Mark Rubenstein creates beautiful photographic images of young women in an autobiographical series about youth, beauty, and transition. His work has been widely published, he's been featured in Juxtapoz, Frank151, and elsewhere, and his fashion photography skills are in high demand worldwide. He lives in Los Angeles, and we recently got the chance to ask him a few questions as well as present a gallery of his work at the end of this interview.
What's your favorite taco?
My favorite taco spot as of late is El Siete Mares in Silver Lake. I pretty much eat there daily. I spend alot of time in Highland park as well so I also frequent Taquerias El Atacor #11.
What brought you to Los Angeles, and what keeps you here?
I lived in New York for many years, and made the move to LA six years ago. I've spent the last decade working behind the scenes in the art world. By the end I felt extremely burnt out and in search of something more. Los Angeles had always been a place that inspired me and most of my friends made the transition to move there before me. I decided it was time to make a dramatic change, I sold everything I had and came to LA with a backpack in hand.
The landscape of California inspires me daily, it has made a huge impact on my work. I travel around most parts of Southern California to capture the body of work I produce. I spent my early career as a photographer using artificial light. Seeing the golden glow of Los Angeles motivated me to start shooting using available natural light. This city has transformed my life, I could not be more happy being apart of the community here.
Which neighborhood do you live in, and which is your favorite part of LA? What are some of your favorite hidden corners of the city?
I currently live in Silver Lake, there are so many great spots all over, I think every part of this city has something to offer. I like going to Westlake, Langer's is my favorite delicatessen in the city.
What is the most difficult part about creating these images? Do you often know you've got something right "in camera" or do you discover your own success/failure later in the process?
Creating these images is a arduous process, a lot of time is spent on pre-production of the work. These images are about the idea of youth and the transition into adulthood. They are autobiographical of my life, I take it very seriously when I decide to create an image. It's important to me to produce something that has meaning. I think that is where the difficulty lies, I want to make sure the image has validity before I decide to take it. Establishing a dialogue with a viewer is important to me as a photographer. Success is hard to gauge, I feel most successful on a shoot when I feel all the elements I have worked so hard to put together converge in my lens.
Do you have a lucky number?
I've always found myself to bet on any even number, unfortunately it doesn't work out all the time.
Where can people find/buy your work?
You can purchase my new book " Gone by Dawn" in Los Angeles at Hemingway & Pickett and Opening Ceremony. I just released a new project with my friend Peele Lemos. The zine is called "Every Hangover Is A Big Bang". It was produced exclusively for the LA Art Book Fair. It is available through our publishing company " The Wooden Table Press"
http://thewoodentablepress.tumblr.com/
People interested in purchasing prints can contact me at rubensteinphotography@gmail.com
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Find Mark here: http://markrubenstein.tumblr.com/ or as @guchtravels on Instagram.
