Candid Perspectives: Rog & Bee Walker
The collection of photography by Rog and his wife, Bee Walker, are portraits that capture the life and stories of the world around them. They are, at their core, the manifestation of a life devoted to creating and storytelling. We got the chance to chat with the duo and learn more about their work, as well as feature some of our favorite photographs in their lengthy catalog:
Can you start by telling us a bit about your backgrounds, and how you started photography?
Rog: I’m a Caribbean American (born in Jamaica) and was raised to be traditional. Coming from a working class immigrant family, to say photography wasn’t an option is an understatement. I stumbled upon photography through seeing photos on a friend’s Facebook page. I decided to try taking photos myself and have been doing that since then. That was 7 years ago.
Bee: Like Rog, I’m the child of immigrant parents. I was born in Kenya and traveled a lot with my family before they settled in New Jersey.
My father bought me my first camera when I was 8. He would give me pointers and encourage me to photograph. I took the camera with me everywhere. Much later, when I met Rog, I began photographing more seriously.
You both have a photography book launching soon, can you tell us what we can expect?
We are so happy to debut a printing of Women: A Series, one of our Paper Monday visual research projects. We recorded conversations with 30 women about identity, expectations, and beauty. The book presents the extended interviews alongside portraits in a 200 page, hand bound, made to order printing that we produce in our studio.
One of the major themes for our fall collection is minimalism. What does minimalism mean to you, and how does it fit into your photography?
Bee: Minimalism is important to our lifestyle and creativity, but it might be better thought of as essentialism. We don’t seek to deny ourselves, but we definitely consider all of our choices and edit ruthlessly. We are attentive to function and use when adding any objects to our home. Any clothing items need to fit seamlessly into each, or ideally both, of our uniforms. These aren’t really rules. They’re mostly a way to think through choices and come to conclusions.
Rog: Our process is and has always been streamlined. It’s usually just us and the camera — no other lenses or gear. Even in the studio, we only use the one light and a backdrop we made. There’s something about allowing the work to be the work, uncluttered by the production process. This allows us to be consistent in our approach and move faster with less weight.
What’s your preferred method of shooting photography, and why?
Rog: I take portraits. Everything else is secondary. My process includes seeing people and telling their stories. Without people or human stories, there’s no photography for me. I started by telling my own story through the images and have since evolved to tell stories chronicling the world around me. As I grow I hope to continue showing diverse cultural stories through portraiture and our visual narratives.
You both always look so well put together, both as individuals and as a couple. How does your creativity influence your style?
Bee: Thanks! We both like to be ready for any type of meeting, event, or shoot that might unexpectedly develop. That involves dressing in a way that is well considered and usually quite formal. At the same time, we need to be able to move while photographing and traveling around the city. We each have our own versions of an unfussy, comfortable, Sunday-best.
Rog: You can partition artistic ability and skill, but creativity is something that affects every area of who you are. My perspective toward presentation and identity doesn’t end with my portrait work. I carry that into everything I do.
To view more of their work, be sure to check out their visual project Paper Monday
If you liked this story, check out more in our Urban Transplants issue.
