F Point Collective – The Interview

If you want to keep yourself motivated then start a project, have a goal.

Giving yourself a photographic theme to work with will unleash your creativity and improve your skills, as you have given yourself a plan and a goal, which will keep your creative juices flowing and keep you occupied. Take your camera out with you, at all times, rather than leaving it at home. Start today.

This is an exciting task what two talented photographers have done and have even showcased their work on their new, interesting and exciting website: www.FPoint Collective.com

Winnipeg resident, Cendrine Marrouat and Lisbon based Isabel Nolasco, give themselves monthly themes to work towards. Taking beautiful shots from around the world, telling stories with their photos, they upload their three best photos from each theme onto FPoint Colllective, each month.

Their goal is stated clearly: ‘Very often, people think that good photography is edgy, that its worth is only determined by gallery curators. At FPoint Collective, we want to show you another side of the story. We want to share the beauties of the world around us, and encourage you to do the same.’

Not only do they want to show the world their great work, they also want readers and other avid photographers to do the same through the website and they will then publish the best images on their Social media pages.

Anyway, enough introduction. Let’s meet the two founders of this exciting new venture…

www.fpointcollective.com

Blog: www.fpointcollective.com/blog

How did you both meet?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We met online last year, when we joined the same photography collective. We got along right away.

Unfortunately, as the months went by, we found ourselves at odds with the ideas put forward by the collective. So, we decided to leave it on separate occasions. Despite that fact, we are very grateful for the experience we gained.

How were you both sharing photography before FPoint Collective?

Cendrine Marrouat: Like most photographers, I used social media to share my images with the world. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. I have had my own photography website for five years as well. And I reopened my old blog last year. I share a daily photo and poem there.

Isabel Nolasco: I started using social media, and have had my photography website since 2015. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Cendrine, this is your second interview here, but please refresh our readers about your photographic journey and your love of photography….

Cendrine Marrouat: My photographic journey started almost a decade ago. However, before calling myself a photographer, I spent four years doing a lot of research. I read numerous books and blog posts, studied other photographers’ portfolios, asked questions, and practiced for hundreds of hours.

Photographers will tell you that the practice actually never stops, though. The learning curve is constant. And that’s what I love the most about photography. You can challenge yourself as often as you wish.

Isabel, how long have you been taking pictures and what do you love about photography?

Isabel Nolasco: I have always loved photography and taken pictures. But I wanted to be better at it.

Now, what I love about photography. Photography is a way to document history, a story, a culture, a moment, a place. It’s a powerful form of art, a statement, a message. I wanted to learn how to capture what my eyes see and my heart felt, exactly the way I wanted. So I had to learn about it, and acquire a visual culture.

I started learning photography in 2013 and have never stopped since. It’s a lifetime learning process. And my true vocation.

How did FPoint Collective come about?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: After leaving the aforementioned collective, we decided that it would be a great idea to start our own. We have the same vision and goals about photography as an art form.

We also wanted to create a platform that would allow people of any level to join and share their own images.

What kind of planning did you both do to create FPoint Collective?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We wanted to do things right. So we took our time to fine tune the project. We laid the groundwork over numerous meetings. We are both very organized and followed specific steps to ensure the best possible outcome.

As far as the website is concerned, we had the idea to build it from the very beginning. We envisioned it as a well-organized platform for all our themes and submissions from our followers. A hub to draw people from our social media accounts — Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

What do you both want to achieve with the monthly photography posts and blogs?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We love photography because it allows us to capture simplicity — simplicity in daily life, nature, people, etc.

We have two main goals: 1. Restoring the original purpose of photography; and 2. Encouraging people to have fun with whatever they photograph.

FPoint Collective is not just about us. It’s meant to be an inclusive and non-judgmental platform. Anybody interested in sharing their shots can participate.

How do you choose a theme to work towards?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We never make a decision before agreeing to it together. The same goes for themes.

We come up with themes separately. Then, we discuss them. The ones that make it have been accepted by both of us. The rest are ditched or kept for potential inclusion later.

With that said, we also plan on asking people to suggest themes in the near future. We love a good challenge!

With each theme, in terms of travel, how far are you both willing to go to get that perfect shot?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We are pretty much open about the destinations. We can go around the corner, to a garden or farther away. It mainly depends on the theme and how we interpret it.

One thing holds true, though: Once you have trained your eyes to see, you can take good photos wherever we are. You can even achieve great results at home! An artist’s soul will notice beauty everywhere, in every detail.

What value do you want your readers to get from FPoint Collective? Also, how can a budding photographer get involved with FPoint Collective?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We want to share our vision and love of photography with others.

We also want others to know that photography is diverse. What you see in most art galleries is not the only way to document the world around you. There are many talented photographers who do not feel the need to buy fancy gear or over-process their images to make a statement. We hope people will be encouraged to follow that idea.

As we mentioned earlier in this interview, FPoint Collective is opened to everyone, no matter their level. So, budding and seasoned photographers alike can submit their theme-inspired photos for a chance to be featured on our channels and on our blog. All they have to do is follow the rules that we share regularly on social media.

How will you both promote the website on Social Media?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: As we said before, the website is a hub where all the information is organized. We share the blog posts on social media.

We also use our social media accounts to publish specific messages, communicate with friends and followers, and increase our visibility. The results have been fantastic so far. We are growing slowly but steadily.

I saw that you already have a video, can you talk about what you hope to do with these videos long term?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We plan to make short videos quite regularly. For example, at the end of every month, we will highlight our favorite photos from the ones we take for the current theme.

The world is a visual place. Many people prefer watching videos to reading blog posts. So we want to make things easier and more enjoyable to them as well.

Living so far apart, what tools do you use to work together?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We use the tools that the Internet provides to work together. WhatsApp and Google Drive rock our worlds! They allow us to organize ourselves perfectly.

Where would you both like FPoint Collective to be in five years time?

Cendrine Marrouat & Isabel Nolasco: We are focused on small, achievable steps that promote consistency. We crave quality, not virality. So, it will take us a while to achieve the results we want.

With that said, we believe that we have strong bases and have already built a good online presence. And we celebrate every little victory as if it was major.

It is hard to predict where we will be in five years, but we know that FPoint Collective is here to stay. Through hard work and commitment, we hope to promote a positive side of photography that others will want to copy.

Thank you very much, Redski, for allowing us to talk about FPoint Collective! We are very grateful for your support.

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