Bruce Moyle is an award-winning fine art photographer born and bred in Launceston, Tasmania. He’s been a long-time subscriber of The Camera Life and often a cheeky protagonist in the comments section.
I first bumped into Bruce at the Bright Festival of Photography (BFOP) 2024. While Bruce was an official BFOP workshop instructor, I mostly saw him lurking around the food truck chatting with Denis Smith (Episode 38) and Joel Alston (Episode 39)! Like many of our past guests, Bruce is a multi-disciplined photographer and videographer straddling the boundary between visual creativity and commercial outcomes.
Bruce has a mind for technology and explores and breaks the boundaries of traditional media applications. He was one of the first in Australia to start a podcast with a group of mates. His passion for understanding all aspects of visual and audio tech has enabled him to push creative outcomes into new realms. I must admit, Bruce’s breadth and depth of knowledge were impressive to hear firsthand. His understanding of the finer workings of digital technology has allowed him to explore and master a multi-media approach to his craft. Bruce’s experience in audio and video created a natural path for him to explore photography. Bruce currently applies his creative and technical skillset with the University of Tasmania and national health care providers. He creates a range of content (both photography and videography) to develop educational products supporting his clients. He has worked in various genres, including fashion, corporate, commercial, and street photography. Bruce is a true all-rounder and applies his skills, knowledge, and vision to the jobs that arise. His adaptability and flexibility are impressive.
“His work explores human emotions via abstract images that combine portraiture, long and multiple exposures in a combination of traditional and digital processes. Bruce is never one to truly assign an outcome to what the viewer should feel when taking in his work, but loves to see the grey, the different, the texture of everyone’s experience.”
Bruce’s early inspirations as a visual creative stem from his fascination with technology and playing around with early versions of Photoshop in secondary school. His inquisitive nature and love of playing music led him to study audio engineering and become a roadie for venues and events. While a trip to LA taught him much about the audio and filmmaking industry, it wasn’t his cup of tea. Back in Australia, Bruce continued his studies, work, and business. His love of cinematography stemmed from classic science fiction classics like Superman and Star Wars - I can relate! Bruce worked with his mates to take on video gigs while playing around with emerging technology. He describes his early work as a “hodge-podge” of activities ranging from web design and audio to stills, cinematography, and everything in between!
Bruce moved into stills photography after his partner took up roller derby (team-based roller skating). Bruce would initially record the events, but became tired of extensive video post-production processes. As a result, he chose to take photos and used the opportunity to learn about photography and how to optimize outcomes with a still camera. He soon discovered the benefits of off-camera strobes and applied all he had learned to a new challenge: portraiture! Bruce continued to explore and refine his photography and the end-to-end process of creating captivating portraits and still life images.
Throughout our interview, it became clear that Bruce doesn’t settle for understanding the surface-level detail of any tools, systems, or tech. He has to fully break down, understand, master, and then manipulate traditional applications to deliver something new and compelling. His technical prowess has allowed him to push the boundaries of conventional portraiture and fine art photography in new and exciting directions. During a shoot, he made a mistake with his off-camera strobes and discovered a new way to play with time and light to create fine art prints unlike anything else. Since then, he has purposely experimented with different and strange applications of in and off-camera technologies. To learn more about Bruce’s unique and experimental fine art portraiture, be sure to check out the full interview on The Camera Life.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Camera Life Podcast, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for the latest episodes and, of course, our back catalogue of weekly shows. Our shows are also available on popular audio podcast platforms. If you like what you see, please give us a thumbs up, subscribe to The Camera Life, and click on the bell icon to receive notifications of upcoming shows. We host two shows weekly, the first being every Thursday at 9am AEDT (Australia), where we interview amazing guests. The second show, The Random Photography Show, airs every Monday at 7:30 pm AEDT. The Random Photography show is a little random, a little loose, and a lot of fun! Be sure to check them out.
Find Bruce:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmoyle/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmoyleart/
- Website: https://brucemoyle.com/
