Mitchell Fowler
Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from/where do you live? What do you like to do besides photography?
Hey, my name is Mitchell but most people either call me Fow or Fowfow. I was born and raised in Kelowna. Kelowna has always been my home. It may be cliche but I quite enjoy experiences like traveling or even exploring the Okanagan. Photography is a huge part of my life because I do have a full time job detailing. Any experience that will bring me joy is important for me to take a break from working so much, like a road trip, or flying to Victoria.
When did you first get into photography? When did you start shooting film?
I first got into photography when I was in university. I would leave early to get to school because I live on the other side of town and wanted to avoid the traffic. In the winter months I would be at school for sunrise and sunset and just started capturing images on my phone. Then my parents gifted me a Canon t5i for Christmas which i would end up taking to the Netherlands where I can say was the changing point for me, it is where I fully embraced and pushed to have photography as a big part of my life. I started shooting film about a year and a half ago when my uncle found an old camera in his house and gifted it to me. I instantly fell in love with the medium and have quite the collection of film cameras.
What style of photography are you currently shooting?
The style I am currently shooting and the one I have almost always shot would be portraits. I love the interactions you can have when shooting someone's portrait. Being an introverted person for the most of my life, the conversation you can have with someone is truly remarkable. You get to learn a fair bit about the person. When I do a portrait shoot as well, I will ask the person if there is a style they love or something they love to do which lets me capture people's true self or a side of them they enjoy.
What camera are you currently using the most? What’s your go-to film stock?
Nikon FE2. Kodak Gold 200 is what film stock I shoot with most.
What is your dream camera?
Contax T2 or Leica M series. I enjoy 35mm more than medium format just for the style I shoot and its form factor. I love the results people get with the T2 and have gotten into rangefinders so the M series would just be amazing to have.
Is there a film stock you haven’t gotten the chance to try but really want to?
Cinestill 800 or Portra 160. I have only ever shot with Portra 400
One camera, one film, one location for an entire year. What are they?
Yashica Mat 124G, Portra 400, and Joshua Tree National Park
Is there anyone that has really influenced your work? Either another artist or someone outside of the photography world?
No singular person. I think literature has a major influence on my photography because I used to write a lot of stories when I was younger. As a photographer, I love telling stories with my photography, if it be someone's actual story I am telling or a set that I came up with about someone else.
"I just love how this photo turned out and how I took the photo with a camera, a Nikon F from the 60s, I fully repaired. There is a rewarding feeling when I see this image"
Tell us about Cameras and Coffee YLW! When/how did it come to be? Do you have any future plans for it for 2022?
Cameras and Coffee is a group of creatives in the Okanagan where people meet and talk about everything photography. Anyone close to photography or linked with photography is always welcome. It started in about May 2019, and we haven’t had a meeting in a while because of Covid, and it would be every other Sunday usually. We live in such a technological period in time, especially as visual creators that we lose track of who is in our own community. People have talked to other people in the group for years on places like Instagram but never got to connect. Cameras and Coffee, to me, was a way past the barrier of internet interaction. People admired other peoples work in their community and would want to shoot with them but again never connected. Cameras and Coffee was the place people got to meet other creatives. Then there is the teaching aspect of it. I started it when I had just gotten my 6D Mark ii and I had so much to learn. Youtube helped a lot but the video always ends and there is no tactile learning with youtube. It is merely just a reference or a guideline. The Okanagan has some truly gifted creatives. I wanted to meet people that enjoyed the same things as myself but also wanted to learn from the best and learn from people in my community. Hopefully, we will be having meet ups regularly again. I am starting with that being my small goal and go from there.
Any goals for 2022, photography related or not?
I would love to start to transition from photography being my hobby/ passion to my career.
1-2 songs that you currently have on repeat.
I don’t know if i have just two songs but I have a playlist on my phone with just The Lumineers and I have it on repeat.
