WHO? I grew up in a family of classical musicians in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and in a sense I guess i did follow in their footsteps, but my own path was in rock, punk, and experimental musics. I moved to NYC in 1988 in search of the “authentic” life. D.C. had always felt to me like a transient place that had no real indigenous history or traditions worth paying attention to. It was more museum than melting pot, and everything felt very sanitized and knowable. Arriving in New York, particularly in that time, felt like stepping into a vivid movie that I could be a participant in, as well as a witness to, 24/7.
Interviews
Interview with Debrani Das
WHO? Hello, this is Debrani Das, a passionate street photographer and a homemaker from India. Born in a small town of West Bengal, I have lived in several places as my father had to travel a lot. Finally Kolkata became a place which I call my hometown.
Interview with Youngjae Lim
WHO? My name is Youngjae Lim and I live in NYC. I was born and raised in politically the most conservative city, Daegu in Korea. But thank God, I left my hometown right after graduating my high school and turned out to be a progressive.
Interview with Thanos Thiriou
WHO? I was born in one of the most visually interesting suburbs of the chaotic capital of Greece. I like long walks and believing that nothing’s ever as it seems. I’m constantly searching for stillness in everything; for some sort of calmness that probably can’t be noticed at first sight.
Interview with Ariadna Lasser
WHO? My name is Adriadna Lasser, I’m 33 years old and I am an Argentinian photographer. I live in Buenos Aires and I have been photographing since I was 7 years old. My first big love was the cinema, but the idea of working with many people gave me some sort of anxiety. After studying Art- the course was quite theoretical- for a while I realized I needed something more hands-on to express myself.
Interview with Vitor Damasio
WHO? Born in São Paulo, in 1994, I started photographing when I was 21 years old, when I sold an old video game to buy a camera and photograph parties and earn some money, which ended up not working very well. I decided to continue shooting, I come feeding this with references like the Brazilians Gustavo Minas and Carlos Moreira, and other references like Alex Webb, Trent Parke and his partner Narelle Autio, and Graciela Magnoni.
Melanie Einzig in Conversation with the Women of UP
For thirty years street photography has been an integral part of my lived experience in New York. What I love about street photography is that it is freewheeling and there are very few rules and regulations to making pictures.
Interview with Karolina Trapp
WHO? I was born in 1976 in Poland, then lived in Australia for many years. It was on leaving Melbourne in 2015 that my interest in street was born by accidentally buying a local street photographer’s collection of images instead of the planned postcard-style souvenir book. By 2016, I was already settled in my new home of Seattle, USA, equipped with a small mirrorless camera, and ready to hit the streets!
Interview with Emre Cakmak
WHO? Hi! I am Emre Çakmak. I was born in İzmir,Turkey, 1996. When I was a child, I was trying to find myself in novels, playing football and walking around the city with my best friend; my late grandfather. My first photograph is a memento of those weekend walks. I was 7 years old, I took portraits of my mother and grandfather towards sea. I spent my childhood within this circle: books, football and my late grandfather.
Interview with Eric Kogan
WHO? Photography entered my life in my early teens. It all began with an internship at a photo-lab that spanned a summer’s length. I was just thirteen then, and though I didn’t fully comprehend what I was getting myself into, I felt motivated to experiment and see where the experience would take me. It was because everyone in my family made the most of their creativity that I was encouraged to explore my own.