Artist Spotlight
In this month’s artist spotlight we bring to you photographer/DJ Zach St. Laurent...
Icarus: How long have you been a photographer? Did you have schooling or were you self taught?
Zach St. Laurent: Consistently I’ve been a photographer for about 5 years now; I never went to school or had courses and have been self taught for the vast majority of the time with aid from peers and family.
I: Did it come easily to you or did it take time to learn?
Z: Having an eye for it comes naturally for me I would say, manipulating camera settings and getting things dialed in, definitely took time to understand how to properly handle different scenes in order to achieve what I think is a great shot.
I: I agree 100 percent, there are definitely multiple factors and variables to consider in both cases. What kind of equipment are you working with?
Z: So currently I use a Canon Rebel T6i body and various lenses ranging from 12MM up to 500mm. The Rebel series is a great mid range camera that’s versatile in most environments.
I: How long have you had this camera and was it easy to learn to use or was it difficult?
Z: I believe I’ve had this Canon now for around 4 years. Like most cameras, they have standard modes meant for different scenes like action mode or night mode, etc.. in the beginning of learning a new camera it’s always a little bit difficult; especially when you’re new to using cameras and understanding the terminology behind, manipulating certain settings, like white balances, aperture and focal range. Once I understood the terminology and how to manipulate those settings. It definitely became easier to use and now if I were to transition into another camera, I think it would be much simpler and easier for me to transition to something else. So the short answer is, no it’s not hard to use.
I: It's interesting how you explain your experience about cameras, and to be honest knowing this makes me feel more comfortable with myself when I start my podcast and I start learning about equipment and what to use. I'm not tech savvy at all, but when I hear stuff like this it makes me realize we're not alone and we're always learning something new with our passion and the equipment we are trying to use.
Z: I am a big tech head. Interview aside for a quick second, that's my entire industry. I’ve worked in the technological industry for about six years now. I do other things around music and audio equipment and such so if you ever have questions, please do feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to help people.
I: Thank you I appreciate it. What motivated you to get into photography as a medium?
Z: There’s been many factors that motivated me to pursue photography. Instinctively, and by my own nature, I’ve always had a passion for music, arts, for other people’s paintings, and any type of artwork I’m drawn to on all sorts of fronts. I think what has motivated me the most has been the drive to capture one of a kind places & moments; and to document decay and things that will not stand the test of time.
I: It's funny im the same way with my poetry, I aim to paint a picture with my words, be the best wordsmith I can be, the Picaso of words, a heavy feat to live by but I enjoy it. I enjoy turning the dark truth of things into art to show everyone that your scars can be beautiful.
Z: Should definitely put that on your autobiography. That speaks volumes in itself.
I: I will remember that.
Z: Both factors alike that’s exactly what I aim for in most of my urban exploration photography is to bring beauty to decay.
I: What draws you to focus your photography on documenting urban decay?
Z: What drives me to focus my photography specifically on urban and abandoned places I would say stems from my love of horror and morbid and decrypted films and anything of that nature or an otherwise Gothic aura. Whether it’s art, movies, music, etc. I’ve always had a love for that type of tone. It takes time and persistence to track down locations and find these places along with putting yourself at risk of multiple factors; so I think it’s not just a photograph but it’s also the adventure behind getting these photos. Additionally, a lot of these places are being reclaimed by nature taking back and reclaiming it for its own.
I: Have you had any interesting experiences when dealing with abandoned properties?
Z: Absolutely! That is one of the biggest risks with exploring abandoned places without sharing any details. I was exploring an abandoned mental hospital that is no longer standing here in New England, pretty local to black noise homebase if I do say, myself and another explorer were walking through the property, and we were not aware that there were two security cars stationed there. We entered the building absolutely fine and probably spent about 45 minutes inside going up and down going through different rooms taking the photos that we wanted and there were other buildings on the property so we exited the main building and there was a chapel on site that we were trying to go into. Because we didn’t know about the security cars, We walked right in front of them and practically were caught red-handed on the property. Luckily for us, the security team was pretty lenient. They knew we were just there to take photos. It's a highly trafficked area, at least it was by explorers and teenagers alike and usually the younger crowd. The other ones that are damaging property and they’re the ones causing havoc so ensure they said just vacate the premises we left and then we went back like a week later to get the photos we wanted.
