Woman Crush Wednesday: Reba Jenson
Everywhere I've Never Lived, 2018 ©Reba Jenson
By Dani Martin
How has photography become an outlet for you to express and represent yourself?
Photography has been an outlet for me from a young age. I realized just how incredible it is to instantly capture and save anything and everything I observe in the world. Anything I loved or connected to could be cherished and revisited through images, from people to objects and spaces. No other medium has ever felt sufficient, to me, in grounding my reality and identity in this way.
Does black and white photography help emphasize or deepen the meaning behind the everyday objects and spaces that you capture?
I want to say both, but I am leaning heavily towards emphasize if I have to choose. The redaction of color leaves room for composition and tonal value to take precedent in emphasizing what I want as the subject of my images. The forms and compositions made through the limiting frame of my viewfinder draw me in and solidify an image and idea for me the most, and I want to emphasize them.
Homesick, 2019 ©Reba Jenson
Duality, 2019 ©Reba Jenson
How does your identity reflect in your images?
As I move through my daily routine, I am always attaching myself to the objects and spaces I observe, and they permanently attach themselves to me. As time goes on, certain ones do so more than others. They take on feelings, memories, or even imaginary scenarios I have while in their presence. They end up representing and reflecting my history and identity so much that I feel like a part of myself is lost if I don’t photograph them somehow.
Describe your creative process in one word.
Meditative.
Untitled, 2017 ©Reba Jenson
If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?
I think it would be a class called “How to Read a Book You’ve Been Meaning to Read” where everyone would bring a book they’ve meant to read for a long time and have an hour to do so with no distractions. I feel most myself when I am reading and would love others to feel that way too, but it’s not exactly something you can teach.
Moments in time that are inexplicably almost., 2017 ©Reba Jenson
What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi. It is a collection of fantastical short stories that were so strange and beautiful I never wanted them to end.
I converse with too many ghosts and not enough with the living., 2017 ©Reba Jenson
What is the most played song in your music library?
Die Young by Sylvan Esso.
There's nothing here but shadows., 2019
©Reba Jenson
A haunting thought of what could have been., 2018 ©Reba Jenson
How do you take your coffee?
As a large cold brew with simple syrup.
Where have you gone, where have you been?, 2018 ©Reba Jenson
