MULL IT OVER

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast today? CHELSEA...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:25:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast today?

CHELSEA PFOHL: Today I had coffee, oatmeal, and a banana. I have a banana for breakfast almost every day.

JC: Any emerging photographers inspiring your practice at the moment?

CP: Dana Goldstein, a friend of mine who I’ve done some assisting and retouching for. I saw her work and had to reach out to meet her and see her process. She’s so conscious of everything that she does and all her work is cohesive and well thought out. Plus most of her work is just formally beautiful.

JC: What is your current project all about?

CP: I am focusing on light, and how light ties everything together. SIght is light, and sight is the main way we perceive the world around us. There is no well thought out “project,” but light is the one thing that I am always focused on when taking a shot.

JC: Any exciting plans for the rest of 2010?

CP: I will be starting my senior year in the studio art program at NYU. I’ll be getting a studio in the art building which is exciting. Hopefully I’ll produce a lot. I also will be turning 21 in less than a week, so thats something exciting, in America at least.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

CP: In my opinion, an interesting subect makes a successful portrait. Many portraits are interesting soley because the subject is interesting. I think thats a more journalistic type portraiture. I think truly successful portraiture shows a moment between both the subject and the photographer. And good lighting of course.

JC: Why do you shoot black and white?

CP: I started shooting black and white because I was taking a black and white photo course at school. I continue to shoot black and white because I feel like its a little bit more of challenge. You have to think about composition and lighting more or else you get flat images.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

CP: Photography for me is a means of showing the world the way that I see it. It sounds corny or weird but I always think of how my photos would look to my children in the future. Like how they would think of me through my photographs. I guess thats an interesting thought with strangers too. It also means expensive film and equipment and fees and a cooky old greek film process man named george (maybe) and his mean wife.

JC: Any other thoughts?

CP: Im from Northern California so the first thing that comes to mind with “any last thoughts?” is PEACE AND LOVE.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What are your plans for the next six...

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:30:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What are your plans for the next six months?

JAMES BOWDEN: I try and make a plan for my next six months everyday, but then with a phone call or email it all changes again. So to be completely honest, I have no real idea what’s in store for me in the next six months, but I can tell you it’s going to involve going to some cool places, and I’m so excited about that.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

JB: From my perspective, a great portrait is one that begs me to find out more about the subject … one that opens a book of questions, and doesn’t answer them.

JC: When you are not photographing what can you be found doing?

JB: I pretty much always have a camera on me, but when I’m not shooting, I’m most likely to be found in the sea, on a bike or with my spaniel, Vincent.

JC: You took a overland trip to China fairly recently - any poignant moments?

JB: Gosh, that was some trip, dream stuff for me. I think one of the most poignant moments was stepping off a 6 day long train ride into -20C, and saying goodbye to some great people I had got to know. Close behind was breaking my beloved rollei in Moscow, then the jubilation when I managed to fix it with a butter knife and small screwdriver. God bless analogue cameras.

JC: What is your favourite thing to photograph?

JB: Amazing people in amazing places.

JC: What is your current project about?

JB: Personally I’m planning a joint exhibition later this year, entitled ‘quit your job’ and then another collaborative project with my good friend and writer George Foulds, that will involve spending a month on a small sparsely populated island off southern Australia. Both I’m very much excited about.

JC: What do you enjoy most about using your Hasselblad?

JB: The sound!

JC: Any closing thoughts?

JB: If I can take one photograph that inspires one person get up from behind their desk, and go out into the world and follow a dream … well that would be successful picture and I would sleep happy.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What is your favourite colour? ANDREW D MUSSON:...

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:39:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What is your favourite colour?

ANDREW D MUSSON: Depends on my mood I suppose … either a bright red or a full, almost emerald green I think.

JC: Why did you make the work Leisure?

AM: I visited my girlfriend/fellow photographer Megan Leonard and a college friend in Michigan for a week and usually when I travel somewhere I attempt to make some sort of series out of it. It turned out to be a mini-project of sorts as my 220 back for my RZ67 broke and ended up ruining 30 exposures (thus the project only features 6 photos). Every time I undertake a new project I try to push myself in a new direction. This time I played around with a lot of flash, inside and outside, but unfortunately all of those photos were among the ruined 30. I still feel proud of it despite the equipment failure. I’m happy the way it fits next to my previous (and ongoing) project Eulogy.

JC: I have always been drawn to the image of the red car … what is it all about?

AM: I appreciate it! The car is a Monte Carlo that I walked by while I was exploring the very strange place that is Rockaway Park, NY during my first several months of living in New York. This photograph was for New Familiar and I was pushing myself to take photographs of “scenes” rather than just singling out one subject like I did in my previous efforts. This photo was successful in a weird way (at least for me) in the sense it’s really a close up, but the details and lines make it work and give it depth.

JC: Do any other emerging practitioners inspire your work?

