Devin Blair shoots cinematic stills infused with hazy narratives

“A situation, invented or documented, that can be read in different ways” – that’s what prompts photographer Devin Blair into taking pictures. Vancouver-born but Glasgow-trained, Blair takes cinematic, voyeuristic stills infused with hazy narratives, sometimes for himself, mostly for well-respected magazines like PIN-UP, Fantastic Man, and tattoo specialists Sang Bleu.

“I had always wanted to be a film director,” Blair reveals, explaining the reason why his imagery seems so filmic. “I wanted to work on films and TV in Vancouver, but I moved to photography. Being very influenced by film and reportage (both still and moving) informs the way I make photographs. The possibility of a narrative, or multiple narratives, is something I try to achieve.”

Would he consider making a film? “I have done a couple experiments so far – a couple of short abstract moving image pieces,” he explains. “Moving image introduces sound, which I think is interesting.”