I Travel in Reality and Fantasy

Featuring Mia Song Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Mia Song is a photographer based in New York who focuses on fashion campaigns and personal projects in which she presents an angle of view on the people and occurrences in her surroundings while traveling and exploring. Originally coming from Northeast China, Mia brings a sharp eye for cultural aspects while capturing people’s emotions genuine, spontaneous in the circumstances we might not find ourselves in. Her photography is about people, streetlife, carefully interwoven into a dreamlike picture reminiscent of the way the lines of poetry are written to convey a certain feeling in a world created by the poet.

We discuss her three projects, CUB, HOLLOW, and HOVERING, each dealing with a certain subject of interest with a thread that connects between the narratives of discovering about the connection of the person and the merge of his existence to the world. Mia tells about her grandfather and shares a memory from her childhood, her hometown, which lingers with her throughout the years.

‘I was always with my grandpa before the age of 10, he is a painter, most of the time, we were drawing and reading picture-story books together.’

Hi Mia, thank you for the interview! How is it going today?

Thank you! As usual :) Just relaxing. 

Tell about yourself, your preferences in photography?

Free people. Emotions and memory.

What about your childhood? Where did you grow up?

Such a warm question. I was always with my grandpa before the age of 10, he is a painter, most of the time, we were drawing and reading picture-story books together. I was immersed in it. Even now, I always think of that golden room full of paintings, paper, and book smells, the wind raising the curtain up.

It’s in Northeast China, which is always colder than in other places. In winter it is freezing. There is still some Russian style architecture left, a few Russians lives there. The people's lifestyle though is German. 

What’s the brightest experience or memory you can share with us? 

It was an indigo night in Hawaii, around 8 pm or something. We were driving around the hill, suddenly stopped by an unknown seaside, nobody was there. My friend forgot to turn off the headlights, then I saw a white light floating over the sea-level in the dark wet air with a breeze, like a real dream.

‘The latest was about Andrei Tarkovsky's films and One Hundred Years of Solitude. I always do two together. I travel in reality and fantasy.’

How do you usually prepare for the shoot when you work on a commercial project? What are the most important steps for you to take before the actual shooting day?

I research related things, try to understand it objectively and give my own perspective. 

Be relaxed and peaceful. 

Do you like reading? What was the last book you've read about?

Love it. Especially photo books. The latest was about Andrei Tarkovsky's films and One Hundred Years of Solitude. I always do two together. I travel in reality and fantasy.

Tell us about your usual weekends. Where do you spend your time, and what do you love doing?

Streets, book stores, and indie cinemas, I enjoy learning from them a lot. Especially the real life on the streets. 

What is, in your opinion, the hardest part of being a photographer today in NY?

Don’t lose yourself.

What would be your advice to young photographers searching for their first commercial shoot? Is the best approach to communicate via DMs on Instagram or finding a client through offline networking? 

DM is not a good idea, I guess.

Let’s talk about your personal projects, the latest one being CUB. What is the main idea behind the series? Tell about the decision for the format that is constructed from the photographs and a poem presenting the work.  

It’s more like a kind of emotion I didn't realize then just could tell it by the means of a photo. Medium format is convenient and also of high quality. It could be anything, a poem, was just something I did at that moment.

The series HOLLOW has been shot as impressions from a trip. Tell about the locations you’ve visited, and what have you learned from this experience? 

It was a long vacation, I started from Paris, Versailles, then Amsterdam, Berlin, Milano, Venice, Roma, Santorini, Athens, then back to Paris. That was the first time I was so clear about what I wanted, and I understood myself better.

‘Here's a thing I feel when you shoot people, the photos are showing exactly their reaction to you. It's like chemistry.’

HOVERING features more portraits than other series and is slightly darker with the atmosphere created. How did you shoot the project, and what was the main theme you wanted to create with the close-ups?

I shot it on a large format 4x5 camera, 2-3 shots at once. Here's a thing I feel when you shoot people, the photos are showing exactly their reaction to you. It's like chemistry. 

What’s the best part of your profession? 

Photography saved me.

What’s your favorite food or dish? 

Lobster roll.

What's next? 

I’m planning a long term journey again, haven’t done that in a while, but right now I'm in NYC, this is a permanent vacation.