AM: Most definitely. Randall Phenning, Pauline Magnenat, Jacob Mooty, Sofia Torres, Alex Goss, Thomas Prior, and Joe Leavenworth are all fellow photographers I admire and I’m glad I know. Randall Phenning probably most of all, since we’ve known each other we’ve really pushed each other’s photography to a better place. The main reason for that is we aren’t afraid to harshly/honestly critique each others work. Honest critiques will help a friend more than saying “that’s rad” or “amazing colors” every could.

JC: What particular methods do you go through when making portraits?

AM: Patience in waiting for the right moment; even if it means missing a photo all together (which happens sometimes). I just dislike compromising between the photograph I know I can get and the version I see in front of me.

JC: What is your current project all about?

AM: Haha. This is the first time I want to keep my project details rather secret! I’ll tell you that it’s going to be very big, with at least 35 photographs and at a major location. At least that’s how I’m challenging myself this time. Up till now the largest series I’ve done is 16 photographs maximum. So going big is the next step for me. Also it’s the first thing I’m doing that isn’t about me or from my particular perspective.

JC: What is it that draws you to photography?

AM: I’m not sure I’ve figured that one out for myself. I’ve been taking photographs since high school (not all of them good obviously) and I thus far I know I really enjoy every part of the process. I used to draw quite a lot, but the past several years I’ve stopped, and the scenes I take photographs of are similar to the quiet/slightly surreal drawings I used to do.. I thought it was laziness, but going out and finding the right photographs to take is just as much work as any other art form. So I’m still figuring this one out.

JC: Any other thoughts?

AM: Nah, I’ve rambled enough. Thanks for the interview Jonathan, I’m happy to be a part of MULL IT OVER.

Really pleased to have Evan Baden MULL IT OVER with me … I...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:46:00 +0100

Really pleased to have Evan Baden MULL IT OVER with me … I have been a fan since I first saw his project The Illuminati. Hope you all enjoy this one as much as me.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What is your favourite breakfast meal?

EVAN BADEN: 3 egg omelette with ham, green pepper, onion, tomato, and cheese. Toast with peanut butter. Glass of orange juice.

JC: I noticed you were featured in a recent issue of Foam … how did that come about? Were you pleased with the quality of the printed images?

EB: I am not exactly sure where the people at FOAM found my work. One day I got an email from their managing editor asking if they could present my work for their Peeping issue. I am not a frequent reader of the magazine, but I knew of it and jumped at the chance to have my work published in it. And having the opportunity for someone else to write about it was really excellent.

I was pleased with the printing, although some of the colors were not right on. There always seems to be problems with my images when they head to the printers. Many times they appear too dark, which also makes them look over saturated. But overall I was pleased.

JC: With regards to your recent project Technically Intimate - was it ever a little awkward while photographing? Were the models friends or strangers? If any were indeed strangers how did you find them?

EB: In the beginning it was awkward. I did not really know how to go about finding models for my images. I began with asking friends if they knew anyone that might be interested, which took a long time.

I ended up making the image of the couple (Alice and Ryan) first. I met the young woman in the image through my old roommates girlfriend. I liked that because I had someone to vouch for the work that I had done in the past and for the work that I wanted to make. After that first image, I began to search for strangers to model. I used CraigsList (which is a place to post online classifieds) to search out models. I was really looking for people that hadn’t done much, if any, modeling.

I would say that for about 3/4 of the images in the project, the models were strangers. The other 1/4 were people that I had some sort of connection with.

I still have trouble, after all of the lighting tests are done, asking the model to undress. I just never really know how to go about doing that.

JC: Your previous project The Illuminati have been rather successful in the photographic world - why do you think this is?

EB: I think that viewers just really have a connection with the characters in the images. The viewer can so easily put themselves in place of the figures. I have seen other photographers make images that are similar to mine, but I don’t feel that connection. There is just something very intimate about the images that I made for that project.

I think the other thing that makes The Illuminati special is the light. The way that I lit those images really gives the viewer a sense of place. It helps to ground the characters. With the other images that I have seen, the backgrounds are usually very dark, or the image just appears to be a floating face. The images that I shot just have more context to them, which I think is a big key to their success.

What I can’t figure out is why they have been so popular in Europe as opposed to the U.S.

JC: How important has promotion and exposure been with regards to The Illuminati? Any tips?

EB: I have always thought that promotion was 50% of being an artist. It’s maybe a bad way to look at it, but I see the artist and their work as a product. You can make the work, but if no one ever sees it, was there a point? For me, I make work not only for myself, but because I want to say something to others. That’s important to me.

Even before I have finished a body of work, I begin sending it out to all sorts of places. I send to museums a lot, but have now begun to send work to galleries as well. Also, whenever I travel anywhere, I always try and set up a meeting with the curator at the museum there. It is a great way to get some face time and actually talk about the work you are making.

And if you find a curator that likes your work, have them recommend places that you should send other portfolios. Recipients are much more likely to give the work a look if it is coming with a recommendation.

I also think that juried competitions are really great things to apply to. I always look at who is judging the show. If it is someone that I want to see my work, I usually apply. For me, juried shows are really only about getting something in front of one of the jurors. They have to see your work if you submit.