Besides that, there are always risks of hurting yourself and uneven floors, and possibly going through floors if the place is falling apart. There have been a couple run-ins where there are homeless people residing in abandoned buildings, which is always a little treacherous. We try to avoid disturbing their areas if they are residing there in order to avoid any type of confrontations.
I’ve seen satanic ritual circles with sacrificial animals in the center of them as well on a couple properties, and I definitely get a cold chill run down my spine when I see that.
To close out that question though, yes there’s definitely some choice moments.
I: Sounds like you enjoy the rush and the danger that comes with it.
Z: Most of the time yes other times I wish it was just nice and quiet and I could spend hours in some of these places with no adrenaline rushes just peace
I: What was your favorite location you’ve come across?
Z: Without disclosing the exact location, there is an abandoned jail in the tri-state area that I visited a while back and learning the history of these places adds more depth when you visit them and see them in their current state, that jail was definitely one of my favorite locations to date.
I: Got it, no jail time for you, lol. No worries but I like the fact you enjoy history of things especially for abandoned places.
Z: It’s OK, I always carry a get out of jail free card and Uno reverse card lol. But I absolutely like learning the history of these places and what they were, versus what they are now, and seeing what it was and capturing what it is now is the epitome of my photography if I must say so.
I: The urban exploration community can be pretty hush hush when it comes to locations, what advice would you give to anyone looking to get into doing this style of photography?
Z: Start local explore your town. Every town has abandoned properties, and do research. The more research you do, the more you scour the Internet, the more you will find. I mean the world’s at our fingertips nowadays with the Interwebs. As somebody who would be new coming into the community that has respect for these locations and is actually pursuing doing this I would definitely say that’s their number one starting point.
There’s numerous tactics to uncover these properties; Old mills, and shut down facilities of all sorts, but Research is the number one factor of finding them and Geo locating them. Sometimes I’m just driving down back roads and I find abandoned overgrown cars in peoples yards and collapsing Barns. Sometimes if I don’t have my camera, I’ll use my phone but even on my travels I’ll stop to pull over to the side of the road if I find something and I’ll pinpoint it on Google maps and revisit it down the road.
I: You know as a person who's just been doing this for about 2 maybe 3 months I don't fully recall, but it's no different than interviewing a person, you have to do research before you dive in and ask questions and that's one thing I've been learning is look at all your resources and collect intel about the person and write questions good or bad and then go through the process of fixing the question, eliminating questions, ect.
Z: Yeah, absolutely the correlations are very, very similar. To perfect any craft you have to put in research and effort and time.
I: Exactly, it's a learning process for me but i'm learning. You are also a DJ, what genre of music do you work in?
Z: Primarily, I play and produce various genres of electronic dance music. Normally, it’s either sub genres of house music or hard dance.
I: Why those in particular?
Z: Those have always been my favorite genres when listening to EDM so naturally, I gravitate towards them when I’m playing live. Additionally, they’re both filled with either high energy or really solid grooves and baselines that bring the energy to the dance floor for the crowd. I don't limit myself to just those two genres. I’m very open format, but on a consistent basis, those two are what most people will see me play live.
I: It's crazy how music draws us to feel something. To enjoy, to relate, hell to even inspire, I've come from a background of family members that were heavy into music, my father was a singer, church music to be exact, my mother sang, but never did anything with it, my older sister was a singer too and did musicals, my younger sister played instruments, and then there was me, the artist, the painter, yet after my grandmothers’ passing, that died out for a while. It's like “Out of the ashes, I pulled an IronPen" a quote I came up with a long time ago, but in a short term explanation, by my grandmothers’ passing away, a new gift was born. Bittersweet, but it’s life. Somehow most of my writing comes from music, there's always a song that speaks to me, speaks in tongues that nobody understands but me, maybe only a few could but it's all perspective.
Z: Music is the universal language across all of life. If not music, then food, they transcend the language barrier 110%. Same ideology applies to photography. It’s all based on perspective and it’s in the eye of the beholder to make their own connection to it.
I: How long have you been Djing for? What got you into it?
