Mat Jake Levine is 17 and fuck Edward Cullen.

ML: Who are some of your favourite photographers?
MJL: I have many photographers that i love looking at, but some in particular are of course the original gangsters; Eggleston, Goldin, Mann, Shore and so on. As for more contemporary stuff Ryan McGinley, Kyle Cook, Mike Sinclair, Alec Soth, and all the up and comers on the internet. I get a lot if inspiration through all these people.

ML: What’s your approach to photography?
MJL: Sometimes an idea will pop into my head and I will immediately write it down, but otherwise I don’t really have a specific motive when I go out and shoot. I enjoy exploring and seeing what something can lead me to, then it usually all comes together. That’s what gets me psyched the most, just having a something in the back of my mind or forgetting an idea that I wrote down, then something will set it off and from there it builds. Forgetting and rediscovering it is what keeps me shooting, having a new perspective each time. I love not knowing how a scene and its light source will be recorded onto the emulsion, it surprises me every time.

ML: How are you dealing with the winter?
MJL: The winter is harsh and really puts a damper on my shooting. I’ll try to carry around a point and shoot but the temperatures make it really uncomfortable to use and becomes a risk to the camera. I do get psyched on the morbid light that the winter brings, everything looks dead. Other than that it is definitely not my most productive time, but still brings a lot of new oppurtunities that get my pscyhed.

ML: Do you like shooting better in the colder seasons or in the summer?
MJL: Although i am really into the light the winter brings, i think summer shooting is uncomparable. I feel so much more comfortable shooting when i am personally comfortable as well. That might sound a little picky, but i feel you do things better when you are in a more comfortable environment and it makes it more enjoyable. In the end it is impossible to get a little from both worlds of each season.