Newsletter January - March Recap 2022

 

January Recap: Starting A New Project

In January I interviewed Sarah Stellino about her long term project ‘Queering Rural Spaces.’ She shared that by answering the interview questions it helped her clarify what her project meant in that moment.

It made me think about how difficult it can be to envision the path of a project or even where to start. For this newsletter Sebastian Siadecki shares more about a new project he has begun.

Starting a new project can be a difficult thing, especially when you’re not really a project-based photographer. Many of my favorite photographers – people like Henry Wessel or Curran Hatleberg, to name a few – generally don’t approach their work in terms of projects. My practice has always been similarly open ended, based on what I encounter in my surroundings; any “projects” occur in the editing, when I look at the pictures and they tell me what they’re about. But in the last few months, for the first time, I’ve embarked on a project based on a more specific idea: exploring gas stations in the US, visually, geographically, sociologically.

From my experience so far, I think it’s important to keep things as open as possible. For me, the project idea is an excuse to get out the door, a basic parameter to narrow down the vast world of possibilities into something I can approach with the camera. But I want to allow room to follow my instinct and curiosity, and let the project grow, branch off, or change entirely. It’s a matter of making the work, listening to what the pictures are telling me, then using that knowledge to guide the work going forward. I want to accumulate lots of raw material, because even a project that starts with an idea is still formed in the edit. And I never avoid a photo just because it doesn’t seem to be relevant. It may fit into something else, or better yet, become the starting point of the next project.

 

February Recap: Working with Self Doubt

Self doubt unfortunately isn’t something that easily goes away. Sometimes it briefly disappears only to resurface at a new challenge. Rather that work against, the photographers I interviewed in February share how they work with it.

For Ci Demi his photography solely focuses on his own story as an Istabulite. His interview touches on his relationship to his bi-polar disorder and how it influences the way he is able to see Istanbul through his camera. Rather than keep his stories to hisself, which he had been doing, he began to share them publicly. It was the act of putting himself out there that allowed him to see how far his relationship with exploring his own story has taken him.

Demi says, “So, when I hear compliments, I feel happy for my lonely self: “You worked hard Ci, your stories are seen now.”

Scott Rossi’s interview focused on his series ‘Common Place.’ This series explores the history of Central Park and the relationship between New Yorkers and the public space in the context of a global pandemic. He shared about his own anxieties when it comes to approaching people to ask if he can photograph them.

Despite his nervousness he continues to approach people. Below he takes us to Palm Springs where he shares the story behind his portrait of Katherine.

"I met Katherine late in the afternoon on a warm January day in Palm Springs. She was walking back from the local Salvation Army where she had just picked up a stunning blanket for only $5. She was incredibly open and warm to me, a stranger randomly approaching her on a deserted sidewalk outside of her apartment complex. I am always thankful for that."

Check out the next interview feature here which highlights a photographer who lied to his taxi driver about his occupation. He stated that he was a photographer for National Geographic, saying it out loud just to see if he himself would believe he could become what he doubted.

Additional Photographers Featured in February:
Elias Carlson
Jason Corning
Cristian Ordóñez
Scott Rossi
Sebastian Siadecki

 

March Recap

Recently Elias Carlson reached out for some advice on approaching people you’re interested in photographing. I think we can all agree that the fear of rejection stops many of us from even asking the question, “Can I make a portrait of you?” Yet if we never even ask, the lack of knowing is often more painful than rejection itself. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking yourself, which discomfort do I want to feel? The potential rejection, or the feeling of passing up an opportunity?
Elias decided the best way to approach the situation, was to do just that.

Next time you are debating whether or not to approach someone, just remember that discomfort is part of the creative process.

Below is Elias’ portrait of Tony, check out his other recent portrait here

Tony approached me outside the post office because we both drive Toyotas, and I’d parked right next to him. “How many miles per gallon you get in that thing?” I’m on the introverted side of the spectrum. Small chat with strangers is not usually my jam. Normally I’d brush off an encounter like this with a polite, brisk reply, before quickly moving on. But this time I leaned in. Tony and I talked for 15, maybe 20 minutes.

I learned that he once brokered a peace deal between two rival biker gangs that frequented a bar he bounced back in Colorado. “I didn’t take shit from anyone, even them, and they respected me for that.” When on of the gang leaders approached him about using the bar for a peace talk Tony agreed and cleared the place out, and helped set the rules for the meeting. “I felt it was something I could do to help my community. To make it a more peaceful place.”

He’s retired now, but clocked over 3 million miles as a long haul trucker, traveling all over the United States. “It was a grind at first, but then I talked to another trucker who said he viewed it as paid tourism. That changed my perspective. I’ve got to see some amazing parts of the country.” Since I’ve started approaching strangers about portraits my view of the world has shifted dramatically. It still takes a lot of energy and courage to approach someone new. I have to be in the right frame of mind. I have to be able to lead with an open, non-judgmental heart. And some days that’s just not possible. But when it is, it’s as if the world has opened up. I see beauty and humanity in everyone around me, and my curiosity about people I’d never normally approach has blossomed. This encounter was worthwhile simply for the stories I got to hear. But I’ll treasure this portrait of Tony as an example of just how great it can be to let your guard down.

 
Rhombie Sandoval