10: Zoie Kasper

March 2023

Here is a conversation with Zoie Kasper a photographer from Seattle. At the end of last year, I attended a VSCO Creator Session with Zoie. The way she works with flash photography to capture dreamy scenes was inspirational.

Hello, Zoie. Before you start answering the questions below. What have you been up to this week?

Hi :) Thanks for inviting me. I have been on the work grind this week, getting really excited for spring to come and looking forward to spending more time outside.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where were you born and grew up?

I was born in Atlanta but moved to Washington state when I was just a few weeks old. I grew up in the suburbs in a town called Bothell. It was always a dream of mine to move to the city, so after college, I moved to downtown Seattle and lived there for a few years. After that, I moved to the Netherlands and have been here for 5 years. I work as a photographer in the sneaker industry. I live in Rotterdam and still love living in the city.

If you could go back in time. What was the defining moment you knew photography was what you wanted to do?

When I look back, it’s pretty obvious to me that I was always drawn to photography. As a kid, I was obsessed with looking at my family photo albums and my parents' Rolling Stone and NatGeo magazines. My dad always carried a film camera with him and later traded that in for a camcorder. My stepdad always had the latest digital camera gadget, so they set early examples for me. I brought disposable cameras with me for field trips in school, and then my parents bought me my first point-and-shoot camera for Christmas.

My best friends and I would write skits and film videos together when we were teenagers. It was our favorite activity. So I can say for sure that I’ve always been attracted to some form of documentation.

Your photos have a distinct dreamy feeling to me. How would you describe it? And how has it evolved over the years?

Dreamy is right on track. I would agree with you. I want it to be ethereal or even surreal at times.

It has evolved quite a lot. When I was first starting out, I over-saturated everything in post. Then I was really into shooting in natural light. After that, I got obsessed with flash because of the bright colors. Now I am trying to mix natural light with flash and stretch myself to photograph more people as well.

You live in the Netherlands but are from Seattle in the Pacific North West of America. I know a few creatives living in Amsterdam; what is the attraction?

There is this collective open-minded mindset in Amsterdam that I think attracts creative people. A friend of mine always says in Amsterdam, anything is possible. Maybe I romanticise it, but spending time in the city really feels like this to me.

Everywhere is reachable by bike, and that is the preferred method of transportation. There is a huge creative community here and art and design is prominent in dutch culture. I see more examples here of creative people finding ways to make their lifestyles work for them and that inspires me.

Where do you draw your creative energy and inspiration from?

Going on walks, sunlight, witnessing something new, observing people, basically the need to just create because creating gives me energy.

Studying other photographers or looking at artwork-especially Post Impressionist paintings and Japanese woodblock prints

Looking at your dope work, there is a difference between your own photos and your commercial work? How do you navigate between the two?

With commercial work, I have to keep the client’s wishes and vision in mind, so that can change the outcome. With my own photos, I am just going off of feeling or what I am enamored with at the time.

I think having balance is how I navigate. Commercial work helps me see things from someone else’s perspective, which can be good for training my eye. But then making sure I still have enough time to take care of my own eye and practice my own vision is important too.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What do your photos say?

Well, for me personally, my pictures document a memory. I’m a nostalgic person. It sounds corny, maybe but I want to collect these moments so that I have something to look back on. My photos are a way for me to express myself and helps me to find purpose.

I want my photos to feel like a small meditative moment or even an escape from reality.

You've been using VSCO photo editor for some time now. What are you go to presets?

My favorite preset is KCP2, but I use the editor more often. My favorite tool is the skew tool, hands down.

Where was the last place you went on holiday?

The last place was the Azores, a group of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic. Very beautiful, green, and lush.

Now that we're a 1/4 into 2023, what are you most proud of in 2022?

I am really proud of my VSCO session because I am scared of public speaking, and I faced my fears, and it actually ended up being fun

What would you be doing if you weren't a photographer, and why?

I would hopefully be a painter or potter because I love doing both and wish I had more hands and all the time to do them all!

Now, here are some quick-fire questions. Coffee or Tea?

Coffee

Morning person or night owl?

Night owl

Rotterdam or Amsterdam?

I love living in Rotterdam. But every time I visit Amsterdam it feels like magic

Disposable camera or Polaroid?

Difficult to choose but I will go with disposable camera.

City or Country?

Living in the city but taking a vacation in the country

Red or white wine?

Red for winter and cold, white for summer

Telfar or Pyer Moss?

Respect to Pyer moss but I’m gonna have to go with Telfar

Hasselblad or Leica?

Hasselblad, although I haven’t shot either but would love to get my hands on a Hasselblad one day

Film or digital?

FILM

Lastly, finish the sentence. "2023 is turning out to be...”

…10/10

Zoie’s commercial sneaker work is also dope! Check out her website. And follow her on Instagram @zoiekasper

Cheers mates!