Interview: Chris Suspect

“Censorship sucks!”

An interview with the American photographer Chris Suspect by Cristian Crisbasan - August 2020

     In the last days of August 2017 a guy with almost fosforescent long white hair, beard and moustache and sparkling blue eyes enlightened the fuzzy darkness around one midnight. The place was a hotel courtyard in Vama Veche (Black Sea Coast, Romania) and the occasion was “Vama Sub Lumini de Oscar” International Visual Arts Festival.He w as looking like an American old school surfer and rocker, his voice was deep and crisp, his attitude very cool and calm. He was coming straight from the Bucharest airport. These are the circumstances I met the American photographer Chris Suspect. We clicked instantly. In the following days we spent a lot of time together and I attended his street photography workshop within the festival and he attended my nude photography workshop. We met again next year in the same spot, also in August, at the same festival and we definitely became friends. We enjoyed long nights of talks, music and drinks and days of shootings on the beach. Our friendship continued since then via social media. And because I feel like I know Chris for a lifetime, it was no way he could refuse me an interview. So here we go.

Chris, how did photography start for you?
My interest in photography started in my early 20s. I was not a photographer at that time but a bass player for a punk band called The Suspects. I used to go to the library to browse photo books and then make copies of the photos I liked for band flyers. I was primarily interested in war and crime photography because these kinds of graphic images lended themselves to great promotional posters for the kind of music we played.
 
15 years later, I wound up getting a camera to document the birth of my son. I read the manual and would go out on my own and try to see what I could do creatively with the camera settings. I had no idea I was doing “street photography” at the time, I was really looking to recreate the style of images I used for flyers many years ago.

After some positive feedback on Flickr, many stolen images by bloggers, and requests by a few magazines, I decided to get more serious and started to pursue photography by enrolling in a color photography class as a continuing education student at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.

You define yourself as a street and documentary photographer, focused on “capturing absurd and profound moments in the quotidian”. How is street photography versus documentary photography? Are they complementary? What is similar? What is different?
Yes, I have placed myself into a box! LOL! I need to expand this definition to also include conceptual photographer as my most recent book “Old Customs” does feature a lot of conceptual images.

In regard to your actual question I think there is a big difference between street and documentary photography. In its essence street photography is essentially photography without a purpose. You go out, walk the streets, and hope to catch something interesting. There are no preconceptions. You are capturing whatever the streets throw at you. In documentary photography there is an explicit goal to document something specific. You have a focus. And, unlike street photography where the photographer is usually focused on (and happy with) a single image, documentarians are looking to build a collection of images that can shape a narrative.

For me a street photograph should stand on its own and ideally will depict something more than what’s in the frame, provoke a reaction (laughter, sadness, shock, etc.) and/or raise more questions than answers. As Roland Barthes would say it needs punctum, “the punctum of a photograph is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me).”

This is not to say street and documentary can’t merge. It often does, and usually the best documentary projects utilize the language of street photography.

What is photography? What is not?
Photography is easy. I think this answers both of your questions!

In Photographer Paul Graham’s text written for the Yale MFA photography graduation book – Yale MFA Photography 2009: We Belong Together – he starts off by saying “Photography is easy, photography is difficult.” It is a great essay about finding a purpose for your photographic craft or journey. I strongly recommend people check it out.

You always carry the camera with you, everyday, everywhere?
No. I did for a while and what I found out is that photography distracts me. If I have my camera and I am on my way to a dental appointment for example, the likelihood of me missing the appointment, is much greater because I can easily get carried away and forget the time. After several instances like this, I’ve learned it’s sometimes better to leave the camera at home! But yes, usually I have a camera.

How important is the gear: camera kind, make, brand, model, technical specs, sensor etc?
Gear is not that important to making a good photo. I use both a Leica and a Ricoh. What is important is that you find something that works for you, your style and your subject matter.

Photography is defining you, is who you are, your life?
I have been defined by many things, husband, father, video producer, musician, punk rocker, skateboarder, etc. I guess it depends on which circle I am running in at the time. Photography is just one aspect of my life, although a very important one.

All your photography is about people. What are you looking for? What do you see?
Yes I am partial to figure and group figure studies, or even evidence of figures. I like having evidence of humanity in my frame. I think it’s what I relate to the most. I have a hard time appreciating architectural images for example. Sure they can be really awesome, but I need human connection, an emotional connection. I also want to be able to have people experience what I have seen through my eyes, heart and mind, not necessarily through the lens.

What is your routine as a photographer? You go out and shoot everyday, on a schedule? Or you just let things happen as accidental encounters?
Since COVID-19 came about my routine has been disrupted. Normally I’d be out in the afternoon shooting into the late evening, especially on weekends. Sometimes I have a plan, especially if I am working on a project and other times it’s just for the sake and excitement of photography. Currently, my routine has been to look at my archive of images and plan for books. So I spend a lot of time editing these days. I am glad I have over 10 years of images to play around with and I have shot a lot. Now to be able to go out and shoot something interesting is more of a luxury. I prefer my old routine, honestly.

What do you think about the more and more aggressive censorship regarding photography in social-media today?
I think it sucks. It baffles me as well because you can walk into a museum and see nude paintings from the 1600’s, but god forbid they appear on a Facebook feed. The same goes for some classic photographic images, like Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl. People need to accept that the human body is beautiful in all shapes, sizes and genders.

What troubles you the most in the world today?
Well I have to say COVID-19 because it has upended my year and here in America many of our leaders and many of our people are just being plain “covidiots” about it. We have the most deaths in the world, for Christ’s sake! America’s negligence in following scientific advice and data while embracing fake news and conspiracy theories, and even politicizing the virus, is very distressing.

If a young talented person would like to start on this road of photography, what would be your advice? Is it important that veteran photographers help and nurture new talents when they encounter one?
My advice would be you need to learn your art and photographic history if you want to contribute to photography’s ongoing visual conversation in a meaningful way. And yes, it is very important to have a mentor that can guide you on this journey. They can see things in you that you may not see at the time and guide you on your way. Not to mention provide invaluable advice and experience. I think it’s our duty to pass this information and experience down to younger generations who are interested in the field.

What is beauty for you?
Beauty is mysterious, fleeting, authentic and strangely wonderful.

You are one of the photographers included in the famous book “UnPresidented: The Inauguration of Donald J. Trump and the Peoples’ Response” (Cosmic Smudge Media, 2017). You have seen, felt and captured things in a certain way at that time. How do you see them now, after 3 years and especially 6 months of this global pandemic? Visually, what is the people’s response now versus the people’s response then?
Interesting question. I think that was really the beginning of people waking up and taking action in America to some of the longstanding injustices many of our minority communities have been subjected to. Whether it was the Women’s March then or the Black Lives Matter movement now, I see this as a growing continuum of those initial issues brought to light during the inauguration. With the death of George Floyd, there is more focus now than there was in 2017.

Visually it seems very similar to what I experienced in DC during the inauguration of Trump, a divided populace, aggressive police tactics, and protestors of all colors and backgrounds. The main difference is the masks. They were not so common back in 2017.

Add a final word, thought, ideea, credo, motto - anything you would like to say.
I’d like to quote Louis Pasteur who said this about science, “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.” I think this statement holds true, especially for photography.


(Bucharest / Washington DC - August 2020)

You can find Chris Suspect photos here:
https://www.chrissuspect.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chris.suspect.56
https://suspectdevice.net/
https://www.instagram.com/gratuity_included/

And here you can find and order Chris Suspect latest photography book “Old customs”, including his previous ones - “Gratuity Included” and “Leather Boys”.
https://www.chrissuspect.com/shop/old-customs

​