Maya David

“I’m in awe of film photography and have yet to truly explore it to its full potential, but whenever I see film it excites me.”

Intercru: Where are you from?

Maya: I’m a half English/ Irish 20 year old, who was born in the seaside town of Brighton. I lived between Brighton and Knightsbridge in the UK, before I moved to Ibiza, Spain when I was 12. And then Bali when I was 18.

Where do you live and work now?

Currently I’ve gone full circle and am based back in Ibiza again. However, I tend to normally jump between Bali and here for my family.

I’m currently freelancing here in Ibiza at the moment after feeling pretty uninspired by Bali and it’s repetitive backdrops. So, I came back to the island and have been loving all it has to offer.

How did you get started in photography?

Firstly, I never thought I was going to be a photographer!

I’ve always been a creative person however throughout secondary school I juggled loving both art and photography but I lost a lot of confidence in my creativity when I was told by the educational system that it wasn’t good enough. I was never one of those naturally blessed kids who could just produce these insane images/art pieces, but I was really passionate about it. So, when I studied psychology at 16 it really captivated me.

As I was leaving school 2 years ago I was certain I was going to go back to my roots and study in Brighton. I was still really interested in Psychology and saw myself furthering this fascination by pursuing criminology.

It wasn’t really until my family decided to kinda spontaneously move to Bali and me meeting my partner in and around that time that I realised I should just take a gap year and enjoy life outside the educational system.

I got my first official job with my step dad in Bali by being their social media/on-set photographer/videographer from the very basic skills I acquired from studying in school.

Within these 2 years I was able to save money up, teach myself and invest in my gear. Slowly I was able to build the confidence to explore my photography and narrow down what really spoke to me with my work.

What do you do to find creative inspiration?

Conversations with women/other creatives. I’ve always been someone to love really in-depth conversations. And with this I’ve learned a lot of venerable truths about women which fueled me to create personal projects like ‘What makes you feel feminine?’ And ‘To Come Back Home’

Along with experimentation, I love just trying out things. I think it’s important to approach photography with a child like perspective to just really play around with it and not think about the outcome.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

Really any film photographer. I’m in awe of film photography and have yet to truly explore it to its full potential, but whenever I see film it excites me.

How would you define your creative style?

I wouldn’t really say I have a style, so to speak. I’m still developing my sense of purpose in this industry and always experimenting with my work. I always have to remind myself I’m 20 years old and I should stop pressuring myself to know what way I want to go.