Becoming a better photographer can be as simple as being one’s self. Bryan Derballa, a New York photographer by way of California and North Carolina, is just that. His blog Lovebryan, is a collaborative project that he uses to bridge the gap between his new home Brooklyn, and his previous ones. The best part is that it’s rarely about the photography. Instead, it touches on the important things that lie in front of the lens, not behind it. Bryan was kind enough to answer some questions for us about where Lovebryan came from, it’s purpose and his own feelings on collaboration.
So what is Lovebryan?
Lovebryan is a website supported by a group of friends. It consists of an incomplete, inaccurate, completely subjective, sometimes humorous, often self-indulgent, and usually enjoyable record of life through photos. I always like to stress that it’s not about photography, it’s about life. We simply use pictures to express it. Don’t expect to find metadata or film types at the bottom of a post. Hopefully you’ll find a hint of soul instead.
When did you launch Lovebryan?
I started Lovebryan in the beginning of 2006. I was in the midst of traveling and a post-collegiate love affair with my friends. I started the site as a place for all of us to share our experiences. I wanted it to be more personal and intimate than a Blogspot or a Flickr. It’s evolved plenty since 2006 because we’ve all grown a lot. And looking back now, it was a pretty rocky start.
© Bryan Derballa
Who are your contributors?
There are seven full-time contributors. Sandy Kim is the blood of San Francisco. Mike Belleme runs North Carolina with a thoughtful eye. Danilo Parra is a vessel of pure creativity regardless of the medium. Pat Parra is engaged in an ongoing, psychic battle with love and sexuality. Brett Nelson is a southern troubadour with his soul on fire. Sara Lafleur is an expat archaeologist with lots of heart. I’m just the dude with his name in the URL.
What is your relationship to your contributors?
Everyone on Lovebryan is a friend. Friends of mine and friends of each other. That’s the primary stipulation for a contributor. Some are professional photographers and some are musicians. But everyone is handy enough with a camera to put together an interesting post. There are plenty of good photographers with interesting lives, but over the years I realized that having a community aspect was the most important.
It always warms my heart to see the contributors commenting on each others’ posts. If all the readers suddenly decided Lovebryan was complete garbage, the contributors would still be there to support each other and keep it worthwhile. I love that.
The photography industry seems to be mostly populated with lone wolves. While many photographers keep a personal blog, why did you decide to take the collaborative approach?
We started this as a group because it just felt natural. I certainly don’t like to eat dinner alone. Putting your life on the Internet is self-indulgent enough as it is; adding your friends diffuses the attention a little. And over time, I realized how difficult it can be to keep a blog updated week after week, month after month, year after year. It’s nice to have a group of people to pick up the slack when I can’t. It also works as a source of inspiration for all of us. We see what everyone else is doing and it makes us want to create something.
© Bryan Derballa
What can photographers learn from collaboration and sharing?
Collaborating and sharing has been essential to my growth as a photographer — particularly with Lovebryan and A Photo A Day. I don’t know if it would benefit everyone, but I don’t see why not. We share feedback, criticism, technique, concepts, everything. But the inspiration is the most important. Seeing others create instills the feeling that I can do that as well.
You’ve got strong California roots, care to talk about keeping those while making the move to NYC a few years ago?
© Bryan Derballa
Lovebryan started when I lived in San Francisco. It was partially meant to be a bridge between SF and North Carolina where I was raised. I wanted to combine those two worlds, and to some extent we did. Then I moved to NYC three years ago and added another dimension. Moving to New York was a huge push in my work. I shot photos in SF but it wasn’t until shortly after I moved that I began to eat, drink and breathe photography. Now it’s my livelihood and that’s represented on Lovebryan. Some of the other contributors have followed suit in their own ways.
Do you have any plans to expand the website, incorporate other mediums?
We don’t really have any plans to expand right now. It is what it is, and I like keeping it simple. I’m so focused on expanding my career in different avenues, that, for my own sanity, Lovebryan needs to remain a fun, personal project. But if any of the others come up with a great idea, that could all change in an instant. Danilo wants to print a Lovebryan book, but I’m not sold on that yet. Maybe in another 16 years.
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