{"id":14046,"date":"2013-10-08T10:22:41","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T17:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=14046"},"modified":"2013-10-08T10:26:33","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T17:26:33","slug":"american-sequitur-interview-with-joshua-yospyn-by-brian-eden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/08\/american-sequitur-interview-with-joshua-yospyn-by-brian-eden\/","title":{"rendered":"“American Sequitur”: Interview with Joshua Yospyn by Brian Eden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

Eric’s Note<\/strong>: I am excited to share this interview which was conducted by Brian Eden<\/a>, a street photographer in New York City. He interviewed\u00c2\u00a0Joshua Yospyn<\/a>, a freelance photographer from Washington D.C. about his “American Sequitur<\/a>” project. Find out more about how Joshua got started and see some more of his photos in the interview below!\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Brian: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where do you live?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joshua<\/strong>: I was born in Cleveland, moved to Detroit halfway through the first grade, and went to college in Dayton, Ohio.\u00c2\u00a0 That was my fill of the Midwest.\u00c2\u00a0 After graduation I committed to the Eastern seaboard.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been drawing or creating things, but photography never entered my mind until I moved to DC at the turn of the century (it sounds weird to say that).<\/p>\n

What got you into street photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"grand-central2317\"<\/p>\n

First, let me say that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a street photographer.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t walk around town with my camera every day.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes I do, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a Fl\u00c3\u00a2neur in the traditional sense.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead of city sidewalks, I prefer campaign rallies, protests, the suburbs, naturalization ceremonies, highway rest areas, rainstorms, parades, or the state of Florida.\u00c2\u00a0 Florida is weird, very weird.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a goldmine.\u00c2\u00a0 Hector Isaac<\/a>, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a member of the STRATA Collective<\/a>, is in Miami and gets bizarre, fantastic stuff.<\/p>\n

What got me to this point was a cross section of things that mostly occurred in 2009.\u00c2\u00a0 That year I started freelancing for one of MSNBC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s websites doing political coverage, running around town getting candids of politicians or activists, and I also worked with a reporter for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street style\u00e2\u20ac\u009d spreads in The Washington Post.\u00c2\u00a0 At the same time, I began using a football-sized Mamiya 6×7 camera to take portraits of people on the street.\u00c2\u00a0 Also in 2009, I helped start Worn Magazine<\/a>, a style and arts beat that still publishes hardcopy photography magazines in DC.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m no longer a part of it, but for two years I blogged about the arts scene from Richmond to Baltimore, plus I had a place to stick my street portraiture.<\/p>\n

Finally, several years ago I stumbled into a group called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cult of Frank Van Riper<\/a>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d also known as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suds and Silver,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (a reference to drinking beer and talking about developing film\u00e2\u20ac\u201dSilver bromide crystals).\u00c2\u00a0 The group is comprised of photography students or friends of Frank\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, including many street photographers.<\/p>\n

Anyway, a lot of things got me into street photography.<\/p>\n

How did you get your photography to where it is now? Have you had formal training? Did you teach yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"bear10\"<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve taken a few workshops but largely taught myself when or how to push the button.\u00c2\u00a0 I applied to a few grad schools, was rejected by all three and will probably try again this winter.\u00c2\u00a0 Yet justifying $60,000-plus in debt is almost impossible.\u00c2\u00a0 I would rather spend $6,000 to arrange 60 meetings with editors in New York or elsewhere.\u00c2\u00a0 That makes more sense to me.<\/p>\n

What do you look for when you’re shooting? What inspires you? What catches your eye?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"digger06\"<\/p>\n

I look for anything weird and ironic, but lately I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been pushing the boundaries of banality.\u00c2\u00a0 Like this series I did of my cousin mowing his lawn<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 This is consistent with my belief that reality is far more interesting than what you see on TV or in glossies.<\/p>\n

The challenge is to photograph the commonplace in such a way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s provocative, revealing and being mindful of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s considered \u00e2\u20ac\u0153contemporary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 It often involves taking risks.<\/p>\n

What are the most rewarding parts of photography for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"eurobobble3382\"<\/p>\n

Photography is a reward in itself.\u00c2\u00a0 A good image is like your birthday.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like Christmas.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone likes presents.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes you get socks, but every once in a while you get laser tag.<\/p>\n

You also shoot editorial work \u00e2\u20ac\u201c what do you see as the main differences in that work and your photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"tattoo-convention4832\"<\/p>\n

