Today we’d like to introduce you to Oz Billig.
Hi Oz, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was young, I had a passing interest in photography, but it always seemed a bit out of reach. I would forget to bring my cheap point and shoot camera with me, and I didn’t know the first thing about composition or editing, and that interest started to fade. While studying film production and theater in college, I gained a new interest in the craft. After an old family friend passed, I was gifted his old Canon EOS Rebel XT and several lenses that he kept in perfect condition. And I used this old camera until it fully stopped working. I would ask to take pictures of my cosplay, modeling, and actor friends, I would try to do street photography. That old camera was glued to my hip. And after a while of working in the film industry after college, I bought my own Camera; my trusty Nikon d800 that I still use today. I combined my love of photography with my love of cosplay, and primarily focused on cosplay photography. From there I met a ton of incredibly talented people; other photographers, and cosplayers with artistic interests outside of conventions. Because of that latter group of people, I started live music photography, and have been growing in that space ever since.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think that’s a tough one to answer. Any journey into an art form comes with its moments of pride and success and its moments of struggle and uncertainty. Being surrounded by so many incredibly talented artists of different disciplines has made my journey incredibly enjoyable. For me, the biggest struggle is always overcoming the valley of confidence; seeing how far you have progressed, but still seeing how much left there is to learn and overcome to continue improving and growing. It’s so easy to become your own worst enemy as an artist, and put yourself in a rut of not being ‘good enough’, according to your own steep standards.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I would say I have a split specialization between cosplay photography and live music photography. I am known for my use of bright, dynamic colors and moody cinematic shots. More than anything, I am proud of the community and relationships I have been able to foster through photography, becoming part of a local music scene because of my work, or having cosplayers know my photographs by my use of color. For me, its more than just work, its about becoming the biggest fan of the artist I work with and supporting them as much as they support me.
Any big plans?
My goal is to always improve upon my skill sets, try new things, and meet new people. I want to continue to create art with other artists and continue to grow in the community. I have more travel coming up soon, as well as more tour dates with bands, which I am always looking forward to. While I don’t plan on changing my main camera any time soon, I am always worried about it firing its last shot, and the big change that comes with buying a brand new camera body.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @thevikingmedia
