 Nevada City based photographer working on documenting the American West.
We get a lot of great emails from a lot of talented people introducing us to their work. From time to time we'll be sharing their work here in our mini interviews segment... To be considered for a mini interview send a few jpegs to: mini(at)fecalface.com *Make sure the images are at least 600 pixels in width.
Age? Location? Website?
30. I split my time between Nevada City and San Francisco, CA, though I'm unofficially based in SF now. My friends say it's official, but according to my girlfriend, who lives in SF and keeps charts and spreadsheets on how much time I spend with her (you think I'm joking, but I'm not), it's REALLY unofficial...
website: www.davidtorch.com...
I also contribute to The Supermarket: www.thesupermarket.us. it's a thing for stuff.
Tell us a little bit about your work and your American West project.
I've always been attracted to the early landscape photography that helped create the myth of the American West as this open and expansive environment. Then there was this cool push in the 1970s dubbed the New Topographics movement, and it negated a lot of the misconceptions about the west in general; illustrating environmental/water issues, shrinking space, development, and contemporary western culture. So my American West project is an attempt to contribute to that canon. For me it's a way to ride the line between journalistic and more artistic work. I feel comfortable there.
What interests you in a photograph? What sparks your interest in a scene that you'd like to shoot?
Photos that have the ability to reveal themselves slowly. I like portraits... more than I feel I should. I'm a fan of subject matter more than scenes, and then I get interested in different ways of creating or representing a scene around that subject matter. But I'm also attached to really throw-away type images, like, casual, non-thought kinds of work.
Inspiration?
When the motivation to take new photographs escapes me, I just park my car in SF's Mission District and accidentally leave 5+ years of my negatives in plain view, in the backseat alongside expensive audio equipment and backpacking gear. Leave it overnight and PRESTO! Like magic, you have a blank slate, no history, no archive, and then, well, there's only one solution.
Day job?
Well, today I wrote answers to these questions while my girlfriend cooked me meals on money sent to me by our government. But for the last 3 years it's been running around the California foothills for the newspaper: pot busts in national forests, bloated dead bodies in suburban ponds, flying in stunt planes, Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, and photographing ex-Representative John Doolittle schmoozing it up with other Republicans.
Tools of the trade?
A 6x7 rangefinder, a couple 35mm cameras, but my favorites are the Nikon 35ti and the Contax TVS. They're basically these little 35mm point and shoot cameras, but with great and sharp lenses.
Upcoming?
Nothing confirmed at the moment, but I have plans. Hello, San Francisco.
www.davidtorch.com
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