How has your background in music influenced your photographic style and approach to storytelling?
I was always drawn to the album covers, artwork, and press photos of the bands I liked. I realized how necessary those elements are to understanding a band or artist. To me, the music was as important as the clothes they were wearing or the artwork they chose for an album cover. I also think playing drums and taking photos are two very tactile, interactive, and concrete things. It’s real. There’s an element of both performance and creative expression.
It’s urgent and fleeting. I could miss a moment, and that photo is gone forever. I could miss a beat, and the song goes off the rails.
What role does experimentation play in your creative process?
I try to experiment without trying to overthink. The candidness of my work comes from not trying to force anything too much. If I, the model, or whoever is on set isn’t comfortable and something isn’t working, I listen to that and move on. If something is working, then I do it until I feel like I’ve explored it enough.
What values do you prioritize in your photography?
Capturing something real or something that feels real. I want people to react to my work. I don’t think I’m one for the shock factor. I think my work is more concerned with showing something very normal that someone might have missed or taken for granted. Taking something simple and showing the beauty or ugliness in that thing.
In what ways do you aim to represent diversity and complexity through your photography?
I try to limit the amount of explanation and context I give so that the viewer can have their own interpretation. Nothing is worse than an over-explained or over-intellectualized image.
How does a typical day look for you?
Wake up, coffee, breakfast, gym, emails, looking at images online, editing, a long walk, dinner with friends or my girlfriend, events, a TV show, bedtime.
Where do you prefer to spend your time?
I really like New York. But I’m fortunate to have grown up in Georgia and Tennessee, which I’m thankful to have as an escape. Music and photography have opened a lot of doors to travel and see a lot of America and the world. I traveled a lot early on with my family, so I think that helped inform my worldview—like, oooh, there are a lot of different ways to live and everything is a choice. I can be happy pretty much anywhere, but I don’t like to be dormant for too long.
Could you share more about how you met Claire? How has that relationship influenced you?
We were set up by a mutual friend. We got coffee one day and hit it off. We didn’t see each other for two weeks after the first date because we were both busy. Our second date was during a snowstorm, and we’ve been together ever since. I started shooting her for fun, just to document her and our relationship. I found her fun to shoot. And I like the photos of her the most because she’s the person I’m probably closest to.
So there’s that feeling of intimacy and closeness that, I think, draws people to my work.
Can you tell me more about the book ‚Duane‘?
It started as a project just for her. The first iteration was all iPhone images. But once I started to put together all the film images I had of her, I started to see a story and a line. I decided to keep shooting to fill in some gaps in that story, and then it became a book. My friend Oliver, who runs Friend Editions, thought it was cool, so we put it out.
What are your plans for 2024?
Keep shooting, traveling, and making music. I’m on tour currently and probably will be off and on for the rest of the year. I shoot when I’m home and on the road, so I’ve figured out how to balance it and make work no matter where I am. I’m working on another book as well, which will hopefully come out later this year.
Cobey Arner – www.cobeyarner.com, www.instagram.com/cobeyarner/