MASTERMIND
A F T E R H O U R S
Lost in sunsets, at nighttime, and in the hues of his views, photographer and art director of Théorie CAMERON LEE PHAN finds solace in the flash of fleeting moments. By Janroe Cabiles
I “
can’t say that I’ve had a muse completely of my own, but I’m definitely entranced by the idea of a mutual muse–two complementary entities to love and inspire one another,” says Cameron Lee Phan of his collaboration with his subjects. “They exist in the forms of strangers, friends, lovers, and even in the coexistence of nature and humanity.” With eyes closed,
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remorseful, or piercing, the exchange of emotion on both sides of the lens takes form in his photographs. Before moving on to working with Republic Records and American Apparel, as well as publications including Interview, V, Juxtapoz, Austere Magazine, and his and Nicola Wali’s start-up zine Théorie, he was just an average teenager with his headphones on. “When the Internet became kind of a thing, I spent a lot of time discovering art, music, fashion, and photography,” he recalls. “I knew I found an outlet for my creative urges, and ultimately, that became the first step in defining my path. And then, I started taking pictures about five years ago, when I received my first camera for my birthday.” Quipped with his Canons, both
digital and film, he has his way with shadows and reflections, borrowing light from the streets and the night. Finding fragility and gentleness in everything around him, he draws out a soft and somber reality from his subjects. “I’d like to say that my work can be a little lonely and elusive, but also present and attentive.” Despite his method of an auteurist in everything he’s shot, there’s a level of release he’s found in the paradise of deserts and empty highways at dusk. “I’ve spent so much of my time as a photographer trying to perfect things I can’t control, but I’ve learned to relax and improvise when I no longer have control over a situation. My creative process is simply to live and pay attention to what’s going on in real