Tai-Lin Michon
Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from? What do you like to do besides photography?
My name is Tai-Lin Michon. I am 22 years old. I live in Kelowna, BC. I like to go camping, go on hikes and go on road trips. Recently, I’ve been really loving going for neighbourhood walks. Basically, I love to be outside.
When did you first get into photography? When did you start shooting film?
I first got into photography about 10 years ago. I started shooting digital. Then I got started in film photography later on when my sister snuck me into her high school film photography class. I would hide in the darkroom and watch her develop film. I would print some of her photos on tiny strips of photo paper and watch her put her photos through the chemicals. I remember once she let me do one full size photo all by myself (pick the photo, use the enlarger, and use all of the chemicals) and I felt like the coolest person ever. Then she bought me my first film camera for my birthday. It was the Minolta SRT101.
What camera are you currently using the most? What’s your go-to film stock?
I’m mostly going between my Mamiya RZ67 and my Mamiya 7ii. I use the RZ for portraits and my M7ii as my carry around camera if I’m going out for a walk. My go-to film is Portra 400.
What style of photography are you currently shooting? What style of photography do you find yourself drawn to? Is there something you would like to start shooting?
I’d say I shoot about 50% portraits and 50% landscape/nature. I would love to try some street photography. It’s a style that is out of my comfort zone. I’ve really been loving Joe Greer’s (@ioestreet) street photography recently and it’s been making me want to give it a shot (no pun intended). He started sharing some night street photography where he uses a flash. I think it would be really cool to work up to that kind of thing with his level of confidence.
"This photo was taken on the Mamiya 7ii on Kodak Portra 400. My sister and I took a day trip to Merritt to buy a camera lens. We stopped at a little pond just off the highway that we always see when we drive by. This photo is part of a series we do called #TwinLensReflex. She takes a photo of me while I take a photo of her. I just really love the colours in this photo. I really love the colour of her Patagonia sweater against the green background. I think the Pentax with the wooden grip is just a cherry on top. The memories, the colours, the camera, I just love everything about this photo."
What’s your dream camera?
The Leica M6.
Is there a film stock you haven’t gotten the chance to try but really want to?
I would love to try out some expired slide film. Or just any expired film really.
One camera, one film, one location for an entire year. What are they?
Mamiya 7ii with Portra 400 in either Ireland or Scotland.
3 must haves for a creative photoshoot (besides film and a camera)
A Sharpie marker to label my film. Once I shot 4 rolls of Portra, all at different ISOs and I couldn’t remember which one was which. I ended up splitting them up in 4 different pockets and tried to memorize which pocket had what. Would not recommend. Now I always bring a sharpie.
A water bottle.
And a stool. I use the same stool for basically 99% of my photoshoots.
Is there anyone that has really influenced your work? Either another artist/photographer or someone outside of the ‘creative’ world?
Rosie Matheson’s (@rosie_matheson) portrait work has really influenced my work recently. She’s partly the reason why I decided to try out the RZ. Also, I’ve always really loved Joe Greer’s work. I love his personality and his outlook on life and photography. He also seems to be able to take photos of the simplest things, like his own shadow or a drain pipe, and make it look so good.
What’s a word of advice you would give someone who wants to get into portrait photography?
Look at other photographers' work that you love and study it. It doesn’t even have to be a portrait photographer. Find out what it is about that photographer’s work or specific photo that you love and what you would have done differently if you took the photo yourself.
Also, Pinterest boards and Youtube videos help a lot too.
Goals for this year?
I’ve been wanting to learn how to sync my Mamiya with a flash and shoot it in studio. I think it would be a good challenge to learn different flash setups and learn some of the technical stuff. I would also like to shoot some more Super8 and try out some street photography.
1-2 songs that you currently have on repeat.
chinatown by Bleachers ft. Bruce Springsteen.
I’m Not For Everyone by Brothers Osborne.
Any closing statements or messages you want to send to readers?
Stay safe! Be kind to one another!
