“我头脑里的鲜活念头不可计数，创新助我一臂之力去实现它们。纷繁的世界变幻太快，想跟上节奏实则不易，但无穷的可能性总是如此诱人，裹携着我们持续前行。”－艺术家Simon Zalto如是说 。
1.ZEST:是什么样的机缘让你开始这些食物摄影艺术创作的 ？
Simon Zalto:个人兴趣和职业属性是我这个系列的发端。当时除了摄影师的身份之外，我也是澳大利亚萨尔茨堡“Stadtcafe Salzburg”餐厅的主厨。我一直喜欢尝试新事物，尤其是摆弄这些细小的人物玩意儿，并给他们拍照留影。我的老板非常欣赏这些照片，所以让我拍成系列作为餐厅的装饰挂画，于是我开始创作这个围绕着食物和咖啡的主题系列。
ZEST: Where is your beginning of these fantastic art work?
Simon Zalto:This collection is where my hobby and profession come together. Photography is my hobby and I am the head chef at the “stadtcafe salzburg” a restaurant in Salzburg, Austria. I always like to try new things; I was playing around with these tiny figures and created some photos with them. My employer liked these photos so much that he asked me to create pictures to decorate the restaurant. This is why I started a collection themed around food and coffee.
2. ZEST:说说你的创作核心？对你来说什么是好的艺术作品 ？
Simon Zalto:这个系列中的“演员”都是1：87的各色工人模型，与他们“配戏”的都是正常比例的生活物什，大多数是食物和饮品。好的艺术品就是爱你所爱。
ZEST: Please talk about the central theme of your work? What is good art work?
Simon Zalto:The photos in this series are all made with H0 scale 1:87 model railway figures. Those figures I let interact with life size objects, mostly food and beverages. Good art work is anything you enjoy.
3. ZEST: 一般来说你如何完成你的作品？有哪些有趣体验可以分享的？
Simon Zalto:每次情况都不同，一般要根据模型而定，有时候他们自己会讲故事，给我带来灵感，有趣的情境水到渠成，有时候却要挖空心思寻找合适的模型去搭配情境。我会在厨房里搭一个小型摄影工作室，各种所需的元素一应俱全，即使弄得一团乱也无伤大雅。我把相机架在三脚架上，搭配100毫米微距镜头以及远程触发快门设备，另外还要花心思保持相机的平稳，最后灯光也是始终要用心的环节。一般来说拍完的图片就是成品，PhotoShop只用来修掉那些固定物体用的胶水。
ZEST: Generally, how do you complete your work(from idea to finished) ? Is there any interesting experience to share?
Simon Zalto:This can be different from time to time. A lot depends on the figures, sometimes the figure gives me the idea for a photo and other times I spend a lot of time to find the figure that fits an idea. I usually set up a small table top studio in my kitchen. There I have all the ingredients and it doesn’t matter if I make a mess. I use a 100mm macro lens, put the camera on a tripod and use a remote trigger, on such a small scale it is really important to keep the camera steady. I always play around with the lighting this is one of the most important things to get right. The photos are as I shot them, I only sometimes use Photoshop to remove some glue that holds the figures in place.
4.ZEST: 想像与创新对你来说意味着什么 ？你觉得它们如何影响我们的生活？有人说吃什么像什么，你怎么看？
Simon Zalto: 想象力简直太重要了，我头脑里有无数的新鲜念头，创新帮助我去实现它们。我们的世界变幻太快，想要跟上节奏不容易，但无穷的可能性总是如此诱人继续前行。“吃什么像什么”有道理，我们应该对我们的食物更上心，给它们更多尊重。人人都想吃到物美价廉的食物，却从来不考虑它们从哪来或是如何生产。
ZEST: What does imagination and innovation mean to you and how does it affect our life in your mind? Someone said that you are what you eat,what do you think about it?
Simon Zalto:Imagination is very important; there are so many ideas in my head and innovation helps me create them. Our world moves so fast, it’s hard to keep pace, but it is a great thing that we have so many possibilities. “You are what you eat”I think there is some truth in that. We should be more aware of what we eat. We should have more respect for our food, everybody wants great variety of cheap food on their tables but nobody asks where it comes from or how it was made.
5.你喜欢哪些艺术家？你完成作品的过程中最关键的是什么？下一步的打算是？
Simon Zalto:伟大的艺术家都是令人敬仰的，我热爱现今各门类的艺术家们。乐在其中是完成作品最重要的事情，另外也得有创意的源泉。关于下一步，永远不要停下尝试新鲜事物的脚步，过一阵子我会尝试光绘摄影和传统手绘。
ZEST: Give us some names of the artist you like. What’s the most important thing when you creating ? What is your next step?
Simon Zalto:There are so many great artists. I love the variety of art we have available these days. Most important thing in creating is to have fun and also to have a creative outlet. About next, always keep moving, I love to try new stuff. Lately I have been playing around with light painting photography and also with painting.
