RAY BANHOFF

RAY BANHOFF

Where are you from? Where do you live?

I was born in Pescia, near Montecatini Terme, in Tuscany. I grow up in Pieve a Nievole, a little village of 9000 inhabitants. I call it “The Valley”. Now I live in Milan since 4 years.

How old are you?

I’m 30. Still young.

How do you pay your bills? Are you working as a professional photographer?

I am an official photographer for Virgin Radio, Radio 105 and Radio Montecarlo. But I don’t consider me as a photographer. I just use a camera to take pics and I take pics to pay my bills.

What cameras do you use?

I still looking for a camera that fits me. I use both digital and analogic. I have some toy cameras and a Canon Ftb of the 70’s. Sometimes I use a G12 Canon and for “Canini” (at Gattò, 2nd of July)

I used only iPhone 3 and iPhone 4s cameras. In the future I will use medium format. I’ve tried to use an Hasselbald but it’s too difficult for me. I would like to have a Rollei. During my daywork I use a digital reflex.

Any photographer or artist inspiring you?

I don’t know. I change idea every time I discover something new. In the last years I loved the work of Todd Hido, Alec Soth and Stephen Shore. Then Stanley Kubrick and Therence Malick’s films.

What/who do you enjoy to shoot the most?

I’m not the kind that takes a lot of pics. I like to shoot my friends, my girlfriend, and the places where I live.

I’ve started to shoot little dog in Milan ‘cause I feel like them when I was alone, in this big city. When I was buying stuff at the supermarket, outside there were often these small dogs waiting for their owners, sometimes crying, sometimes just sad, sometimes happy. Just like me. These are pictures about me, not about the dogs.

Do you believe in god?

Do you mean the Christian God? Or the representation of it given by many religions? I don’t know.

What do you drink on a night out?

White Wine or (when I can) White Russian at Nottingham Forest bar in Milan. I always drink the same.

Do you like dancing?

No. It makes me feel observed and judged by the others. I can’t do it.

What’s your favorite first name?

I don’t know. Kurt. Because of Him, like a teenager.

Are you a fashion addicted?

Yes, I am. But not in the milanese way. I’ve started to pay more attention at my clothes when I moved to Milan. I think the idea of Style it’s noble. I like to watch shop windows, and if I had money, I would have spent more in clothes. But I hate fashion victims, and Kicking squealing Gucci little piggy.

What’s your favorite tv series?

Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Californication, Sons of Anarchy. I don’t have a tv so I’ve started to be a TV-series addicted, with my pc always on. I can’t consider Twin Peaks just like a tv series but as a work of art, that’s why I didn’t mentioned it. But Twin Peaks over all.

Recommend us a book.

It’s always the last that you’ve read. So “La casa in collina” by Cesare Pavese and “All of Us: The Collected Poems“ by Raymond Carver.

What’s the country of your dreams?

It changes every five years. Actually somewhere in the US or Asia.

Have you ever been to Iceland?

Not yet. But after reading this question I’ve started looking at pictures on Flickr and I’d like to be there.

What song would you choose for a slideshow of your work?

Turn the web radio on Kalx FM and let it go. It’s always the perfect song.

Ask yourself a question. Tell me your answer (like Marzullo does)

q: What’s the most difficult and important thing in the world?

a: Understand the others, understand each other, and let the others understand you.

website: raybanhoff.com