One final thing: if you are going to send out a portfolio of work to someone, make it memorable. I know a lot of people will send out discs or web addresses, but those require work on the part of the curator or whoever is receiving it. I always send contact prints of my 4x5 negatives. They are small, but give the receiver an idea of what the work looks like instantly, without the need for a computer. Plus, they are cool, unique, and something that many of the people I send them to end up keep for a long time. And sometimes they may be more apt to look at something like that because it is unique.

JC: What is next for you photographically?

EB: I have to finish Technically Intimate first. Then, I have become really interested in how porn is connected to the learned sexual behaviors of youths. I touch on it a little in Technically Intimate, but I would like to explore it more in depth and maybe a little different stylistically.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

EB: Connection with the viewer. The most successful portraits are those that the viewer connects with the subject.

JC: Any tips for recent photography graduates?

EB: I guess it is the same thing I would say to current students: Work, Work, Work.

Create as much work as possible and don’t ever let money be an excuse not to make work. Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to try and make work. For a while I had no money for 4x5 film, so I started shooting super 8 video film one frame at a time. That would get me over 3000 images to a roll. At least I could still make work. Now with digital there is really no excuse to not be exploring.

JC: Any other thoughts?

EB: If anyone asks you about the project you are currently working on, you should be able to sum it up in less then 3 lines.

I am really pleased to present Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés. JONATHAN...

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:56:48 +0100

I am really pleased to present Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés.

JONATHAN CHERRY: Where are you now and what is the weather like?

ALVARO SANCHEZ-MONTANES: Barcelona. It’s too hot and there’s a lot of humidity … and cloud.

JC: What started you off photographing Desert Indoors?

AM: A picture on a magazine of the buildings outside. It made me so curious about what there was on the inside.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers at the moment who inspire your practice?

AM: Many from Spain; Ruben Acosta, Ariadna Arnes and Txema Salvans.

JC: Who is your hero?

AM: Leonard Cohen.

JC: What is next for you photographically?

AM: I’m developing a project about the Gulf of Mexico in the USA. It’s almost finished. It has nothing to do with indoor desert; nothing at all.

JC: When exhibiting work from Desert Indoors what you be you ideal size and layout and why?

AM: I normally print in two sizes: 20x30” and 30x39” … I’d really love exhibiting it recreating a room like the ones in the photographs with painted paper on the wall and sand on the floor but I couldn’t find any galleries who wanted to make it.

JC: Any exciting plans for the rest of 2010?

AM: Not now. I want to travel to Japan … but I don’t know if I will have time!

JC: Any other thoughts?

AM: I’m hungry now and thinking about lunch.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

LUKASZ WIERZBOWSKI: Porridge and a glass of orange juice.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

LW: There are few emerging photographers whose work I truly love. Ren Hang is one of them.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

LW: Jeff Wall, Wolfgang Tillmans and Martin Parr.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

LW: Every session is a kind of a journey. A process I like to cherrish in a way. I don’t carry my camera with all the time, I like to keep some kind of healthy distance from it. The moment I get to touch the camera feels more precious that way.

JC: What is your current project all about?

LW: It’s not really defined. I’m doing lots of personal stuff, working on a more fashion oriented projects and doing a few collaborations.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

LW: You never know what the future may bring. Besides I like suprises so I don’t make many plans in advance but I would love to release a book and do an exhibition this year.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

LW: It can be anything. Good lighning, models attitude or the right timing. And if you are lucky all these things at once.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

LW: It gives me pure joy. I consider myself to be a little depressed so photography is a kind of a therapy for me.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What is your favourite colour? TONY LUGO:...

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:51:18 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What is your favourite colour?

TONY LUGO: Blue/Green. The colors of the ocean I suppose.

JC: What is your current project all about?

TL: I am currently working on a series of photographs based on found images from various news/tabloid publications. These images will explore the fascination people have with celebrity culture and it’s relation to classical art narratives.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

TL: Dash Snow, Juergen Teller, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, & a few others.

JC: Do any other emerging practitioners inspire your work?

TL: Jackson Eaton has some great work and I’m excited to see the direction his work will be taking.

JC: What particular methods do you go through when making portraits?

TL: Generally there’s alcohol involved, a loose concept, and a bit of improvisation.

JC: What are your plans for the rest of 2010 photographically?

TL: I’ll be putting together a large format newsprint zine this fall based on the series mentioned above … hopefully I can do a pair of short films before the year runs out.

JC: What is it that draws you to photography?

TL: Probably its ability to help shape how we perceive memories. There’s an intangible reality to photography versus the memories we keep in our minds that I find fascinating.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

OLYA VIRICH: Nothing today

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

OV: Of course, I love works by Steven Beckly, Alba Yruela, Rafa Castells, Alec Soth, Ryan McGinley, Viviane Sassen very much.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

OV: Photography heroes are war photographers, those guys who shoot war, death and all those terrible things of the modern world. I don’t understand how they do that. They really deserve to be respected

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

OV: I photograph only those things which I like; I never make myself to do something. The most important thing is to be sincere and honest. Photography is a simple and natural process, just like eating

JC: What is your current project all about?

