ANALOG 3086
Project published June, 2012.
Admittedly, what precedes is a rather scatter-brained, inconsistent visual sampling of my personal time, shot over the course of about 14 months. And while I don’t feel totally confident that even one of these images could stand on its own, I do feel on personal level that the entire series is incredibly honest. And that was my goal when I began.
It all started in late March of 2011. The concept of me being a productive working member of society was just starting to sink in. After spending about 6 months working full time in New York, my body and mind were rejecting this reality with every fiber of my being.
I was in a basement bar with some coworkers, sipping on gin and tonics--at the time, my drink of choice--seeing off an intern I had never before met. At some point, the company-sponsored tab was closed off, and coworkers began to slip away into the humid Manhattan night. Soon it was just myself, American Photo Editor Scott Alexander, and the mysterious intern left sitting at the bar.
Scott, who had like me presumably only come out to down the free drinks, was starting to get fired up. I too was beginning to feel the sweet nectar of the luscious juniper berry affect me. It was at this point that the conversation turned into a discussion of my future as a photographer. At the time, I was hung up the idea that I had somehow failed myself because I studied photojournalism in college and was not actively practicing it. I explained these feelings to Scott, who promptly slammed both of his fists on the bar, startling the entire room, before breaking down for me all of the reasons that I was wrong.
As the conversation continued, fist slamming quickly turned into jumping up and down by both parties, as well as a liberal use of the "outdoor voice." All the while, the intern of mystery sat quietly watching and likely contemplating whether or not they had made the right decision trying to break into the marvelous world of magazine publishing.
At some point, Scott said something that really stuck with me. I don't recall his exact words, mainly because we were jumping up and down screaming but it went something like this, “You are 23 and in New York City, THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, make every single day here your photojournalistic project--everything you do outside of work, that is your story, THAT is what you need to document."
At this point, Scott informed myself and the intern that it was time to leave.
What happened during the rest of the evening I can only sum up as Scott's way of teaching the lesson he had just preached. Needless to say, that evening got me thinking and ultimately led me to brushing off my Canon AE-1 and embarking on my longest, most personal, and surely most ambitious photo project ever. (Note for the sake of nerdiness: about 1/4 of the images were shot on a Mamiya 645p).
Analog proved to be the perfect medium for the project as a film camera is both inexpensive and inconspicuous. This meant I could carry it with me everywhere, and go relatively unnoticed while shooting. Ultimately, the year I documented, proved to be an important one, as I was greeted with some of the highest points I’ve ever experienced in my life, as well as some of my absolute lowest. Thankfully, as this series proves, I spent the year in the good company of friends and family.
That said, in the past year, I spent 3120 hours working and 2548 hours sleeping. What follows is how I spent the rest of my time...