Back in July, we mentioned David Arnot, and promised to be back with more about the Texas-born photographer. And here we are!

What was the first photograph that you remember making an impression on you?
My parents had some art and photography books including some Avedon and Scavullo books which I remember looking at. Even though I grew up in the Southern US, we were lucky to live in a large city which had major museums and I had some exposure to contemporary arts and photography.

Can you describe the first photograph you took that made you — or someone else — think that you might have a calling as a photographer?
I took my first photographs as a young teen, after seeing the movie, The Eyes of Laura Mars. I dressed up my girlfriends in jersey disco dresses and high heels and took photos of them in fountains of downtown Houston, I wish I had those photos now! They were color slides. After that exciting moment, I lost interest in photography, as many teenagers do, and focused more on painting, drawing, playing sports and having fun with my friends.

Which photographers influence you most?
Probably Avedon, Scavullo, Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber and Helmut Newton. But I also like many young contemporary photographers as well and enjoy looking magazines and blogs to see what new photographers are doing and what techniques and points of view they are creating.

Where do you find your models?
I started out looking for them on the internet and contacting them when I had very few pictures to show, but I have been shooting mostly boys from agencies lately. Sometimes I see interesting people on the street I would like to shoot, but I am afraid or too shy to approach them. I am always looking for someone interesting and would love more models or agencies to contact me if they are interested in shooting with me. I would love to start working more with female models as well.

Where did you meet the Nick Gogel [above]?
Nick came to my studio in lower Manhattan for the shoot from his agency Adam- NYC. He is a tall athletic and friendly young guy from New Jersey. He has a positive energy which is important for creating something interesting and fresh.

Any anecdote about the shooting?
Nick was the first model who actually arrived early for the shoot, that was an interesting and positive sign. You can tell that he is very serious about what he does and determined to be successful.

We will run the second part of this interview in a few days — time for Arnot to finish editing the new shooting he’ll show us then.

David Arnot
Adam NYC