Photographing for yourself is very different from photographing for someone else\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfor a writer, for an editor, for a designer, for a page layout, for a paycheck or for the clock.\u00c2\u00a0 Occasionally these worlds merge and you have total freedom to create and experiment, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always go that way.\u00c2\u00a0 Regardless, I always have a street mentality in mind.\u00c2\u00a0 I want to get something real and candid, even if that person is staged beneath 3200 watts of artificial light in a studio.\u00c2\u00a0 With editorial it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to plan reality, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mostly replaced by anxiety.<\/p>\n

By the way a great site for editorial photographers and freelancers is http:\/\/whopaysphotogs.tumblr.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It seems most American photographers are based in New York, Chicago, LA and San Francisco. What are the advantages, opportunities and challenges that come with being a photographer based in Washington DC?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are?\u00c2\u00a0 New York of course, but I honestly don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know the geographic allocation of street photographer density.\u00c2\u00a0 That would be an interesting Flickr experiment.<\/p>\n

DC is just like any other city, only more so.\u00c2\u00a0 We have mass gentrification, mass transportation and mass political insanity.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone comes through here at some point.\u00c2\u00a0 DC is the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s turnstile.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great place to be with a camera. For the challenges or opportunities of street photography in DC, you should talk to Matt Dunn<\/a> (also in STRATA).<\/p>\n

Your work does a brilliant job of weaving in humor and irony. Tell us a little more about the way you use humor as a storytelling element throughout your American Sequitur project.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"uncle-sam8751\"<\/p>\n

Thanks.\u00c2\u00a0 Creating this book has been like hunting for yeast.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m poking my finger at the Pillsbury Doughboy.\u00c2\u00a0 You love him, but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also looking at the ingredients.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the essence of American Sequitur on a base level.<\/p>\n

A very important lesson I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned over the years involves sequencing images to heighten their meaning.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m creating diptychs\u00e2\u20ac\u201dimages on facing pages\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat juxtapose for greater irony, whimsy and impact.\u00c2\u00a0 Then beyond the diptychs, the book itself will be one giant sequence that has to be done right.\u00c2\u00a0 This takes time and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m getting help from a lot of people.<\/p>\n

What do you hope people take away from the American Sequitur project?\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope they enjoy the images and take away a different interpretation of America than they traditionally knew.<\/p>\n

Tell us a story behind one of your favorite shots from the project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"diptych-rnc-stole\"<\/p>\n

A few years ago in Florida I drove past a young man walking on a sidewalk with a sign that read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I stole from this store.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 I pulled into a Walmart parking lot nearby, walked up to him and asked to take his portrait.\u00c2\u00a0 He was totally fine with it.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently he shoplifted from that same Walmart and the judge gave him the option of carrying that sign for a couple hours or paying a fine and probation (possibly something else, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember precisely).<\/p>\n

Anyway, he chose to walk with the sign.\u00c2\u00a0 He also told me to talk to a supervisor sitting in a car nearby, who made sure he carried out his sentence.\u00c2\u00a0 She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care if I took pictures either.\u00c2\u00a0 The entire episode was so Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u201dso weird and random.\u00c2\u00a0 When I returned home, I discovered a This American Life story<\/a> on the town\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s judge.<\/p>\n

What photographers or artists do you look up to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"carol06\"<\/p>\n

As mentioned in the New York Times Lens blog<\/a> piece, Martin Parr<\/a> and Stephen Crowley<\/a> are big influences, but I also try to keep up on what Alec Soth<\/a> and Emily Shur<\/a> are doing.\u00c2\u00a0 Visually, I also love a good illustrator.\u00c2\u00a0 Barry Blitt used to do Frank Rich\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s column in NYT and Ben Wiseman does Frank Bruni\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s column.\u00c2\u00a0 DC-based Elizabeth Graeber should be doing someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s column.<\/p>\n

On a day-to-day basis, my friends in the STRATA Collective<\/a> are hugely influential and motivating.\u00c2\u00a0 We often photograph together, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re constantly critiquing each other\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work and talking shop.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a few exhibitions of our work coming up, notably during FotoWeek DC and the Miami Street Photography Festival<\/a> (during Art Basel).<\/p>\n

As far as deceased influences, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largely Diane Arbus<\/a> and Harry Callahan.\u00c2\u00a0 I find myself completely drawn to the way Callahan approached his photography.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re both from Detroit.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to me to study the past.\u00c2\u00a0 I devour biographies of photographers<\/a>, of which there is a short supply.<\/p>\n

Do you have any advice you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to share with aspiring street photographers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"diptych-rnc\"<\/p>\n

Three things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Show us something we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen before.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid to fail.\u00c2\u00a0 Failure is a huge part of photography.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not suffering enough, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a clue what makes a great image.<\/li>\n
  3. Know what makes a great image.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Follow Josh<\/h2>\n

    \"josh<\/p>\n