The interviews are conducted by VB Contemporary's director, Vian Borchert. Besides being a multidisciplinary noted international artist. Borchert has been a writer and art critic for over a decade contributing with art articles in a national online newspaper within the U.S.A. Borchert gets called upon to cover and write reviews for major retrospectives and exhibitions in world-class American museums. Borchert is also the Art Lead / curator of the art segment for "Oxford Public Philosophy Journal" for the Turn 5 issue - "Oxford Public Philosophy" is a philosophy journal based at Oxford University, UK. The journal is a space for critically questioning what philosophy is and how we're doing it, in form and content. 

Interview with Victor Griffin

Photo of artist Victor Griffin
About the artist: Victor Griffin is a British fine art photographer who specializes in flower and botanical photography. Griffin spent his adult life until 2019 in the medical field where he worked with medical imaging devices in technical, educational and commercial roles. Now retired, photography has become Griffin's main focus. Griffin's specialty is nature and specifically flora.
Tell us about your "Beginnings", how did you start your artistic journey? How did your childhood influence your creative career path? And, how is your beginnings / childhood "Reflective" within your work I belong to what’s referred to as the boomer generation, In the cities and towns not too far from my childhood home, there was a considerable amount of destruction of fine architecture as a result of repeated heavy bombing raids during WWII. I observed as the local town was cleared of rubble and rebuilt and I was definitely fascinated by the process even though the brutalist replacement buildings clashed with the surviving medieval architectural style of that town. All of this was recorded on rolls of 120 film by the photo journalists of the day - of course, seeing those photographs in print at the time sparked a yearning for a camera. I was hooked. Most of my working life was spent associated with medical imaging. I’m now retired and free from the constraints of a strict working environment, photography provides me the opportunity to express my creativity through the lens of a camera.
Image of artwork Iris #1
Walk us through your day from morning till evening along with your creative process? What does a day for "Victor Griffin" look like? Where do you find inspiration in the area by which you reside? And, What does "Spring" mean to you? Let us know what is your favorite flower or plant? A typical “creative" day for me will begin sitting at my computer in my home studio editing and re-editing my recent photographs. This exercise is a large part of my creative process, it focuses my mind on what I want to achieve and how I might improve my technique. If I don’t have any floral specimens to hand, I will visit a local florist where I know I’ll find “the perfect" subject for a shoot. Back at home, I begin planning the photo shoot and I will spend some time considering angles and placement, lighting, shadows and perspective etc. I’ll go on to take several test shots with a couple of alternative lenses to try to maximize my chances of bagging a good photograph. Whist flower photography is not entirely season dependent, springtime is without question the most inspirational. A return to warmth, new buds, fresh flowers and new opportunities. Its really difficult for me to identify a favourite flower or plant as there are so many species and varieties to choose from. If pushed however, I would probably opt for the beautifully formed Zantedeschia aka Calla Lily or Arum Lily. The flowers of this plant are tall and elegant with lush and glossy leaves.
As a fine art photographer, what have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced in your career? And, what have been your best achievements for you personally and professionally? Who are your favorite artists/photographers and why do you find their art captivating? I don’t think that I have encountered anything that I would call a challenge. I am pretty much self motivated and independent in my approach and I’ve been very fortunate on this journey. I have adopted a relatively low profile although my achievements to date include a four week one man immersive art exhibition at a large warehouse gallery where one hundred and fifty of my images were projected onto the walls in a continuous loop. Also, worthy of note is being chosen to do the artwork for a Far East beverage company for a limited edition run of their product. I am always scanning the world wide web for fine art photography across every genre and whilst there are just too many great artists to mention here, Sebastiao Salgado is a stand out, as is Marie-Jeanne van Hovell, a photographer who is currently producing some undeniably classically inspired images. In the world of flower photography, I admire the unique style of Robert Peek. I have a long standing admiration of photo artists who engage the viewer with black and white images and currently that’s a new journey that’s attracting me.
Instagram: @victorgriffinphotoart