Meet Tara Juno Rowse.
Let us introduce you to the wizard behind the camera, our friend Tara.
Hello! I’m Tara, a photographer based between London and Barcelona. Working across analogue and digital, I shoot a mixture of portraiture & documentary photography as well as commercial work. I circled around the photography industry for a few good years - a gallery, an agency, setting up Faces in Focus, assisting other photographers - before taking the plunge in September 2019 and getting behind the lens.
What got you into photography?
Before photography I was studying Art and Design, making terrible charcoal drawings and wondering what would become of my so-called future in the arts. This questioning (and frustration) led me to buy my first film camera, a Pentax spotmatic - clunky, analogue, totally manual - and I began to take (again, quite terrible) photographs in the street on black and white film and process them in the darkroom with a brilliant technician from Leeds called Pete. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight (photography, not Pete) but my relationship with photography has been a slow burn: passionate, challenging and ever-improving..
Where do you draw your inspiration from/What are your influences?
I hate feeling stagnant so for me, it’s important to keep moving: to keep noticing the contrast in life between different places, cities, the light at different times of day. Keep moving, keep taking photos and keep inspired. Barcelona is a big inspiration right now. I love the light, the smells, the pace. I love feeling new and learning each day. Living and working there helps me fill up my cup of inspiration, contrast and newness helping the creative juices flow.
In terms of influences, I tend to hark back to the old maestros of the 50s and 60s… Saul Leiter, Diane Arbus, William Klein, Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerwitz, Don McCullin, just to name a few of my favourites.
How did you end up in Barcelona?
Went on a whim thinking I’d be there for a month… Its now been 2 and a half years. Beautiful light, especially in the winter, exciting new landscape to explore, cheap beer - it’s a hard place to leave..
What’s your favourite part about being a photographer?
I think it gives me a heightened awareness while exploring the world: the way light reflects off a puddle, steam rising from a coffee on a cold morning, a tender moment between two elderly people holding hands, I just think it makes me look, observe and feel a desire to capture these moments. Or maybe I’m just nosey?
Tell us about your collaboration with Studio Bamba?
Studio Bamba are a graphic design & art direction duo based between Barcelona and Buenos Aires. When I arrived in Barcelona, Paula (one half of Studio Bamba) became a close friend and we’ve been collaborating together ever since. Having art direction while shooting and then working together on the editorial layout of the story really elevates the photographs and is a vital part of the process. Also I hate cropping my own photos but Paula has the eagle eye and knows when something needs a good crop!