OV: I have been photographing sea a lot lately; I love the theme of interaction of a human-being with nature. But actually I’ve never succeeded to make a whole project; still I really want to do that.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

OV: I don’t know; I have no plans. May be I plan not to be lazy, to photograph more and to make a project finally.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

OV: Just wait for a special moment in the process of communication when a person is relaxed or deep in thoughts and then push the button - that is how you can get a good portrait.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

OV: For me photography is a way to capture another side of things, which seems to be hidden, and then to show this to everyone. It is like letting out a secret)

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

MARYANNE CASASANTA: Granola, a couple of apricots, an orange and coffee.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

MC: So many, it would be a mouthful! I am inspired by artists who don’t limit themselves, surprise me with their playfulness and are not solely aligning their vision with what is currently fashionable. I am always impressed by peers who can stimulate and challenge me, besides creating a thing of impressive beauty.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

MC: Writers who have written extensively on the topic of photography have left a significant impression on me. I often refer back to Susan Sontag, Janet Malcolm, Roland Barthes or Walter Benjamin when I want to think more deeply about the process. Their examinations of the medium are so dense and complex. I gravitate towards the challenge of investigating new ideas and am interested in the task of forging connections between various concepts. Something about having these close to the surface of my conscious keeps me on alert for opportunities to visually explore them while I’m out shooting.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

MC: I see myself as a visual artist who works with photography, so for me, the act of taking a picture has multiple meanings. When I am composing a photograph, I often see the camera as an extension of my body and question where I stop and the camera begins, especially for projects where I am both the photographer and the subject. Many of my photos function as documents of my installations, performances and geographical interventions. They exist as either a photograph or as a proof of something I did or made, which depending on the viewer, can alter its dimension. The experience of setting up and taking a picture is one of my favorite things to think about.

JC: What is your current project all about?

MC: My current project is called, Peace Bards. It consists of a small handmade wooden hexagonal box that contains 12 hex cards. The images on the hexagonal cards depict shapes and structures that I have sought out in natural environments. To be frank, I don’t know what this project is really meant to accomplish. A bard is a poetic oral tradition, a form of storytelling. I sense that this project has something to do with seeking out a space of peace and the featured scenes are like that of perhaps a fortune telling card, little narratives onto themselves or a longer narration that can be loosely strung together to teach or remind one of something. At least that is my currrent interpretation. I don’t want to think too hard about it at the moment but just let the meaning reveal itself to me in time and have the object organically manifest.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

MC: Hopefully some more collaborative efforts, not only with other artists and photographers but also musicians and designers. I’ve been thinking about revisiting older projects to see if after some time they can be transformed into a more defined work of art. At some point, I’d like to take a break and just be a participant for awhile rather than a voyeur.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

MC: It would be difficult for me to clearly summerize what photography means to me. I find photography to be very enigmatic and seductive. The experience of reviewing old photos is a dangerous one, because one can easily lose themselves in romanticizing that captured moment and project an interpretation of the event while distorting its actual reality. Photography is powerful in confusing memory, but sometimes it can also reveal realities over time. I think the role of a photographer is to anticipate the unexpected, which is really exciting because every time you go out to shoot, there is so much open potential. Besides taking my own pictures, I enjoy working with found photographs and appreciate the idea of the photo as a relic for nostalgia or as an art object that can be reinterpreted.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:02:58 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

DAVID CORTES: This morning I was running a little late to work so I wasn’t able to make myself my usual scrambled eggs with vegetables and hash browns, so I ate the next best thing… cereal with a glass of orange juice.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

DC: I live with my brother and close friend who are both artists who influence my work a lot. I have some friends which have really great work that influences me as well. At the moment, I am trying to get together a group of young photographers which have work that I really support and believe in. My ultimate goal with this group of young artists is to put on an exhibition next summer.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

DC: I wouldn’t say that they are “Heros” of mine, just artists who I respect and admire. Artists like Man Ray, Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, Patrick Tsai, Ryan McGinley, Alexander Binder, Tim Barber, John Clang. There are plenty of other artist’s work which has influenced me. I’m just terrible with remembering names.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

DC: The experience is everything. I can sit in front of a computer screen or with a book in my face for hours looking at image after image but it’s not until I actually go out and shoot that I learn and evolve as an artist.

JC: What is your current project all about?

