JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

DAVID CORTES: This morning I was running a little late to work so I wasn’t able to make myself my usual scrambled eggs with vegetables and hash browns, so I ate the next best thing… cereal with a glass of orange juice. 

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

DC: I live with my brother and close friend who are both artists who influence my work a lot. I have some friends which have really great work that influences me as well. At the moment, I am trying to get together a group of young photographers which have work that I really support and believe in. My ultimate goal with this group of young artists is to put on an exhibition next summer.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

DC: I wouldn’t say that they are “Heros” of mine, just artists who I respect and admire. Artists like Man Ray, Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, Patrick Tsai, Ryan McGinley, Alexander Binder, Tim Barber, John Clang. There are plenty of other artist’s work which has influenced me. I’m just terrible with remembering names.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

DC: The experience is everything. I can sit in front of a computer screen or with a book in my face for hours looking at image after image but it’s not until I actually go out and shoot that I learn and evolve as an artist.

JC: What is your current project all about?

DC: Right now I have a few projects which I’m working on. I’ve never been one to really plan out everything that I do beforehand. I tend to just have an idea and run with it. I like for things to happen organically, and to leave a little room for spontaneity.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

DC: I’m really not too sure what’s in store for me. I’d like to do a few more exhibitions. I have a lot of work that I’m aching to get out for people to see. I have a few trips planned in the next few months which I’m really looking forward to. I’m just really focused on getting my work out for people to see.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

DC: I think that the approach that the photographer takes to creating the image along with the individual which the photographer is taking a photo of makes a portrait “successful”. Different situations require different approaches, and different people tell different stories.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

DC: Each photograph means something different to me. I really can’t narrow it down to just one emotion, or feeling. In retrospect when I look back on different photos or series of photos it reminds me of a different point in my life. A span of a few hours, days, months, or even years where I was trying to figure something out, or convey a certain message.