Renée Robyn on Global News Morning

Interview Highlights:

Congratulations, how did the nomination come about?
The contest goes on every single year and I’ve seen over the years a lot of friends enter it… Eventually I just kind of thought well if all these other people are entering why don’t I just enter one of these times. I kinda elbowed my partner around two in the morning on the last 24 hours you could enter the contest and said do you think we should do this? He said oh, I don’t know. We’ve never done it before let’s just try. I entered five images and I was watching and watching it one image gets kicked out and then the next one and the next one, thinking this might be it. Then we woke up one day and both of us had an email in our inbox that we’d both made Team Canada.

So how would you describe the photography that you do, it’s very original?
I mean it’s basically . . . like the definition of a kid that grew up on the video game and fantasy novels. I do a lot of work that looks like video game art but without the 3D elements.

The two photos that have been selected, talk a little bit about them? The one in the ice castle is breathtaking.
There’s a woman wearing a beautiful custom dress from the Netherlands. I was over there with some friends doing some photography. I came home and photographed the ice castles that used to be here. . . I just composited them all together to make this snowy ice queen scenario.

So what does winning this competition mean to you if you do win?
I think this is going to be a whole bunch of breathing into the paper bag. I probably won’t believe it. . . I don’t enter a lot of contests and I don’t enter them assuming I’m going to win anything because judging especially in that world is very subjective and so I just kind of let go of the reins, I just let go of all the illusions of control and whatever is gonna happen will happen. Fingers crossed, I will be stoked if I make top 10 – I will be happy with that.

I have a question about the post production of the photo? . . . Some of them have added elements . . . do you add that in yourself?
Yes, so I do all the digital art, I do all the photography as well so all the elements in the images. I’ve gone around the world and photographed all the elements myself and then. . . it’s like a digital version of cut-and-paste when you were a kid . . . but in photoshop.

So after all of this excitement is over what’s next?
I am working on my first art book right now I’m actually working on two simultaneously but the first one I’m hoping the kickstarter will launch over the summer. There’s a sign up form on my website if people want to stay notified and follow along with the absolute chaos that this project has been.

Amazing. Definitely follow along because this absolute chaos is beauty so thank you so much for coming in this morning Renee, and good luck to you, we are cheering for you.