We first discovered British photographer Flyn Vibert through his first fashion editorial Fragments that captured our eyes. With a raw approach and moody results, we were intrigued and had to meet the emerging photographer.

eclectic-society: How did your journey into photography begin, any early influences?

flyn vibert: At 16 I took up photography on impulse. My father gave me his camera and he taught me the basics as we walked through the streets together. I remember lining up one of my first shots - an old decaying wooden gate, straight out of Lynch - and him saying to me "why don't you try angling the frame a little". It's the most important advice I've ever been given.

Daido Moriyama and Anders Petersen have stayed with me for a long time. I've always both loved and respected artists who reveal in a darker grittier side.

e: You work with many narratives, from fairytales to the macabre. What is inspiring you at the
moment?

fv: I have a habit of taking inspiration from unusual sources. I've recently become obsessed with Artaud. There is a madness in his words which appeals to me. You get this sense of someone completely on the edge. He brings out that rebellious side in me. I can't really explain it, I just feel deeply inspired whenever I read his texts.

If we're discussing narrative though, then I should really talk about Angela Carter. Her writing opened me up to the possibility of taking a story and twisting it out of shape, creating something both unsettling and seductive, yet also subversive. However, it was Sarah Moon who first made me really think about narrative in relation to my photography.

e: Which films have had the strongest influence on your eye?

fv: I don't think my influences are ever obvious. I look at so much. I appropriate everything. I love the Nouvelle Vague. Anything by Godard - Pierrot Le Fou, Bande à Part, Masculin Féminin, Vivre Sa Vie, Alphaville. That swinging lightbulb taught me everything I ever needed to know about lighting.

e: What colors, images, materials, and themes do you enjoy working with?

fv: Everything. There are no limits to what I do or how I work. I can use anything.

e: Your technique is primarily photoshop free, how would you describe your style and technique?

fv: I've been shooting the way I do almost since I first picked up a camera. Refusing digital manipulation, retouch, or even darkroom techniques. I always wanted to create images by my own hand, a kind of physical manipulation. It wasn't till a few years ago that I started to call this 'Poorer Photography'. Now this is the foundation of all my work.

I'm all about moving forward, but it's got to be done in your own way. I have nothing against digital or retouch. I know you can do amazing things now, create almost seamless images. But somehow (for me) they always feel cold, almost soulless. Too clinical. Not dirty enough. And personally, I love it when things get dirty.

e: What music are you listening to at the moment?

fv: I listen to music to drive my work. It depends on my mood, but recently I've been drawn to sounds that are intense and heavy - almost violent. I want to bring something out of myself. I've had Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, and Kap Bambino on repeat for the last few months.

But that's only one side of me. I find as much inspiration in many other kinds of music. Captain Beefheart, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Television, Suicide, Nico, Pixies. I could go on and on...

e: What excites you the most about photography and do you enjoy communicating in your art?

fv: The creative moment. I wish I could hold it for longer sometimes, but it never lasts. It's what drives me. It's why I'll never stop. I couldn't bear to lose that feeling. Last night I was up shooing till dawn and I made this note to myself at 3.37am "God, I'm good". I don't mean that in an arrogant way, but when you hit those kind of highs anything is possible. That's just how I feel. Is it too crude to suggest photography is like a drug for me.

e: What upcoming projects do you have?

fv: I've got this project on Courtney Love that I've been thinking about for awhile. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to call it "You're a bitch, but I love you".

e: Do you have a survival plan in case of a zombie apocalypse?

fv: I've noticed some blogs started calling me an apocalyptic fashion photographer. I like that. I hope it sticks.

I dream a lot about the apocalypse. I hate waking up. But if it really comes to that, and the dead really do start to walk. I'm going "Django" - camera in hand, along with Rachel Freire.

e: And lastly, share with us a dirty little secret.

fv: I've thought about this for awhile now but the truth is I don't really have any secrets. Everything I think or do or read or see comes out in my photography.