Digital Wedding Forum - Wedding photography's home on the web.

Location - DC, Chicago, Worldwide
Business Name - SOTA Dzine Inc.
Years in Business - 14 Years, 9 Shooting Weddings
Website - http://www.sotadzine.com
Blog - http://www.overexposedblog.com
PM - Contact Nicole

DWF - Let's start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.

NICOLE - I am a fisherman's daughter born and raised with a love for the sea and salt water in my veins. I come from a small island called Grand Manan off the coast of New Brunswick Canada. I graduated high school with 19 people and I was related to half of them. I went to undergrad and grad school for photography but definitely believe that talent is innate and not learned. I love horror movies and I hate romantic comedies. I have two tattoos and I hope to get more. My mom and dad ride a Harley at 65 years old and I only wish I was that cool. I have a dog named Lola who I think is half frog. I have a husband named Brad who I think is rad. My Grandfather is the most amazing person I have ever known. I eat cereal twice a day. My dream vacation would be to travel to Iceland. I am obsessed with the Muppets. If I ever met Johnny Depp, I am positive that I would pee my pants from excitement.

DWF - How did you become a wedding photographer?

NICOLE - I am one of three photographers that make up SOTA Dzine. My husband Brad, business partner Jeremy and I started SOTA back in 2001 as a commercial photography and design studio. Wedding photography was something we had zero ambitions of doing but saw a huge need for something different. At that time there were very few photographers shooting anything stylized. Journalism had just started to break through but very few photographers were taking an editorial approach to wedding photography. We saw an opportunity and jumped on it, creating work that was fresh and innovative and approaching a wedding the way we tackle a commercial shoot.

DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?

NICOLE - Wow, that is a tough question because it is so diverse for me. My husband inspires me, he is the type of artist that excels in every medium. He can paint, draw, photograph, design, sculpt, everything he touches turns to gold. He is someone who never compromises in his art. He creates work that inspires others because it is always cutting edge. He is driven by other creative people, but always comes up with a new approach on his own and he pushes himself to places with his art that is incredibly moving. I am also a big believer in knowing where you came from as an artist. I think as photographers it is important for us to know who paved the way. Kertesz, Avedon, Paolo Roversi, Lee Frielander, Andy Warhol are just a few who nourish me.

DWF- If we needed a photographer today why would we book you? What makes you unique?

NICOLE - I try to commit to each photograph I take, knowing that it will never be my best work. If you are always reaching as a photographer, to push the limits of your creative self, then you will always possess a vulnerability in your work that keeps it fresh. I think in relation to wedding photography this is incredibly important. I think it can be really easy to become stale and do the same thing over and over again. The more we push ourselves, the better our work will be for our clients and we owe that to them! I think Cecil Beaton said it best - " Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers. the creatures of the commonplace. the slaves of the ordinary."

DWF- If you had to pick a favorite "Tool of the Trade" what would it be? and why?

NICOLE - My favorite tool of the trade is my travel journal. It is what holds a lot of my creative inspiration and ideas. When I travel I allow myself time to explore new ideas, photograph landscapes, people, light, that I can then translate into a story for my weddings. As cheesy as this sounds, it helps the juices to flow and keeps me thinking. As far as camera equipment is concerned: 50mm 1.4 lens, my D3, my lomo, and my Contax 645 AF.

DWF - Care to share your favorite photograph? and tell us a bit about it?

NICOLE - 2008 was a great year in photographs for us. This really had to do with the fact that we had clients who trusted us 100%. We were so blessed to work with people who understood where we wanted to go with the work and who were excited to embark on that journey. This led to images that went beyond our expectations and pushed us to dig deep and generate ideas that made for some incredible photographs.

DWF - How about some final words to live by?

NICOLE - My photography is me, everything i am and it's everything I'm not. it's my weakness and my strengths. my self-confidence and esteem. my past, present and most definitely my future. my photography is where I'm going. where I've been, places i shouldn't have been. gone and shouldn't go. it's everything, it's my inspiration, my generation and it's never finished. never done, always a work in progress. it's everything I've ever seen, heard, touch, smelled, sensed and believed and my worst fears and all my hopes at the same time. it's the beginning of the beginning and the end of an era.. and so much more than a phase. it's my photography and describing it is describing me.