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Why I Photograph
As a student, I heard Garry Winogrand respond to the question of why he takes pictures with his now famous quote, “I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs.” Unfortunately, no one (including me) asked him the critical follow up question, "Why do you want to see what the world looks like in photographs?" I have come to understand that the answer to the second question, for me (and perhaps Winogrand as well), concerns trying to understand the unique complexities and contradictions that inform the way photography transforms the three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional image.
All photographs appear to present a literal, optical rendering of a situation, although some seem to have significance greater than the content they capture; but without captions they can be ambiguous, mysterious, serendipitous and surreal—a complex tableau with a deeper meaning that may, or may not, be specific to the subject matter itself. These are the kinds of photographs I’m looking for.
Even for masters of “street photography,” the success rate for making quality images can be infinitesimally small. Robert Frank’s seminal book, The Americans, contained 83 photographs culled from 28,000 negatives (0.003%). When Garry Winogrand died at age 54, he had exposed over 20,000 rolls of film (720,000 images).
With these obstacles in mind, I try to keep my own artistic practice simple: I endeavor to photograph by reacting to the world with a spontaneous, open mind, and then carefully look at the images. Through countless repetitions of this cycle, I learn how choices made before and during the photographic process affect the outcome. The goal is to create something that precisely describes, but also transcends, the subject itself.
Work as a Director of Photography
In 1985, I was offered a professional assignment photographing with a film team covering the famine in Ethiopia. This led to more travel assignments and the beginning of a parallel career in filmmaking. It was then that I moved back to New York City where I reside.
I have worked as a photographer and cinematographer for organizations including CARE, the United Nations, ABC, HBO and PBS. My filmmaking projects include the documentary America’s Culture of Crash about the spectacular American sport of demolition derby, and Our Holocaust Vacation, a journey through Poland with my mother and family, revisiting her Holocaust experiences during World War II and searching for information about our lost family.
FELLOWSHIPS
The National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Jerome Foundation.
COLLECTIONS
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, International Center of Photography, Brooklyn Museum, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France, and the Paul Sach Collection, San Francisco.
EDUCATION
1981—MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute
Bio
In 1973, I dropped out of high school in New York City, and after hitchhiking through South America for fifteen months, landed in San Francisco. There, I joined my brother Doniphan, and with a few friends created Ancient Currents Gallery and a small arts commune called "The Modern Lovers". We hosted art exhibitions, performance art and musical events. We were fascinated by world culture, and members would travel for extended periods, while touring artists would often stay with us.
Shortly after my arrival, my brother introduced me to the photographer Larry Bair, who after taking me under his wing, introduced me to the esteemed photographer and teacher, Henry “Hank” Wessel. Both of us would sit in on Hank’s classes at the San Francisco Art Institute. I immersed myself in photography and built my own darkroom to concentrate exclusively on black and white, which I loved for its less literal but more evocative quality. I could also control the entire process. Color was a harder operation, and unless the light was soft, the images would be contrasty and harsh. Eventually, I earned my MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute without an undergraduate degree.
Growing up, my father, Vachel Blair, a cinematographer, showed me photography books and we discussed composition and lighting. Now, after studying with Larry and Hank, I was perfecting a method of candid photography that entailed using depth of field to pre-focus the lens before quickly aiming the camera and releasing the shutter. I would try to suspend premeditated thinking and see things with in-the-moment awareness. The rewards were photographs connecting the interplay of light, people, and their surroundings. I was fascinated by how the camera creates relationships with objects included in the frame and transforms the three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional image. Although a photograph meticulously describes what the camera sees and is always "documentary," it also becomes an illusion that invokes ambiguous and fictional elements as well.
Starting in 1977, I took a number of lengthy trips wandering with my camera—a few times through Mexico, then for a year in India and Europe. New York City was also a favorite spot, since I was often there visiting. I discovered that travel and photography were similar activities: both are about being in the moment and observing one's surroundings, especially the people.
Nicholas Blair Interview
with podcast host
Ching Juhl