DC: Right now I have a few projects which I’m working on. I’ve never been one to really plan out everything that I do beforehand. I tend to just have an idea and run with it. I like for things to happen organically, and to leave a little room for spontaneity.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

DC: I’m really not too sure what’s in store for me. I’d like to do a few more exhibitions. I have a lot of work that I’m aching to get out for people to see. I have a few trips planned in the next few months which I’m really looking forward to. I’m just really focused on getting my work out for people to see.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

DC: I think that the approach that the photographer takes to creating the image along with the individual which the photographer is taking a photo of makes a portrait “successful”. Different situations require different approaches, and different people tell different stories.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

DC: Each photograph means something different to me. I really can’t narrow it down to just one emotion, or feeling. In retrospect when I look back on different photos or series of photos it reminds me of a different point in my life. A span of a few hours, days, months, or even years where I was trying to figure something out, or convey a certain message.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

HORATIO BALTZ: I haven’t had breakfast yet but I have a feeling its going to be what I had last night - baby fetus marinated in chicken broth.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

HB: I wouldnt say they are emerging as much as they are inspiring and surpassing my efforts by leaps and bounds - Johanna Landscheidt, Erin Hanson, Andrew Musson, Omar Mullick, Alex Cretey.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

HB: Weegee, Gregory Crewdson, Carl Van Vechten, Eddie Adams, W Eugene Smith, and Louis Mendes - who I run into from time to time and has cracked many an eggs of knowledge on the blackened skillet of a head of mine.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

Every click of the shutter and crank of the film advance is a tiny orgasm that, over rolls and rolls of film, has the unlikely ability to unravel the very fabric of your personal universe. Your forehead first grows cold, then completely numb as you find yourself covered in a film of sweat and floating on a cloud that is somehow chemically composed of tanned burlap sacks brimming with $100 dollar bills. The world becomes completely silent with the exception of the faint rumbling of an 8 lane highway in the far distance that seems to put the world at ease. Palestinians are hugging Israelis, Israelis are high-fiving Palestinians, fireworks start at 10pm Sunday thru Monday, all items are 50% off and buy one get one free, a pack of american spirits costs $4.36, and eggs always land sunny side up.

JC: What is your current project all about?

HB: I’m not sure if I have one yet. The last project I did was a series of portraits in New Orleans toward the beginning of the year. I started playing in this old-time jazz band so I haven’t had much time to think about what’s next as far as photography is concerned. Before the summer I was touring down south for about about 2 weeks. This summer I’ve been down South again for about 2 weeks and touring in the Northeast for about 2 weeks. Now im back in New York city scratching my head and trying to piece together the images I took along the way. Other than that, I’ve been thinking a lot about hell’s kitchen, glory holes, section 8 housing, Thomas Ott, and vhs porn.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

HB: hopefully regaining custody of it. I haven’t been treating it too well lately. I plan on getting my 4x5 in order - it needs a lensboard. I want to check out the rust belt, the iron triangle, Newark, and, like I said, take a closer look at hell’s kitchen here in New York. I met and shot an actor once who told me there is very much still a vibrant network of male ecuadorian sex slaves that roam the area around 42nd and 8th avenue, soliciting men for sex in order to send money home to their families for food and school supplies. In the basements of many of the porno stores are elaborate and often times enormous spaces retrofitted with dozens upon dozens of 4ft by 4ft rooms where these men pay as little as 20 dollars a night to stay off the street. More often than not, business is also conducted in these basements as well. On a clear, crisp October night, if you stand on any corner, you can hear the faint moans of a thousand american dreams as they leak forth from the sewage grates into the gutters of hell’s kitchen.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

HB: You know, I’m not sure - I like environmental portraits, I like seeing people do things that people do. I guess a portrait is successful when filling in the gaps comes effortlessly. whether this is by means of technique or by means of the situation and coincidence, I am not sure.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

HB: Photography is either 1 of 2 things - perhaps even both at once: 1) a dank, dark, cold hole at the bottom of the world brimming with self-deprecation, envy, processing costs, and realizations that perhaps all of your efforts are fruitless or 2) me at 3 in the morning sitting in a rickety wooden chair completely naked (with the exception of a stetson fedora) sweating profusely while scanning strips of negatives, listening to local public radio, chain smoking marlboro reds and wondering when to call it a night.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast today? OLYA...

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:29:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast today?

OLYA IVANOVA: I had porridge with orange jam.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

OI: I like almost all the photographers from here. Now I’m interested in this theme a lot.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

OI: My heroes are Diana Arbus, Vanessa Winship, Nan Goldin, Katy Grannan and many other people that have enough courage to continue to take pictures no matter what.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

OI: It’s like swimming lessons. Before you learn to swim freely at any depth you have to do a lot of unnecessary movements.

JC: What is your current project all about?

OI: I’m working on the series about russian suburb and russian disappearing villages.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

OI: I don’t know exactly. I want to finish some of my old projects.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

OI: Clear vision of the result. Relationships. Background. Concentration. Mood. Chance.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

OI: Photography is my way to tell about life.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:23:23 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

STEFANO MARCHIONINI: Two slices of brioche with fig confiture and a glass of milk.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

SM: Jen Davis, Bobby Doherty, Aaron Fowler, Traci Matlock, Erin Jane Nelson, Giulia Nomis, Jan Postma, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Rafael Soldi, Jim Verburg, Davin Youngs. Everyone for different reasons.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

SM: I’m thinking about the Nan Goldin from the 90’s, The Devil’s Playground is a masterpiece, and Willy Ronis, who is just endlessy inspiring.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

SM: I like how it depends on the moment, sometimes you can be very excited while taking pictures and other times the experience is more relaxed or even boring. And the result doesn’t always depend on the amount of excitement you felt when you were shooting. Sometimes you forget the pictures you’ve taken, and when they come up to you there’s this magic moment when you finally see what you saw that day, and then you think “I’m lucky I took this picture even if I was bored as hell!”. Working on snapshots and diary like photographs one has to never feel tired to take a picture.

