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Andrew Friendly is a photographer based between Los Angeles and New York with a focus on capturing the intricacies of the world as we see it (and don’t see it). He uses genre – whether it be fashion or documentary – as a vehicle to tell cohesive stories with the intention to challenge his viewers to think and feel deeper. He always shoots from the heart, attempting to find the story within the story.
In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
Nature is everything. I am not separate from it; it is not separate from me. It inspires my work in every possible way that my finite human brain can imagine. Particularly when it comes to fashion or portraiture and a subject is struggling to move or pose, I will simply ask them, What would a tree do?
What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
The only way for me to answer this question properly is to quote American mycologist Paul Stamets, who sums it all up perfectly: “If we don’t get our act together and come in commonality and understanding with organisms that sustain us today, not only will we destroy those organisms, but we will destroy ourselves…The fact that we lack the language skills to communicate with nature does not impugn the concept that nature is intelligent. It speaks to our inadequacy for communication.”
