Personal one - Juli Balla interview
I emigrated from Budapest, Hungary. Both my parents were photographers, so I grew up with the craft. I loved analogue photography. I spent countless hours with my dad in the darkroom, going on assignments with him, as he lugged a 4x5 view camera on his shoulder. He lived and breathed photography and in later years, he did personal work. I learned not just the craft, but the passion to create, to appreciate art. We were surrounded by artists, spent the weekend going to exhibitions.
My father had an enormous library and in the 70’s we had every issue of Italian Vogue, which peaked my interest in fashion photography at an early age. A watched a lot of European cinema, Fellini, Bergman... Loved the work of Sarah Moon andDeborah Turbeville in particular. So by the time I arrived to Australia in 1980, I was doing personal work in a kinda muted, romantic style. I went to art school for 5 years, exploring photography from the perspective of high art and did no fashion tests at all, till the late 80’s, when I started working professionally. I didn’t assist anyone but my father. I jumped into the industry in Sydney from the deep-end.
There aren’t many photographers around today from that era. I have seen the industry shift so many times, first from analogue to digital, then seeing stylistic changes in advertising and in fashion. To remain relevant, one has to re-invent oneself, while remaining true to one’s original style. Keeping up with the changes in technology, lighting trends and other shifts. Going from analogue to digital was a big step. Not in terms of technology (it made everyone’s life easier), but it made everything faster. The expectations from clients for one! What we call “in the good old days”, we shot 8 images at the most. Never shot anything in the middle of the day, a shoot day was like a holiday. This has dramatically changed.
with the rise of social media, clients needing more and more content, the shot numbers increasing, regularly shooting stills and motion on the same day, working much faster to keep up with the demands. It becomes stressful to maintain a high level of quality.
I really admire young photographers who are able to fulfil all these requirements; who can digital operate, retouch their own work, and do video on the back of their stills shoots. I do all this, but with help from a great crew. I am not a one-man show.
I have been part of the “This time it’s Personal” exhibition from the start. It’s always so exciting to see new work from fellow photographers. Also to be able to own some beautiful contemporary art for reasonable cost is a brilliant opportunity.
Selena is the best printer in town and to have her lovingly prepare the work is an added bonus.
Really looking forward to this one at Lunar.
Thank you for having me being part of it.
Juli
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