March is ADC Young Guns Month here on the ADC Blog! As we head towards the deadline for Young Guns 13 entries, we will be featuring the works and thoughts of Young Guns 12, the latest class to join the exclusive club of young creative professionals. We will also be sharing the thoughts of the judges who voted them in. This way, you’ll have some idea of what it takes to become a Young Gun — and the answers just might surprise you.

Next up: a different kind of photographer who wowed many of the YG12 judges

ANDREW B. MYERS
Brooklyn, NY, USA
andrewbmyers.com
contact@andrewbmyers.com

When did you first hear about Young Guns? 

I had heard of it through a couple of other winners, namely Adi Goodrich when I was visiting Los Angeles.

What were your impressions of the competition before entering?

I like cross disciplinary surveys of creative industry activity. It seemed design focused, which might make more sense for my work than in the photography world anyway. My impressions were mostly of curiosity about how it spanned mediums, which I found interesting, as I hadn’t participated in a competition like that before.

There are lots of big names among the list of past Young Guns winners. Did you ever think that maybe you weren’t good enough to join them? How did you overcome that feeling?

I don’t know if I’ve ever submitted anything to a competition being sure that I would win. I was confident in the hard work that I had put into the year leading up to it, so if anything it would have seemed like a validation of that. I’d have continued on working as hard whether winning or not, but accolades are wonderful and encouraging.

How did you decide which pieces to submit? Was it a no-brainer or did you have to really think about your entry?

I’m not sure exactly. I wanted to have a mix of personal and commercial work that I had done recently. I really don’t like pulling out old work, I wanted to see if what I was doing at the moment would have a reaction.

“I’d have continued on working as hard whether winning or not, but accolades are wonderful and encouraging.”

Tell us what it was like when you found out you won.

Well I was happy to win an international award like this. A definite feather in my cap. My career in the past few years has been a journey and it’s nice to think of being an established presence in the creative industry at some point.

Which past Young Guns winners do you admire most?

I love the work that Tracy Ma does with Bloomberg Businessweek. I had a lot of fun working with Karim Charlebois-Zariffa in Montreal. I love the work of Ashley Jones and have befriended her since moving to New York. I met Julia Neumann and really respected her point of view and taste, and I’m a big fan of the illustration of Ben Wiseman and Alex Trochut.

What have you been up to since winning? Has Young Guns opened up any new doors for you since winning last fall?

I’ve been busy, and have gotten some great assignments. I can never tell who sees what where, but I’m sure this has had a hand.

What would you tell someone who was deciding whether or not to enter Young Guns 13?

Do it! Exposure is great!

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Andrew’s work is bizarre and otherworldly yet soothing and comforting. Few people can so fluidly make photography feels so textured and patterned. (Justin Fantl is a veteran photographer who also does this well.) I like how his work makes me reconsider context and reality as a whole. Browsing through his portfolio makes me feel like I’m on drugs, transporting me to an entirely different dimension. This is why I like his work. 🙂”

Ivan Cash
YGX

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“Andrew’s work is not only refreshing and beautifully crafted, but also contains a confident and smart narrative. Andrew has the ability to take an often complicated message and portray that message with minimal elements; a feat many of us only hope to achieve. He has inspired many and I believe has made a big impact on current design and photography. ”

Ashley Jones
YG11

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“An amazing still life photographer with a great sense of humor. It was immediately obvious to me that Andrew belonged to Young Guns. His work is original, well executed and he clearly follows his own taste and style. In the visual onslaught of the internet I would still easily be able to recognize an image that he shot. He has such a distinct sense of humor, proportion, scale, composition and color. Happy to say that I just shot my first campaign with him.”

Menno Kluin
YG6

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“Andrew’s got a beautiful sense of color and balance, sure – but the images he creates don’t just look good, they’re rich in concept, thought and idea.”

PlayLab Inc.
YG11

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