Friday Art Star: Tyler Sharp

My name is Tyler Sharp, but some call me Johnny Funk. Apart from photographic pursuits, I enjoy Shaolin Kung Fu, literature, lucid dreaming, meditation, and thunderstorms. I’ve lived in Texas most of my life, but had stints in Kansas, California, Missouri, and Tanzania. I graduated from the University of Southern California, where I studied photography, video, philosophy, psychology, and Italian. Since then I have been doing a lot of freelance photography and video in various countries, and am currently planning a documentary on anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania. I have participated in both of La Reunion’s past tree carving events, and Art Conspiracy the last two years. I look forward to spending more time at home here in Dallas.

When and how did you become interested in photography?

I first started image making when I was a child, where scribbling, doodling, and drawing evolved into calligraphy, illustration, and poetry. In high school I was introduced to the limitless possibilities of digital technologies, and I never looked back. I became a lot more serious about photography in college, where I learned large format photography, compositing, experimental printing and projection. I explored video and sound design, and worked with musicians to create experiential art pieces. I have always been a very visual person, and my world has been shaped by the images that others have created, as well as the ones I have.

What gear do you mainly use?

I shoot stills with a Nikon D3, and Nikon lenses, as they seem to have the best glass. It’s a very intuitive system, and the image quality is outstanding. For video, I shoot with Canon XH-A1′s, and XL-H1′s, but have had some trouble with tapes skipping in extreme temperature and dust conditions, so I am looking to switch to a P2 system, or another solid-state media. I have learned a few hard lessons losing digital media during international travel, so I try to keep multiple backups in different locations, for both photo and video (key word is try).

Many times photographers find themselves with a full schedule of paying gigs, and end up with little time for doing the work they truly love. Do you struggle with finding time for your personal work?

It seems that there are very few of us who are blessed to be able to work on exactly what we want all of the time, and so a certain element of patience is required for me. I literally have notebooks full of ideas, inspirations, and projects that I want to do, and hopefully I will get to all of them at some point or another. I am shooting video full time for various outdoor expeditions, and sometimes I find it very difficult to want to pick up a different camera at the end of the day to shoot my own stuff. Many times I am so exhausted from jet lag, 4 am wake ups, treks and production meetings that I don’t even want to shoot. I sometimes have to force myself to shoot, as I know that being in such an exotic location is a rare and valuable gift, and I need to take advantage of it. Not the most ideal of shooting conditions, but I have done my best to document these places, and create unique images.

A lot of this comes through in my writing, which I do more of than anything, and allows me to fill the void where I lacked in time or inspiration to shoot for myself. That being said, I am currently taking some time for myself to sort a lot of this material out, and try to comprehend what it is that I have on my hands, and what direction I should take from here. I have been gathering my strength and planning, and now I am mounting an offensive.

What inspires you?

People are definitely my main source of inspiration. In my travels I have met people from most walks of life, religions, and backgrounds, and they have never ceased to show me kindness and sincerity. I have met drought and rape victims, families ravaged by war and terrorism, people who had their farms re-possessed and their kin murdered, and all of them showed me hospitality and grace, invited me into their homes, served me tea, or inquired about my life, family, and homeland. The human condition is sometimes a brutal one, but it is something that we all share, and I have seen unmatched strength in the smiles and laughter of those who’ve faced such tragedy and adversity.

You can travel halfway across the world to a totally different culture, and find that we all have the same problems, dreams, doubts, and triumphs. Seeing all of this has brought me closer to many of my friends, family, neighbors, daily acquaintances, and even total strangers. Despite how different or isolated we may seem at times, we are actually all relatively the same, and this realization has allowed me to connect with more people, and share genuine, intimate moments with them.

What is your favorite genre to shoot?

I would have to say travel documentary, if that is a genre, as it seems to bring the most serendipitous adventures to surface for me. The travel could be as minimal as an adjacent neighborhood, but I have found that if you approach a destination with an open mind and eye, you usually find some wonderful surprises. There have been so many times that I have wandered aimlessly through the streets or villages of wherever, and the chance encounters and happenings I stumbled upon could’ve never been planned. I usually just try to seek friendship and culture, and sometimes I am welcomed into homes, invited to meals or family celebrations, and shown intimate moments that I can then document with my camera. I was actually invited to a young man’s wedding on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border in this way, which is happening right now, but I respectfully declined for a number of reasons (his village and family were all Freedom Fighters).

But there have also been many cases where someone saw that I had a camera, and just ran up to me with a huge smile, and wanted me to photograph them. I love these impromptu street shoots in foreign places, where no one speaks the same language, and has to use gestures. It is a very rewarding experience, and I have sent images and prints to many of the characters I have met along the way.

Do you have any upcoming shows or events you want our readers to know about?

I am currently planning a show with my long time friends Kevin Obregon and Vanessa Neil at their space, Cube Creative, but we don’t have a formal date set yet. It will most likely be in the next few months, so keep your ears perked for that. I have a massive archive of images from some 15 odd countries that I have visited in the last year, and I am trying to edit and consolidate all of this into a cohesive and articulate group of images and video. For now though, if you are interested, I have a number of short stories and photo essays posted on my blog here: www.tylersharpphotography.com/blog.html

What is one thing you feel makes your style or your work unique?

I would have to say a major part is the unique experiences that I’ve had. So much of photography is being in the right place in the right light, and I have been blessed with a number of these coincidences, and was rewarded with some great images. Being able to go to places like Pakistan, Russia, Kashmir and Zimbabwe has provided me with photographic opportunities that most would never be able to experience, and that in itself is a factor.

Other than that, I believe we all have a subjective experience of reality, and we all see the same thing differently. There have been times where I was crawling on the ground, lying under a camel, scaling a tree, hanging off a train, or shuffling my feet in the dust, and the people around me thought I was crazy. But when they saw the image, they would usually say, “why didn’t I think of that.” It is our habits, quirks, tendencies and compulsions that make us all do what we do, and see things the way we do, and that makes us all, and the images we make, unique.

Samples of Tyler Sharp’s work