“At the moment I am living in a 1959 Yellowstone trailer in Los Angeles. I am originally from San Francisco but have found a new home in Echo Park. My find my workspace is always changing (especially since I consider the darkroom to be part of my workspace). My stuff tends to get scattered because I have found myself moving around quite a bit. This has been my workspace for the last month. My essentials include my laptop, books, fashion magazines, my Bialetti coffee maker and mug, and my photography notebook. My notebook has been essential to my printing, including ideas and darkroom settings. Aside from photography, I am completing my masters in Marine and Environmental Biology, and I couldn’t tell you where I might end up. I guess I will just have to wait and see.”

Annie Thornton was born in San Francisco and is currently living in Los Angeles. She received her BA in Fine Arts Photography at Hampshire College in Massachusetts earning her a nomination for Student Fine Art Series in the 2008 New York Photo Awards. She is completing her Masters in Marine and Environmental Biology at the University of Southern California and continues to be an avid photographer. (new website to launch soon)

FROM YOUR DESKS: You are currently in Echo Park. That’s a good-looking trailer. Do you like to move around?

ANNIE THORNTON: Well actually the trailer is on loan as it belongs to my dad. He loves to restore them along with his speedsters and Indian motorcycles. I’m a little scared to drive with it and I might leave that up to the BF. But I know my dad has traveled with it quite a bit, as it makes its annual trip to Burning Man every year. In general I do like to move around. It keeps things new and exciting.

I thought it was interesting how the portrait brought up notions of memory, age, and change, especially in the context of home and personal spaces.

FYD: I was just looking at the Thrasher Magazine piece; when was that from? Did you shoot the skateboarder?

AT: That was about six months ago, and actually I just shot the portrait. My boyfriend is the skater and I was trilled that he asked me to be part of it. He picked up photography a couple of years ago and we like to do collaborative projects together when we can.

FYD: How do you approach your photography…do you work where you are? I’m specifically wondering about this portrait of the little girl on the clean white bed.

AT: I approach photography like I do writing, as you can see from my notebook. I have something to say and will formulate my images to say just that. I’m not as spontaneous as I would like to be. I think about my images beforehand and how they’ll relate and add to the dialogue within my other images. The photo you mention is actually one of my most spontaneous photographs. The drawing is of my mother, one of the few things she displays from her childhood. I thought it was interesting how the portrait brought up notions of memory, age, and change, especially in the context of home and personal spaces.

I think it’s just the nature of being young that we move around more, seeing what fits.

FYD: You look at the family, inside homes with pictures, Christmas trees, plants, rugs, the dog. Does moving around help you gain perspective on these “familial artifacts.” Is it alive or dysfunctional?

AT: I think it’s just the nature of being young that we move around more, seeing what fits. I think it definitely puts a new perspective on family and what we think of as “home.” I have learned to appreciate how amazing my family is and how lucky I am that they are in my life. I don’t really see it as necessarily alive or dysfunctional, I just see it as a real.

(Photos of Annie’s space taken by Raymond Molinar)