JC: What is your current project all about?

SM: I tend to build my work around the places where I live and the people that I know and that is a process that usually takes place just after an intense period of shooting. Most of my series are long-time projects and I keep adding photos as the years go by.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

SM: I hope to be able to finish the book project I’m working on with my boyfriend Vivien Ayroles, who’s also a photographer.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

SM: The right balance between honesty and fiction, the fact that the portrait has to say something about the person who’s been portrayed, as well as something about the photographer, since I do think that a portrait is in some way a photographer’s autoportrait. And it really has to talk to the viewer, whether he’s aware of who this person is or not. It has to be personal and universal at the same time. Quite difficult I must say!

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:26:55 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

LUKAS DESIMONE: I had a Mate (typical Argentina infusion) with last friend’s birthday sandwiches, a beatiful breakfast on a rainy morning today.

JC: Are there any emerging photographers who are inspiring your practice at the moment?

LD: I really like Bryan Schutmaat (USA) and Marija Strajnic’s (Serbia) work. Ian Whimore and Hin Chua too.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

LD: Hero is my dog, and he will learning photography soon. About classics, I like Hiroshi Sugimoto, Salgado, Mapplethorpe, “the Düsseldorfs” Thomas Ruff and Gursky.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

LD: Oh, I’m excited, happy and relaxed with it. I can walk around, cross the city with my camera and enjoy it as a dreaming storybook.

JC: What is your current project all about?

LD: Well, nothing in particular. Im chasing the light, capturing special day times, magical sunbaths on city walls. Making editions and orders in my archive. I’m also testing many differents old little medium format cameras.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the next 6 months?

LD: I think I will travel to a new city, Latinamerica perhaps or Balkans. It is the best for me, landing in a new big photo-set as a city.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

LD: It’s a one curious thing, when you (as a viewer) can feel the same 5 senses of the portrayed person. Jonathan, you have a great portraits, have to say.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

LD: I enjoy living each moment as it comes without planning for it. Music and photography gives me a context for it. A cool way of life. A personal, mystical tool for communicating my deep understanding. And this, knowing and writing for you, showing people, answering and talking about differents photo-works around the world. I think that it’s a good life. Magic and happiness.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up this morning? ANDREW...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:05:30 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up this morning?

ANDREW SPEAR: I got up around 9 a.m. today, slowly adjusting to the life of a college graduate.

JC: What was the last photography book you picked up?

AS: The mailman just dropped off Trent Parke’s new book titled Bedknobs & Broomsticks. I’m currently soaking it up/trying to wrap my head around everything, and I find it to be one of the more intriguing presentations of work I have seen recently. I’ve always been drawn to the relationship between photography and the written word.

JC: What is your current project all about?

AS: Having been surrounded by it for four years now, I’m currently working on a project regarding sexuality in college. I started work on the project in September of last year as a senior in college after some brainstorming and a lot of “I don’t know, man” moments amongst peers. Initially for class, I began to examine the sexual relationships students build with one another - everything from long-term relationships to random hook - ups. The project, however, is about much more than college kids having sex with a lot of different people. I’m pursuing students finding themselves in terms of homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality. I also believe that body image has a very relevant place in a project like this; students change eating and exercising habits with the goal of appearing attractive to the opposite sex, and not necessarily for the health benefits. I think it’s a topic that is largely overlooked because “that’s what people do in college,” but I find it important to document the sexual tension in a college town.

JC: Can you give us some examples of things that inspire you?

AS: Lately, I’d have to say awkward interactions with strangers and music. It’s always changing though, I recently picked up a TLR and have been walking around shooting portraits of people in my community. I’ve been really looking forward to the initial awkwardness that leads into a much longer conversation, especially when it becomes revealing for the both of us. There’s something very beautiful about having a complete stranger open up to you in just moments. As for music, I’ve been living (and will be for the next year) with a really talented group of musicians. We all push ourselves creatively as we’re very much on the same page, we’re just working in different mediums.

JC: What has the second half of 2010 got in store for you photographically?

AS: I’m looking at wrapping up my work in Glouster, Ohio (at least for the time being) and continuing my project on sexuality. I’m also beginning work on a new project, but I’m keeping it under wraps for the time being.

JC: What can you be found doing when the camera isn’t in your hands?

AS: I’m a big fan of bike rides, skiing, reading books, and driving through the country.

JC: Any tips for recent photography graduates?

AS: This is a question that people like myself could benefit from the answer, so as we’re in the same boat I’ll just give what’s working for me right now. Don’t stop shooting or thinking, pay attention to everything and try your hardest to understand your surroundings. Most importantly, shoot for yourself.

