create amazing art. Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us a little bit about yourself. This is the end of the article, but if people are wanting to continue to see more of your work, where should they look?

VM: @vmoldo on Steemit obviously, and below are a few links to the rest of my work.
Website: http://vmphotoart.tk/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/vmphotoart
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VMphotoart/
500px: https://500px.com/vmphotoart
But Steemit is my favorite right now.