Z: About seven years and over the past three years post Covid I have been more engaged and active with live bookings and shows . The music scene specifically in Rhode Island has definitely soared and expanded to reach new heights and bring the community together. I think the sense of community to bounce off of is what really got me into it as far as playing music and being on stage it’s just to share my passion with others. That’s what I aspire to do and I think that the love of music is what really pushed me to pursue it.
I went from just being an attendee to wanting to promote shows to wanting to throw shows and collaborate with other teams in the region. Now I do all of those and DJ and produce music on top of having a passion for photography as well.
I: It's crazy, around covid is when I submitted my first poem to the predecessor Dead On A Doorstep, called "Mortality" this year it turns 5 years since I wrote it. For so long I mainly kept it to myself and I submitted it on Instagram and showed it to people but not very public. I think post covid and covid era was a different time for most of us, and who would've thought I would be here now doing this.
Z: Precisely, growth is the biggest motivator to keep going and pursue our passions.
I: So this a question I came up with just now, but i'm curious about something if I may ask?
Z: Go for it.
I: We have been talking a lot about our experience, our growth, passion and how you love music and photography.Knowing you have all this love and passion for both music and photography, how do you find a balance to do both ?
Z: Typically photography is seasonal living in the north east states, we typically have pretty frigid winters. So it’s hard to get out during the winter to get photos, especially with a lot of these abandoned places because snow is usually a hard obstacle to deal with. Most of the time, spring through fall photography and music are an almost weekly occurrence for me. There’s so many different teams that are in the region, that there are events every weekend that I could go to. When it comes to finding time for myself to make or organize music, I usually try to dedicate at least 6 to 8 hours a week to spending time in the studio, and work on music whether it’s setting up a set list or working on songs; and finding new music never stops to be honest that’s an everyday occurrence for me
I: Thank you for sharing this. During your time doing this, have you met any interesting people that have had an impression on your artistic pursuits?
Z: That’s a long list to be honest, almost every person I’ve met and collaborated with or simply had really good conversations with, whether it’s the music industry here in Rhode Island or the photography realm so many people have impacted me.
I: Well give us a few...
Z: As far as reiterating my answer, there’s been a handful of people/crews in my life that have impacted me on both the forefront of my artistic pursuits and both aspects of photography and music.
Starting with the music aspect, two of my best friends, Corey Bernardo and Jason Toste, have been essentially the Obi-Wan Kenobi for my music productions.
Both of them have helped point me in the right direction and give me hands-on advice in real time advice as to developing my skill set further while showing me what right looks like.
Others that have impacted me to drive myself to newer heights and take inspiration from a handful of artists and teams here in New England as well. To name a few specifically, crews such as Robot Haus, Rave Revue, & The mutiny are all aspiring teams that bring a lot of energy and new ideas to the community.
As far as photography goes, the person that’s impacted me the most when it comes to photography is my cousin Joel, he’s been the one that I explore with the most, and he’s kind of shown me the way when it comes to exploring abandoned places.
I: I think that's the crazy part of doing a journey for anything. Good or bad, we always have a lot of people that impact us, whether they are still there or not, mines started with my grandmothers’ passing and as time passed by I've met many poets, people I was once close with, some were close but not in contact as much like my best friend Luke, and others who still motivate me to continue with my writing, but when you sit back and see all that have come and gone, and those who came and stayed, all those people combine make a major impact to our life.
Z: Absolutely and if I had to cite them all and give them a shout out you would probably need a whole page. If not two. It really is crazy to look back on though.
I: Do you have any new projects you are working on?
Z: I have a few different projects I'm working on at the moment. Nothing specifically in the photography realm as of right now, although I do have some locations I plan on going to this summer. Some of my current projects are around the music aspect of my life and I have a few songs I’m working on that are in the hard techno genre along with planning a collaborative event for the end of the summer between my team and a couple others.
I: Well I do hope those projects go well and it fills your heart with joy. If you had any advice or words of inspiration in a general sense for people who want to pursue anything, what would it be?
Z: Don’t be afraid to take the first step. There are tons of other people in the same boat as you, and we all start at square one. Don’t be afraid to fail, failing is a part of the process, and it promotes growth. Don’t let anybody negatively influence your passion.
I: Ok thank you very much for your time, and it was a pleasure interviewing you.
Z: Thank you as well. Also shout out my mother for always believing in me, and my best friend Kyle for being an amazing partner in crime throughout our journeys together.