JC: Any other thoughts?

AS: Thanks so much for giving me this opportunity. You guys have featured some really beautiful work on MULL IT OVER.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up this morning? ANTHONY...

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up this morning?

ANTHONY NOCETI: 7am and straight for the coffee!

JC: What is the Esoteric Traveler all about?

AN: Conveying a detached and voyeuristic presence, the mode in the Esoteric Traveler is that of a passenger moving through an ever changing landscape where the notion of reality is blurred. An omniscient sort of being, the passenger is more of an implied character who does not take part in the narrative, but only relates it to the viewer. In this sense the narrative takes on a feeling of esoteric projection, wherein the traveler leaves the physical to explore a greater realm.

JC: Has the Esoteric Traveler project developed over time?

AN: Yes, I spent two years compiling the narrative.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

AN: Many of the images I capture are taken from within vehicles during stretches of open travel. Along these journeys, I started noticing how the changing landscapes were affecting me on a subconscious level. Despite my stationary presence inside the vehicle, I found my mind was else where, exploring the landscape. Once I realized that I was having these kind of esoteric experiences, I could not help but document the places my mind was going, and low resolution digital and 35mm cameras became the perfect medium of communication.

JC: What is next for you photographically?

AN: I have several trips planned over the course of the next year or so, which include the High Sierra’s and the Mojave Desert.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

AN: I feel very blessed to have a desire to communicate through photography.

JC: Any other thoughts?

AN: Thanks Jonathan for supporting this project. MULL IT OVER is such a fantastic site with so many amazing artists, I am so pleased to be in such amazing company … You all inspire me very much!

JONATHAN CHERRY: Where are you from and what got you started...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:33:42 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: Where are you from and what got you started with photography?

IRWIN BARBE: I’m from Paris and I live in Paris and Bordeaux, France. I started taking pictures after I saw the movie Virgin Suicides, when I was about 14 years old.

JC: What are your plans photographically for the second half of 2010?

IB: I’d like to buy a stereoscopic camera, such as the Stereo-Realist. This technique looks really nice. I also want to publish a photo book with my friends Luna and Lyn, but I doubt that we’ll find any editions willing to publish our book.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

IB: It doesn’t mean much. It’s just a way to forget how pointless everything I do is.

JC: What is your recent project all about?

IB: I will be making a photographic diary this summer. I’ll shoot all the places I go to, all the people I meet and so on. As I don’t have any home anymore since my parents are moving, I will call it “Homeless Summer”.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing as opposed to just simply documenting that experience?

IB: I don’t make any distinction between photographing and documenting. I guess I don’t care about photography in itself. Only the subject matters. I’m totally against photographers who say that “the important thing is not what is photographed, it’s how it’s photographed”.

JC: Who are some of your photography heroes?

IB: Hara Mikiko, Wolfang Tillmans, Larry Clark, Shomei Tomatsu, Eugene Richards, Todd Hido.

JC: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

IB: I didn’t have anything, I woke up at 1pm.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you wake up today? SE YOUNG:...

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you wake up today?

SE YOUNG: 7:00am

JC: What did you have for breakfast?

SY: Fresh summer peach, roasted twig tea & a handful of almonds.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

SY: Anyone who isn’t following trends. Lone rangers. Contemporary photographers with an old-school eye. People whose work has longevity. Image makers that demand more from your eye and mind.

JC: Has something inspired you in the last 48 hours? If so, what and why?

SY: My mother’s strength and beauty. No, really. Enough said.

JC: What is your current project all about?

SY: Well, I’m currently working on a few seriously and have many ideas in the wings. The most flushed-out project is titled, Somewhere Between Here and There. This series explores different notions of what “home” can be and finding the common thread that ties all of those places together.

JC: How highly do you value the actual experience of photographing?

SY: The physical, tangible experience is sometimes a bit stressful for me in all honesty. There is a sort of ritual aspect that I quite like at times. Not to make it sound too serious, but by making images in a continuous way, you fall into some kind of pattern or groove. I also use it as a way to exercise and work out thoughts, so that becomes very therapeutic.

JC: What is in store for you photographically over the second half of 2010?

SY: Hoping to start a zine/project space/blog with a friend between Seoul and Tokyo. Wanting to do some more travel throughout Asia and get inspired. Changing up my process a bit and keeping image making a bit looser. Making connections and collaborating with people whose work I admire.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

SY: It’s definitely always evolving. In school, photography meant studying and learning more ways to develop a skill set. The dialogue of critique was also essential in finding a voice and a way to express certain concepts. After that, I struggled with photography because I don’t feel like I define and limit myself by it. I’m not one of those people who eat, sleeps and breathes it - and for awhile I felt guilty because of that. Now, I feel like I’m coming to a place where my images and thoughts are coming together in a more cohesive way. I’ve found a way for photography to work for me.

JC: Any other thoughts?

SY: I’ve recently connected with many amazing and supportive photographers through the internet. I sound like an old woman saying this, but there is really no limit on who can access your work. It really levels the playing field and gives people a voice who maybe normally wouldn’t be able to get their work out there. It also makes the community seem much more intimate, but the sheer volume of great work is also daunting at times.

