Can you tell us a little about your background?
I was raised in the Mid-Atlantic states with Mid-Western American values which I've come to half uphold. I was born here in Pittsburgh, PA. I've traveled around. I've stayed in the area because my family's had roots here since somewhere around in the later 19th century and I dig on old-fashioned things like family and familiarity with the local dirt. I've generally stumbled through life being lucky enough to meet the right people to help me along.
You seem to have an interest in many areas of image creation and design - what other creative areas are you involved in?
I spend a lot of time and money on cooking, particularly BBQ since it ends up being cheaper and easier to access than hard drugs. I also like sushi, but that's usually the same price as hard drugs so I go easy on that. I'm rather proud of my spice collection. I also consider music, particularly drumming, to be a pretty substantial part of my life. I sit in with some folks at the neighborhood bar once a week to drop some funk as best as I can while being a white guy. I was something of a musician before I fell into the photo/graphic business. Sometimes I build furniture or hang drywall.
How did you become involved in photography? It is something that you have always pursued?
I picked up a camera a few times when I was younger mostly just to take pictures of stuff so that I could draw it - I was doing the classical art classes during those formative years. I took a photography class for a semester when I was 16, and then I took it again the next year because the two most beautiful girls known to man in there. I was pretty good at drawing and got one of those “most artistic in class” nods but dropped my honors art class to repeat photography and decidedly changed the direction of my life. The only price I paid for that was the teacher, Mr. Zellem, had me teaching some of his lessons for him. Forcing me into working with Bayleigh [redacted] in the darkroom? My god. The dude was my hero for it. Of course, I don't draw so well anymore.
How would you describe your style of photography?
Entertaining for me. I've always called it nonsense.
From your musical selection on MySpace, you seem drawn to artists who eshew modern and yet ethereal qualities. Would you say this could also describe your aesthetic when creating your personal images?
I don't know. The glitchy beauty of Squarepusher and beautiful destruction of Aphex Twin tunes certainly click with me. I generally enjoy the idea of disquiet, the slow rise, the painful climax and neurological meltdown that I get out of music of that sort. I'll never get my shots looking as good as Aphex Twin sounds but I'll sure as hell keep trying.
Does music influence your work in any way?
I do tend to whistle Vordhosbn off of Druqks while I work. I haven't really plotted a shot thinking about such things but I will play ithe music while things are going on. That is, unless it makes the model uncomfortable. Or I'll play it louder if it'll really make the model uncomfortable for the sake of the shot.
Your photography has a sense of surrealism about it ... and is quite 'fantastical'. Would you agree with this?
I wish I could get it surreal. What I picked up in college shooting for the newspaper was a photojournalistic style, so I tend to stick with the idea of everything in frame actually happening and being an actual event, even if the truth was staged. It's sort of old-school these days. I'm not much of one for using Photoshop aside from a little color correction, so everything in the shot has to be there for real. I think some of the things I've staged have been ridiculous, or on a good day, maybe bordering on absurd. I wouldn't say anything is fantastical, because there's not really any fantasy - those were real people. I'd love to get the reaction out of people of "was that really happening?" And then I fake nonchalance when I brag about how things were set up.
Do clients approach you because of the 'look' of your images - or simply because you have the technical expertise?
I certainly don't think it's because of technical expertise because I really have none. One of my goals for this year is to purchase studio lights and learn how to use them. I've been good at faking like I know what I'm doing.
Can you tell us about the Greed series? How is the inspiration and ideas behind this pictorial?
It was a photo narrative sequence for Deek Magazine. The theme of the issue was Greed, and I wanted to get some sort of obtuse story line through some photos. I figured that showing Greed as a covetous thing like in a character such as Scrooge was done a lot. He learned a lesson and saved himself before he met a tragic end. I thought it would be more entertaining if the dude didn't learn a lesson but just ended up screwing himself. I get a weird kick out of the idea of people helplessly ruining themselves, particularly on film. God bless the Germans for giving us that word schadenfreude because without it I couldn't tell you want really motivates me.
Do you tend to find these days that an artist needs to be multi-tasking and multi-talented in a number of creative areas to find success? ie marketing, PR, image software knowledge etc etc
I've learned that there's a big difference between being an artist and being someone who makes art for a living. Art alone doesn't pay the bills like it used to - unless you're lucky to be the darling of a critic or agent.
The internet has certainly opened up the idea of getting art at the lowest possible bid. It's a hustle to get things moving these days and finding good clients is tough. They're seeing people online offering photo or design services for $150 so they think that this is the going rate, or that good work actually can be had at discount prices. If any lesson should be learned it's that the dollar menu at McDonalds is filling, yes, but the food will stop your fucking heart.
Sometimes you have to convince them that doing something good is better than doing something popular, but a lot of clients have a marketing person whose only concern is mass appeal. You tell them that good work is better for them in the long run because it'll buld respect but they want the immediate gratification. I've done a ton of shit for clients that I won't put my name on because I know it's crap but I've got to eat.
