James Bernal

Name: James Bernal

City: Currently, Miami

Birthplace: Miami

Artistic Medium: Photography, both 35mm and Medium Format

How did you get started? Like many people, I started the moment I got my first camera. At 15, my father gave me the first SLR he bought when he moved to the US. I only really started to get interested when I got into college and took a history of photography course. After sitting in a dark classroom looking at slides of photographic work produced over the course of the last century, I would always leave the class with my daily dosage of inspiration and I made it a point to take my camera with me everywhere I went.

Who or what are your influences? Mostly, it's been Garry Winogrand, Helen Levitt, Walker Evans, and Bill Eggleston. Their approach to photographing the world around them and the people who inhabit it has always resonated with me. All these artists understood that you did not have to travel too far down the block from where you live to find something worth photographing. Growing up in the strip-mall dotted suburbs of South Florida, I learned to appreciate the photographic qualities of that setting and make the most of what I had to work with.

What inspires your work? I'm inspired by two things mainly. The first is beautiful light and the way it lights up everyday scenes. The second is people just, doing what they do. I like photographs that show me, "Hey, these are human beings, and they're alive."

How does Miami/South Florida influence your work? Growing up in Miami, I became so used to all my photographs having palm trees or cars or houses in the background that it instilled in me a type of reverse-influence where I try to point my camera away from anything quintessentially "Miami."

How would you describe your work? Untitled scenes from the real world.

What has been the most unusual reaction to your work from the public? "I don't get it, why are all the heads chopped off?"

What would you like to achieve as an artist? Honestly, I just want to continue photographing until I'm senile. Living an interesting life that allows me to travel and photograph simultaneously would be a plus.

Upcoming shows: Nothing concrete yet, but I'll let you know once we get more details!

Where is your work available? On my website! www.jamesbernal.com.