RMPBS: Loads of your work that I’ve seen is shot by way of home windows. What is it about home windows that catches your eye?
JT: I began doing that once I first began in avenue pictures as a result of there is a bodily barrier between you and the topic, and whenever you’re photographing strangers, it’s totally intimidating, proper? So that is why I began doing home windows as a result of I used to be like, oh, there is a barrier.
There’s quite a lot of layering that you are able to do with what’s mirrored within the window.
Eye contact I feel could be very important to these pictures since you’re partaking with the topic, with that bodily presence and separation.
Eye contact is type of a taboo in avenue pictures. Lots of people attempt to keep away from it as a result of they suppose that spoils the scene, however I’m drawn to it.
It type of creates a connection between the topic, the digital camera, the photographer, and the viewer.
RMPBS: Are there any avenue pictures cliches you end up attempting to keep away from?
JT: I by no means publish footage of the homeless except it is a portrait the place I’ve met them they usually’ve given consent for me to take the image.
They do not have anyplace to go. Whereas most individuals have a personal place to flee to.
RMPBS: Let’s speak about sixteenth Street. What was it like earlier than it closed from a photographic perspective? And now that it is not too long ago reopened, what do you see? Are individuals coming again?
JT: Before 2020, earlier than COVID, sixteenth Street was fairly busy. I’d come down there on a regular basis. But additionally, there have been no different photographers.
And then they shut down sixteenth Street to do all this rebranding, transforming, and that drove much more individuals away. So I discovered myself coming down right here much less and fewer and actually type of sticking to the aspect streets.
But rapidly, avenue pictures simply exploded. And so I’d see so many photographers down right here after that. They’ve not too long ago reopened, rebranded and, there was an enormous reopening celebration a few weekends in the past, and this place was packed.
I’m hoping these efforts repay and we are able to get extra individuals down right here.
RMPBS: Do you ever shoot colour?
JT: If colour is smart to inform the story, I’ll depart it as colour, nevertheless it’s virtually all black and white. I shoot RAW, however my preview is in black and white. I’ve all the time beloved black and white.
A buddy of mine had a professor that when mentioned, ‘if you’re shooting color, you’re shooting for color. But if you’re shooting black and white, you’re shooting for everything else.’
Lots of people suppose it is simple to shoot in black and white, however I discover it very difficult to make it work in sure conditions the place colour offers separation from topic from background. Loads of occasions you aren’t getting that with black and white.
There’s one photographer named John Nolan that I actually get pleasure from. And his complete mantra is the right and imperfect. If you have a look at his wedding ceremony pictures, quite a lot of it is out of focus. But he captures these lovely moments.
I do not want, , a $4,000 Sony autofocus lens that is going to focus each time, capturing 120 frames per second. To me, that does not matter, as a result of they [the pictures] really feel stale quite a lot of occasions.
RMPBS: That’s type of a pleasant segue, and I do know you have talked a little bit bit in your web site and Instagram about AI. How have you ever already seen AI, altering the panorama of pictures?
JT: I used to be in an AI dialog and one of many panelists who was selling AI, he mentioned, nicely, course of would not matter so long as you get what you need on the finish. And to me, I’m like, as an artist, I do know course of issues. I imply, that is the entire thing.
If you ask an oil painter versus an acrylic painter, like why do they use both? It’s as a result of the method issues. So you may get one thing that appears like pictures on the finish of the day, nevertheless it’s nonetheless not {a photograph}. Like I can take an image of a sculpture, however that does not make my image a sculpture, proper?
If individuals need to create AI pictures, that is fantastic… however it isn’t pictures.
It’s only a complete completely different platform for creating one thing fully completely different. Whereas pictures, regardless that it may be manipulated and remains to be primarily based in actuality, whereas AI is totally, primarily based on enter like prompts.
This is type of the wild West of AI proper now. So, hopefully, there will probably be some regulation. I do not suppose it’ll come by way of laws or, , corporations proudly owning the ethics behind it.
But there’s acquired to be one thing as a result of proper now you are able to do something you need to do with it. It can be utilized for manipulative functions or scams. It’s type of scary.