There's no real way to exist as a self-employed artist without having some sense of marketing. Learning things like Photoshop and InDesign have definitely helped me out. When times were rough I'd teach workshops in the stuff. Hopefully someday I get an agent or something so I can spend more time making good work rather than trying to find mediocre means to an end for survival.
Old school ways meant having a patron, or a publication to support you and get you work. That's gone.
Has your presence on MySpace had an impact on your work? In what ways?
No. I'm not sure if it will. I haven't really found any work through MySpace. I had some hopes when I signed up that a profile would help get me some clients looking to get shot or have stuff designed. That hasn't happened. Maybe I'm not assaulting people with enough bulletins.
These days millions of tasteless goons are churning out drivel, posting it and calling it art. Just because something was created doesn't make it significant, important or good. We've got this generation raised on self-esteem and the imoprtance of the self that's caught up only in getting seen online. The way I see it, eveyone's wasting their 15 minutes to no benefit.
With so many people having so much access to so many means of publication, it's hard right now for any one person to rise to success. Hopefully the law of averages does eventually kick in to effect. I understand that the ubiquity of the cellphone camera has changed the game, so the days of the photojournalist are probably gone, unless you're totally bad-ass and knee-deep in the shit.
What do you think consumers are looking for in contemporary images? Do you think that far more is expected from image creators today?
Man. I don't know. Flickr has gone to prove that the lowest common denominator is a major factor in the sensibility of the masses. I think all people are looking for in contemporary images is the 'desktop wallpaper' factor. Something work-safe and pleasant.
What seems to please people the most are the out of the box photo effects. Remember lens flare in the late 90s? The HDR thing has evidenced itself now as something that people think of as making any image good. That, super saturated colors, and vignetting are all the rage. “300” just came out and while a lot of people are saying it looks “totally awesome” it's really not breaking any ground visually. Technologically, yeah, it's doing something new by shooting almost everything green-screen and painting it in later. I know this is heresy to dude culture, but the visual style is just done to death.
I think people expect less in some ways for most things, but there's still that American attitude of bigger explosions, perkier tits, faster chases that people want to see all the time. That's consumption for the consumers. The taste-makers are something else entirely and it's less about what you're doing than what someone says you're doing with them. That's more luck than quality work.
On the other side you've got the alt-lifestyle people who think that just because someone's got tattoos or piercings that they're attractive. There's a huge maket out there now for images of naked hipster chicks. The collective consciousness of what's appealing has shifted here towards average looking people being naked. It's a weird voyeurism more than real asthetic quality. Most of that is crap but it gives the people who feel “different” some sense of empowerment. I just wish they'd put a little more effort into quality. Just tats and tits aren't enough.
I think that overall far less is expected from image creators. Everyone thinks that everything has been done so they gave up on looking. The mass of creators is also facing ennui about what they're doing in the same manner, so they're not trying that hard either.
How do you as a photographer 'stay ahead of the game'? How do you go about making sure that your images are fresh and exciting?
I don't know. I gave up on the game a while back. Hopefully it sorts itself out in the near future. I figure I'll do what keeps me entertained and produce it as best as I possibly can. Hopefully people like it and I sell some prints or get some commissions. Mostly I worry that I'll be able to please myself with what I do and that my own stuff doesn't get in too much of a rut.
Can you tell me about your interest in the designer David Carson? I remember loving his work in magazines like Raygun - and how he would cut up images and type - almost in a desperate attempt in found a new 'truth' in what was being communicated.
I have a ton of respect for the dude. I like all the crazy stuff he was doing. I was certainly influenced. I think it's been said before, but he's become a little bit more of a celebrity in the minds of a lot of designers than I think is reasonable. I was looking at one of his books the other day, and it feels very dated. If you spot Paul Rand's work these days you know it's old, but there's a certain timelessness to it. But it's probably the pendulum swinging, and a rant that I don't need to get into right now.
Artist and photographers throughout modern history have been embedded within the military during times of war. Would you see it as opportunity if you were asked to document the war in Iraq through your photography? Or would you run the other way? :)
I don't know if seeing and documenting the descent of Americans and Iraqis into madness would be the best thing for me.
What are your feelings on digital photography? Do you think it will talked about in the same way that people talk about the 'coldness' of CDs versus the warmth of a vinyl recordings?
Unlike audio, where everything was analog but still instant, traditional photography takes a process to make it. It's an entirely different thing to pour chemicals on a strip of gelatin than it is to click and see something on screen. Unlike audio, you can see negatives, you know they're there and there's a tangible presence. You can listen to music, but you can't touch it like you can a print.
What does 2007 hold for you? What projects will you be creating this year?
I hope many good things.
I've had some work in the motion picture business for a studio in Hollywood. The past few months have presented me with more success than I've had in as many years so I'm hoping it keeps up. It's crazy to think that I'm getting calls from people who just like what I do.
I'm trying to get some new shoots together with one project being random portraits of people answering little ads I post. I want to spend some time studying the classical styles of portraiture to get a better feel for light. I love putting non-pro models into my shots because they're just so much more natural after a little warming up. I'd also love to find some Maxim-aspiring girls to put in some entirely awkward situations. As one of my editors said, I “love to take beautiful people and ruin them.”
We'll see how it goes.