Artist Spotlight: Yan Palmer
Get ready to have all the feels via Instagram this week, y'all. Yan Palmer is taking over Indie Film Lab's feed and "good" doesn't even get close to describing how the Provo, Utah single mom of three captures connections. Her untangling of emotion with images and affection for heartfelt words makes one killer combination.
IFL: How did photography become a part of your life?
YP: I lay in bed broke one night with all the pressure to dig myself and loved ones out of the whole of poorness. That was seven years ago. I advertised for clients before I even owned a camera. It was stupid and highly unrecommended, but it's the truth.
IFL: What/who/where gets you inspired?
YP: The movement of our hearts and how that motion translates into the movement of our physical bodies. I am most inspired by light, wind, grit, softness and truth.
IFL: Why film?
YP: It's the only medium I feel has the ability to capture the soul of the moment in the way I see it.
IFL: If you weren't a photographer, what would you be doing?
YP: I would hopefully have found another medium to give me the all access pass to human interaction that I crave. Otherwise, probably something desperate.
IFL: Do you have a favorite geographical place to shoot?
YP: I like to shoot in places that have meaning to my subjects—somewhere they are connected to personally.
IFL: What's your favorite film stock?
YP: I think this is a silly question—different strokes for different folks. I shoot mostly portra 400 for its versatility. Tri x for the same reason.
IFL: What other art forms or artists are you drawn to?
YP: All of them. Words have my heart.
IFL: Any challenges you find in being a film photographer? Or supporting yourself as an artist?
YP: All the challenges all the time. This isn't an easy gig. I may have called being a film photographer a suicide mission once or twice. The practicality of life vs. art is a struggle as old as time, but they both need each other.
IFL: Favorite moment you've ever captured
YP: Never just one.
IFL: Any gear secrets you're up for sharing?
YP: I think it has little or nothing to do with your gear. Shoot with less—become a master of whatever you have. Your eye will improve faster and you will learn much more about the way that you see.
IFL: Do you travel often for work? What does your everyday look like when not traveling?
YP: I travel almost every other week. In the off weeks I am a full time mom, trying to get my kids outside into the sun or inside of libraries as much as I can.
What makes you feel awesome? Music. Weather. Great food. These moments: Tonight my 5 year old son, while talking to an elderly neighbor woman, reached up and started pressing and jiggling the heavy soft under side of her arms. He smiled with tenderness and said, "They are so soft! There is so much here!" She smiled tenderly back down at him and said, "Yes, yes, there is quite a lot to look at." That was the happiest I felt in a long time.
What makes you dance? Do you dance? Rhythm with a story. I love to dance but sometimes my body just can't hack what i wish it could-so i choreograph in my head often.
More of Yan's (di-Yan-A) work here:
Website – YanPalmer.com Blog – Yan Palmer Blog Instagram – yanpalmer