Ithaka Roddam x F A U N E
Tell us a little about yourself?
I am a photographer based in London where I live with my partner Felipe and our daughter Nova. Although London is our base we travel a lot, as both my partner and I are freelance and work in photography and film. This has given us the chance to work in many places and we have spent a lot of time in Uruguay and Argentina the last few years. I work mostly with natural light and 35mm film so travel and nature play an integral part in my image making.
How did you get into photography?
I grew up in a very creative family, both my parents worked in the film industry and were very influential on my sisters and I finding our own creative paths. I studied photography at school and at University before assisting fashion photographers. I worked for Frederike Helwig, Wendy Bevan and did photo archiving for Juergen Teller, this brought me into the world of fashion photography and taught me a lot about one’s own creative process and pushed me to fineness my own style.
Who inspires you and your work?
I have always loved the idea of daydreaming and fairytales and found that I could make my own stories through the use of photography by creating images not just taking them. My work is highly inspired by the past and films and books of another time. I love the work of french photographer Jacque Henri Lartigue for his playful shots and photographs of beautiful women of the 1930s. I also love the soft dream like quality of early 19th century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and many of the photographers of the early 1970s like Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville have been influential on my style. But one of the things that inspires my work the most is nature. A lot of my images are paired with flowers or are of wildflowers, the tranquility and beauty of these natural beings constantly draws me in to want to photograph them again and again.
You love to travel, where are your favourite locations to shoot?
Argentina has to be one of my favourites places to shoot, the landscape is so vast and beautiful and is a constant source for inspiration. Especially as I have a love of shooting flowers, the array of plants and wildflowers is ongoing to choose from and photograph.
I also love the south of France and have shot many of my favourite stories there. The nature and light are very inviting and work well for my images. We have a little town house in Arles and the surrounding countryside and the Camargue make for beautiful backdrops.
You recently travelled to Argentina to shoot a beautiful story for F A U N E – tell us a little about this incredible venture.
My parter is Argentine and every year we go to the Sierra mountains in Cordoba to stay with his family and our friends. I’ve always wanted to shoot a story out there and it was just a question of finding the right brand to work with.
When I discovered FAUNE I knew it would be the perfect look to shoot in these beautiful and magical places. I shot my sister in-law Alegra and our daughters for the pictures as I wanted models who knew the land and had a mother daughter relationship, I felt this would best represent the collection. We shot in 3 locations which each has its own beauty and story. For the first we rode into the mountains for a picnic which is 2 hours up on horseback to a little refuge with a stone cabin, ancient trees and meadows surrounded by the rocky Sierras. I also chose to shoot down by the the Rio Pintos which again is an hour drive down a rocky mountain scape before arriving to these amazing open gorges of flowing waters and giant prehistoric stones. For the final location which I had had in mind since before arriving to Argentina, were the rolling hills of the Sierras and their long grasses and wild horses. It is such a beautiful landscape and worked so well with the romantic styles of the new SS FAUNE collection.
Do you have any exciting projects/ collaborations coming up?
I’ve been working on a series of wildflower photographs titled ‘Fera Flores’ which I hope to open as a solo show in Spring 2024
How do you juggle work around being a mother?
It’s taken me a while to find my balance between being a mother and finding my creativity again.
I thought it would come back quicker after having my first daughter Nova 5 years ago, but I’ve allowed myself to take my time with it. What I’ve learned is to make sure there is a good support network around to share the load. Although I’m expecting my second daughter I feel more eager and creative than I have in years and I think where there is a will there is a way.
As I’m freelance it also helps to put a structure in place on the days I’m not shooting so I know when Nova is at School I make the most of my mornings to edit or go to exhibitions and plan my next projects.
How has your style evolved since becoming a mother?
I think I definitely put comfort first these days to be able to run around and know that with young children your bound to get a few marks on you by the end of the day. Im a huge fan and collector of vintage and my wardrobe is filled with pieces from the 1930s to 1970s, so I try to incorporate them into my everyday when possible. My love of vintage will never go.
What are your favourite pieces from our SS23 collection for you and your daughter?
Hard to choose as I would happily wear all of them throughout summer, but I absolutely love the Camellia in Rose and the white Gardenia dress for both of us.
Marigold for Nova, is so pretty and looked perfect on a hot sunny day in Argentina.
Every piece evokes that feeling of long summer days spent daydreaming in meadows and of bygone moments.
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