Carissa Russell is a 25 years old graphic designer and photographer. Her work was introduced to us by one of our readers, Samantha Roman, who sent us the link to Carissa's project Ruined Nation and also suggested an interview with her. As her photos are great and she is also very kind, we will show here a bit more about this artist and her project.

You can also find further info about Carissa Russel and her work at Flickr and at her portfolio (coming soon).

So, enjoy the images from Ruined Nation and the interview! :)

Do you recognize these places? They are places you have visited, worked and lived in. Places you know, places you have been in every day of your life. They are now used up and forgotten. These images show a view rarely seen of things you know very well. This is our Ruined Nation.

Tell us a bit more about yourself.

I’m twenty-five years old and from Ohio. I come from a family of creative people, my mom owns her own art gallery. I grew up in a small town, coming from where I did art wasn’t as supported as it should have been, but luckily my family really encouraged it in me. I went to college originally for computer programming, and ended up corporately employed as a web designer.

When you first got interested about photography?

I’ve always been an artist for as long as I can remember- I started out drawing, sculpting and painting. I picked up a camera about six years ago and started shooting pictures. People seemed to like my work saying I have “an eye” for it, the positive feedback kept me learning and improving my technique. Since I was working hard at building my career, photography became a great creative outlet for me that didn’t take up the time (or make the mess) that drawing or painting did.

How and when did you have the idea for the Ruined Nation series?

I was driving through mid-ohio and saw the most beautiful old house boarded up at the side of the road. I pulled over and checked it out. There was a panel of plywood that was loose on the front door, once I slid through I was hooked. The place was a mansion hidden behind tall grass and overgrowth. The inside, although the wallpaper was peeling and there were cobwebs everywhere, was spectacular. The entryway had a spiral staircase molded into the wall, red and yellow glass surrounded the door where the setting sun shone in and cast a subtle color to everything. Crown molding, ornate plaster designs around the fixtures, regal windows that the previous inhabitants had sadly torn off the solid wood doors to cover, every room had architectural nuances that I had never seen in a house.

I couldn’t describe to you how incredible this place was or what a beautiful home it could have made. It was sad people had forgotten about it letting nature break it down and take it back.

What do you wanted to show with this images?

People throw things away every day. I wanted to show what happens when people toss PLACES away- these places that everyone knows, lives in.

It’s sad, they don’t build things like they used to, each place is unique, never to be created again- I just document it.

What do you like most about photography? And what would you say you don't like about it?

I love how easy it is. Other photographers will laugh at me (I’ve never been into the elitism thing) but it’s true. I can create art by just seeing how I see. I use lightroom as my darkroom and process the images to give people the mood and feeling I felt when I was standing in that exact spot, seeing what I am showing everyone. Maybe it just feels easy to me because I’ve always just let my art flow. Inspiration flows into me and the art flows out.

I’d have to say I also don’t like how easy it is. It’s easily devalued especially in the digital age- any other photographer will probably agree with me on that point. It's always a struggle as an artist to convince people that your work is worth something- and with the new influx of photographers the market has become completely saturated. Part of me is glad for that though, to hope that other people can get the same creative outlet that used to be reserved just for the very passionate or rich. There needs to be more art in the world.

What are the hardwares and softwares that you use to produce your images?

Most of my work has been shot by my trusty old Canon 30D. I recently upgraded to a 5D mark II, so my recent locations and everything from here on out will be shot with that. I also use a Canon Powershot G10 sparingly. I really like its macro feature.

I shoot only in RAW and process everything through Adobe Lightroom. (a must for any digital photographer!) Lightroom is my darkroom, and I use it to capture what I feel the camera couldn’t. For the panoramic photos I do a lot I use PTGui to stitch them together. Beyond that I just load my images into Adobe Photoshop CS2 to resize/prepare them for web view.

What is your main inspiration source?

Everything. I don’t know how to say it any other way. I always carry a camera on me because I know the one second I don’t have one I’ll see a million things I find beautiful to take photos of.

Which are your goals and future plans for your career?

Wherever it takes me honestly. I just do what I do and it takes me to visit interesting places and meet great people.

Do you have any advice for the upcoming artists?

Just do what you feel. While people provide good inspiration and you can learn a lot from other artists techniques, don’t try to emulate them. Just stick to what you do as hard as you can, because that’s what makes people interesting. No two people see the world the same way, I think that’s beautiful…..and now I sound like a hippie.

Thanks again for this interview Carissa... and the final words are with you...

Thank you Gisele. Lots of people wonder why I want to go into dark, moldy, dirty and oftentimes dangerous places to shoot photos of what looks like a post-apocalyptic scene. Times are always changing. I think society has a fascination with places like I’ve been, whether they think it’s sad or beautiful, the images make you feel. And in my opinion, that’s what art is supposed to do.