Se also has a tumblr.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up today? SARAH GRAVES:...

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:55:43 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: What time did you get up today?

SARAH GRAVES: I got up around 9 this morning and my cat immediately came over from his spot at the end of the bed to purr in my ear.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

SG: Sally Mann, Elinor Carucci, Emmet Gowin, and Mona Kuhn. I have also been inspired by Bo Bartlett’s paintings and by folk music.

JC: You seem to have a dream like quality to some of your work - where do you draw inspiration from?

SG: While I was working on this project, I was reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales and drawing heavily on the more obscure stories that had been read to me as a child. I didn’t want to make connections that were too literal; I think ambiguity is much more powerful. I definitely have a completely different appreciation of “The Juniper Tree” as an adult.

JC: In your opinion what makes a successful portrait?

SG: Light is everything, in any photograph, and especially in portraiture. That said, I wait for the subject’s face to have a certain expression before taking the picture. I shoot with a large format 4x5 camera, so often this involves setting up the shot and simply waiting until the “decisive moment” occurs. Most people feel uncomfortable with a camera’s lens directed at them. They freeze or flash a goofy smile or just end up looking very uncomfortable. You have to wait for their face to relax back to the way they look the other 99% of the time.

My sister is my little muse, who I photographed throughout this project, and she has an incredible gaze. I think that’s the other part of portraiture - I occasionally encounter people who I am drawn to photograph. I think you have to follow your instincts when it comes down to it. I’ve begun projects before with no plans but to photograph a certain person and a body of work came out of it that I never could have planned.

JC: Have you discovered anything significant about yourself or your practice through the time of your studies?

SG: Everything I photograph is hugely personal. When I have done portrait projects focusing on other people, the themes running through the images always point back to me, forcing the subject to become merely a stand-in for my own memories, fears, and desires. Every photographer brings parts of themselves into their work, even friends of mine who photograph idyllic landscapes where it is difficult to see anything of the person in the images, unless they were to talk about them.

I guess I’ve also realized I often go for shock value in my work, but I try to keep it under control. Maybe I just have a good sense of what will elicit a response.

JC: What is your recent body of work all about and how did it develop?

SG: At the beginning, I had the intention of documenting a view of childhood innocence (and its loss), and the sense of wonder about the world where grownups live and interact. Drawing from the stories of classic fairy tales, with their themes of identity, mortality, growth, and decay, I created a narrative focusing on one young girl. The images study her physical self, as well as serving as windows into her states of mind. As the project progressed, I became attuned to its allusions to danger and to life’s fragility. It is a recalling of the time before our imaginings give way to the senses of self and reality that constitute maturity.

The more I grow up and read more Freud and become worldly (HAHA) I think I realize how everything seemed forbidden when I was young. So in a way I took this work to the extreme and explored what scared me as a child, and what I was scared of but drawn to nevertheless.

I set out to document the process of girl becoming woman, or becoming teenage girl at least. I was picturing a woman on the verge. In hindsight I realize what I was probably imagining was Sally Mann’s “At Twelve,” but the project became so much more than that. I think I found my own voice and established a style that is uniquely my own and not so much a regurgitation of my heroes.

JC: Whats next?

SG: I’d like to turn my lens to the opposite sex. I think there is a lot we can learn from each other. I may have exhausted the female photography theme, at least for the moment.

JONATHAN CHERRY: Where are you from and how did you get into...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:57:00 +0100

JONATHAN CHERRY: Where are you from and how did you get into photography?

BOGDAN RADENKOVIC: I am photographer from Serbia, and as a kid I always wondered to have machine that will ‘store my emotions’. In war “99 I found out that this machine is actually a photo camera. Mr. Bozidar Vlatkovic, museum photographer from my town later taught me the basics of camera usage, developing films and aesthetic principles. I also learned about art forms from my father and all the books I used to read then.

JC: What is your project bed after dreams all about?

BR: If I could literally explain it I surely wouldn’t take those photos. It’s rather emotional. I wanted to express the relief of bed as a link between dreams and things that really happened or are going to happen.

JC: Who are your photography heroes?

BR: Umm, lots of them - from fathers like A. Adams and H. C. Bresson to Stephen Shore, William Eggleston and finally Brian Ulrich, Louis Perreault and other contemporary artists. I find inspiration also in Sartre’s (see ‘La Nausee’), M. Krleža and Nietzsche’s books, Mahler’s symphonies and Wagner’s operas.

JC: What does photography mean to you?

BR: I see photography as a medium between the artist and his work - It’s not important if you paint, make music or movies, shoot film or digital it’s only important what you feel and what you create. I love photography because it always shows the ultimate reality, but it allows infinite interpretations.

JC: What is next for you photographically?

BR: I love to do it without definite plans - I have an idea about one or two books and a few new projects.

JC: Any other thoughts?

BR: Those final thoughts always sounds like a cliché to me.