A Conversation with Aya Brackett

© Aya Brackett

A Cup Of Jo is where I first put the name Aya Brackett with the photographs. I had seen Aya's work in magazines before and admired her sense of light and her gift for observation.
Aya Brackett has been published in many books and numerous publications including Gastronomica, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, The London Telegraph Sunday Magazine, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and Dwell. And she was chosen as PDN's 30 top emerging photographers in 2008. Her work has also been shown in galleries and is in the permanent collection of the Crocker Art Museum.


All Images © Aya Brackett

NP: Tell us a little about yourself:

AB: I was born in 1979 and raised in a traditional Japanese house, off the grid, in the mountains of Northern California. I currently live in Oakland, California. I studied painting as a child and received a degree in Photography and Visual Arts at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in 2001.
My photography draws heavily on an appreciation of still life painting and often incorporates themes of food and the natural world. Deliberate arrangement of the subject matter is often essential to my photography process.




All Images © Aya Brackett

NP: How did you discover photography?

AB: High School freshman year photography class. I loved it from the start. I thought the darkroom was magical and was enchanted by how images would emerge as they developed in the trays. I did a lot of photography which was similar to the still lifes I was painting with my painting teacher at the same time.



All Images © Aya Brackett

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

AB: I am continually interested in how still lifes of food can suggest a greater context and a narrative of human life outside the camera frame. These are not really food shots per se, but still lifes that happen to employ food; the inspiration comes from the objects humans consume and use in their everyday lives. I am moved by how these mundane objects can be evocative cues of domestic life, but are still aesthetically exciting.
But, really, it's also how light interacts with my subject. Light is always my inspiration too.


© Aya Brackett

NP: How do your projects come about?

AB: My projects come from patterns of what I shoot; the things which I am continually drawn towards. Also, from looking through my images and seeing something I am interested in and trying to continue to shoot in a similar way or of similar subjects.



All Images © Aya Brackett

NP: What’s next?

AB: The continuation of my between meals series and also more travel photography.

NP: Thank you so much!

To see more of Aya's work please visit www.ayabrackett.com.