Redeye's Jo Slack spoke to Hollie Myles, Photography Editor of Intern Magazine, to find out a little bit about her role at the magazine, and what she looks for in new work.
Tell us a little bit about how you got involved with Intern Magazine
I had known Alec for a while just through a part time job that we worked at together and we both had a shared interest in photography. Whilst I was living in Leeds and working at Village, Alec approached me with the idea for the magazine knowing of my background in photography and I jumped at the chance to be involved in such an interesting and relevant publication, so we started working on the launch issue 0 together.
You're currently Photography Editor for Intern, what does your role entail?
My role at Intern involves a few different strands – for each issue we put out an open call so firstly I look through the photography submissions that we receive and from that select work and photographers that catch my eye. Then I start to look at what (from that selection) will work best as showcases, features or commissions. I also look at which photographers from the submissions would work well in collaborating with other features in the magazine and work with Alec on teaming these up. Once shoots come back, I then go through them and select which images work best for each feature and generally look over all the photography included in the publication.
What do you look for in new photography? What catches your eye?
In new work I like to look for things that are a bit different, work that isn’t just following the trends within that medium at the time as it can all start to look a bit similar. I like interesting concepts and narratives and photographers that incorporate other genres and mediums into their practice and experiment with it, not just in the making stage but also in the printing and presentation of their work.
Where do you look for new photography?
As I mentioned before for each new issue we hold an open call for submissions, so a lot of the photographers we use in the publication are found through that. Outside of that, Instagram has recently become a very useful source in finding new photographers and interesting work; we actually did a feature about photographers using Instagram in issue three. Also some other online databases that are run by submissions are great for showcasing emerging photographers work. I also like to try and go to quite a few graduate exhibitions to find new work.
What photographers/artists are you excited about right now?
There’s so many artists and photographers that I’m following and get excited about, in fashion for instance Tanya and Zhenya Posternak are a great photography team. Also people like Jamie Hawkesworth whose work combines editorial and documentary so beautifully. Photographers like Hannah Farrell and Sara Cwynars whose work involves ideas around installation, archive and photography. In terms of artists there is some great work coming from small studios and collectives in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow.
What advice would you give to new photographers trying to get their work seen?
I would say the biggest thing is to make yourself visible; it's an industry that is so in flux at the moment, so getting yourself out there and how you present yourself is so important. Make yourself a good, clean simple website that is easy to navigate and see your work, go to events, network and use the contacts you have and make through these events. Also collaboration is a great way to get your work noticed and to be able to be involved with bigger projects.
Hollie Myles is one of the guest panellists at our next critique surgery. All sessions are now sold out. If you would like to be added to the waiting list email our events programmer, Charlie Booth. Keep an eye on the website for updates on the next critique session.
Image at the top by Barnaby Kent, featured on the Intern Magazine website.