Name: Coco Young
Age: 21
Where are you from? Born in NYC, grew up in Marseilles, France
How did you start taking photos? By using disposable cameras as a kid
What kind of camera do you use? I was using a Yashica T4, but I broke it so now I use an Olympus Stylus.
What was your favorite part of visiting Israel? The whole trip was really amazing and it was my first time there. It's very hard to pick a favorite part of the trip! The highlights for me were floating in the Dead Sea, and exploring the Kibbutz with Marcel and Jonas one night.
Of all the photos that you took on the trip, which was your favorite? A photo that I took of young schoolgirls in uniforms playing on the "White City" Bauhaus sculpture in Tel Aviv. The sculpture is very graphic and the sight of these little girls giggling and playing on it really moved me.
What's an image that you weren't able to take a photo of, but that you still remember? We did one shoot right by the water of the Dead Sea. There were clusters of salt which created this very white and hard texture and reflected the color of the bright blue sky very vividly. At that moment I had a black and white roll in my camera, and the photos didn't come out as good as they would have in color.
What was the funniest moment from the trip? Having a pizza slumber party with Marcel and Jonas in the Kibbutz and trying really hard to stay up and watch a movie but falling asleep instantly because we were so tired.
Who was your favorite person that you met on the trip? Everyone was super cool.
What makes a good photograph? A photograph that looks ghostly.
Where do you hope to travel next? Japan.
What did you like about working with Marcel and Jonas? Marcel and I have known each other for a really long time, and I almost feel like he is family so working with him was a pleasure. Jonas and I had met before but never really hung out even though we have plenty of mutual friends, so we became friends very quickly. I sort of feel like I've always known him. Both Marcel and Jonas were perfect gentlemen on set. The dynamic of our trio reminds me of Band Of Outsiders by Godard.
Name: Marcel Castenmiller
Age: 24
Where are you from? Vancouver, British Columbia
How did you start taking photos? Originally started documenting studio work while attending school at Emily Carr, then later decided to keep a record of my life instead of my work.
What kind of camera do you use? Contax
What was your favorite part of visiting Israel? I've never been before, my favorite part was the Dead Sea. It felt such a gift to get to visit such an amazing area of the world.
Of all the photos that you took on the trip, which was your favorite? My favorite photograph was probably of the ocean, especially the waves breaking over the pier.
What's an image that you weren't able to take a photo of, but that you still remember? I wanted to photograph some Camels, I realize now I should have told the driver to stop so I could have but at the time it seemed unnecessary.
What was the funniest moment from the trip? Getting back to the hotel room and staying up late with Coco and Jonas drinking wine. We had a long day shooting and also walking around on our own and decided we all would hang out in one hotel room.
Who was your favorite person that you met on the trip? All of people that I hadn't already met.
What makes a good photograph? If something makes your heart race you know you've got a potential "good" photograph. It should be something that challenges you to capture, or the complete opposite.
Where do you hope to travel next? Really dying to go to Switzerland in the summer time.
What did you like about working with Coco and Jonas? Jonas is always great to work around. He tends to get me thinking differently, I love seeing what he thinks is worth capturing or not. Coco is great. I'm super comfortable being shot by her, I don't find myself "posing" in front of Coco, I just stay ordinary.
Name: Jonas Kesseler
Age: 25
Where are you from? Düsseldorf, but currently living in Berlin.
How did you start taking photos? Got my first camera when I was nine-years-old.
What kind of camera do you use? Mainly Contax G2 at the moment.
What was your favorite part of visiting Israel? It was just so different than I pictured it. I wanna go back soon because I felt so inspired by it.
Of all the photos that you took on the trip, which was your favorite? A portrait of an Israeli soldier and his weapons, happy, with a tiny cup of orange juice with a straw in his one hand.
What's an image that you weren't able to take a photo of? Tornadoes in the desert.
What was the funniest moment from the trip? A retainer lying in my hotel when we just got there, and a strip-search on the airport on my way there.
Who was your favorite person that you met on the trip? The whole team was super-awesome. We had such a good time.
What makes a good photograph? There are to many ways of taking pictures. As long as I can see something of myself or the person who took the picture in it, and whatever the picture carries gets a response, makes a good picture to me.
Where do you hope to travel next? I am planning of doing a trip across the United States, actually, with Marcel and some other friends. Besides, I wanna go to Iceland as soon as I can.
What did you like about working with Coco and Marcel? It was nice meeting Coco finally cause we have some friends in common, and I had heard a lot about her. Marcel is one of my best friends and I just can't spent enough time with him, really.
