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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.
SubscribeWe recently connected with Amber Maalouf and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Amber thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I think for a long time I was missing this feeling of nostalgia in my work, a playfulness from my youth. It wasn’t nostalgia though, it was missing conceptual control over my work. Mutualism for All – an ongoing body of work brought me back to that creative space for myself. As a professional you tend to be pumping out creativity for other people and it taxes your own work. It’s a difficult balance, especially when you rely on that craft financially. If you start to let that balance go, which I did, you question it all. Mutualism for All has brought me back down to earth.
Mutualism for All is an ongoing body of work showcasing symbiotic relationships between multiple species with bipartisan benefit. Human relationships with animals throughout history have been wrought with despair – from commodity to beasts of burden, and if you’re lucky, companionship. These symbiotic relationships more often than not eliminate one sentient being, becoming parasitic in nature and at times, sadly predatory.
Mutualism for All zeroes in on the human-animal bond that is mutually beneficial and influenced by behaviors essential to the health and well being of both species: emotionally, psychologically and physically. Like the woolly bat and the pitcher plant, oxpeckers and zebras, sharks and remora fish – the human species can choose to aid and benefit from these bonds.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Amber Maalouf and I am an analogue photographer. I have BFA in Fine Art with a concentration on Creative Photography and Alternative Process at California State University, Fullerton. I work under my business name Maalouf Productions, primarily for print and commercial work, but also help companies and individuals rebrand themselves. My own work is best worded by my twin sister – “she has a knack for making people feel at ease enough to capture intimate moments that would otherwise never be documented, she gives people an authentic reflection of themselves because it’s portraiture with emotion.” With that being said – I think the only reason I’ve survived this industry, it is in fact a very hard industry, is because I have a specific audience. Just like portraiture carries emotion – so can commercial work, it can be treated similarly, I’m going with it.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Absolutely! Advancing technology illustrates my resilience! I have studied physical film and development since I was 14 years old. Even out of middle school I was attending after school college photo courses – so much to the point that with my credits I started college before turning 17. When I graduated Instagram had hit the world – and slowly but surely every single person thought they were a photographer – which led to two huge problems – over saturation and the digital era. I was game though, I taught myself the digital sides of things, I even now shoot with a digital medium format camera, but that didn’t solve the over saturation. This term “marketability” started being used which was just a disguised technique measuring popularity – it’s all really perverse. Being hired for your talent is becoming just one small faction – it’s a tough game to play especially when you start to lose interest in who’s playing.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The connection to living things! My work has widened to documenting themes related to human relationships with biodiversity and empathy for all living things. Specifically, I hope to help people recognize that preserving our natural world starts the second you walk out your front door.
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