Welcome back to Doin' Work: Flash Interviews With Contemporary Photographers. This is a place to celebrate the photographers who inspire me, and present you with an easily digestible bite of their personalities and work.
This week's guest is Nathan Pearce. Pearce (born 1986) is a photographer based in Southern Illinois. He is the co-founder of Same Coin Press, an independent zine and photobook publisher. He also works in an auto body repair shop.
Nathan Pearce, 1990, image courtesy the artist
Where do you live and work and how does it inform your photography?
I live in southern Illinois. Almost all of my work is about the Midwest. The place is a backdrop and a subject of my work.
When and how did you get your start in photography?
I got my first camera when I was 10 years old and preparing to go on a trip with my family. I looked at some photos from my first roll of film last week. Maybe I will make a zine out of them.
What compels you to pick up your camera?
Lots of things. I shoot a lot of pictures. When I find something that I want to make a photograph of I can't pass it up. If I talk myself out of shooting it it's all I will think about until I go back and get the picture.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a photobook for my Midwest Dirt project with Flashpowder projects and I'm also working on a project called When We Meet with Rachael Banks. I'm actually working on that project today. Just moments ago I was taking a look at photographs that Rachael and I both made of a mutual acquaintance named Todd. We have both a zine and an exhibition planned for this work and I'm very excited about releasing it to the world.
If you had to explain your work to a child, how would you describe it?
Most of the time I take picture of people and places I love.
Image via Nathan Pearce
Do you make a living as a photographer? If yes, please explain how. If no, tell me about your day job and how you balance photography with said job.
Sometimes I do but I do still have a day job. I work at an auto body repair shop. I work more than 40 hours a week at my day job but still work more than that on photography.
Show me the image you feel you're best known for. What are your thoughts on it?
Image via Nathan Pearce
This is a photograph of my friend Brandon. It's probably my most well known picture. He looks a bit like a rough character but he's actually very nice. This picture was from pretty early on in my Midwest Dirt project. On that day I wasn't sure if I had made a good picture. After several years have passed I now think that I might have.
What - if anything - frustrates you about photography?
I don't feel frustrated by photography. It's the most satisfying and fulfilling thing in my life by a wide margin.
Image via Nathan Pearce
Describe your working process.
I am constantly making work. I am usually working on several different projects at once and I rarely take the same approach for any project. I suppose the one thing that stays the same in my process is that I take the pictures that I have made and edit them to make zines and photobooks.
Describe the approach you take when establishing a relationship with a subject.
Often I already have a relationship with the person I am photographing. Otherwise I am introduced to them by a mutual friend. If they are a complete stranger I just try to not be a jerk and generally it goes well.
Image via Nathan Pearce
Zines. Talk to me about the importance of them in your life.
For the last few years I have been making zines with Claire Cushing through Same Coin Press. I like to make them not only because they are cheap and accessible to a wide audience but also because most pictures I encounter only live on the internet and its nice to see some things printed.
What do you think of the vast sea of online photography? What's your approach for standing out?
I love that everyone has the ability to make a decent picture now and then. I think that if someone makes good enough work for long enough they will stand out. I'm trying to do that.
What are you most proud of in terms of your work?
I am very proud of the first edition of Midwest Dirt. Matt Johnston and I worked very hard on that for over a year and I couldn't have been happier with the outcome.
What are you doing when you're not making pictures?
Putting my pictures in zines.
What do you think the future of photography might look like?
Something very exciting.
Name three contemporary photographers that blow your mind.
Rachael Banks, Tammy Mercure and Viviane Sassen
The most important question of all: dogs or cats? Why?
Both! I love any animal that loves me back.
Image via Nathan Pearce