Contributor thefacelesskid

thefacelesskid

http://thefacelesskid.com

thefacelesskid@gmail.com

picture the world as a venn diagram of chance & travel, my photographs sit perfectly between these two circles. i was born & bred on diner coffee, punk music, & drunk poets. i like to think of my work as a big puzzle, with multiple pieces making a larger whole, the combination of text & photographs ever changing & ever growing.

Book Review: Chris Berntsen

Posted on by

I was driving around New Orleans with no real destination, when I passed a guy on a bicycle, he looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place it. A few minutes later, I realized it was Chris Berntsen, this only solidifies his somewhat mythical creature status. He does what I try to do, only he succeeds. He seems to constantly be in transit, he consistently makes new work, & is one of the nicest people I have come to know in recent years. We interviewed him about a year ago & since then he has had shows in Montreal, New Orleans, & Philadelphia, & released a new book “The Ritual of Nothingness.”

chris-berntsen-emptystretch-01

It come’s in a xerox cardstock sleeve, black & white with a beautifully cyan out of focus portrait, gold text scribbled across in messy cursive. As I pull the book from the sleeve, I almost immediately realize, he has accomplished in one book, what I have been trying with Empty Stretch releases for years; he has kept the ethos & feel of a zine, yet translated it into book form. Photos taped in, sporadically arranged, collaged, notes written; he has stepped right inline behind the greats of Jim Goldberg’s “Raised by Wolves” & Ed Templeton’s “The Golden Age of Neglect.”

chris-berntsen-emptystretch-03

chris-berntsen-emptystretch-02

I first got into Berntsen’s work because of his photos & videos of bands & his closeness to them & I have stayed interested in his work because of that proximity. You can look at these photos & know he cares about his subjects, some faces repeat, & you can actively see the transitions of his friends, whether physically or geographically. He has spent years with these people & this is their yearbook of sorts & I can only hope to one day produce a body of work so drenched in passion & so footnoted with care.

chris-berntsen-emptystretch-05

If you haven’t previously seen his work, I urge you to get a copy of the book, as well as take another look at his website, he is constantly adding new photos & videos.

You can email him at chris@chrisberntsen.com or pick up a copy at Dashwood Books in New York.

Interview: Katherine Squier

Posted on by

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Katherine Squier. If I had one word to sum it up, it would be refreshing. Reading through her answers, she exudes an excitement & the wonder that I have always loved & associated with photography.

katherine-squier-emptystretch-01

 

Empty Stretch: Age/ Location/ Favorite things in life?

Katherine Squier: 24, soon enough 25 / Austin, Texas/ good hugs, belly laughs, traveling, music, kind people, natural light, finding the right words, feeling grateful, animals

ES: What got you into photography? What keeps you photographing?

KS: I just decided to try it out as a hobby, I had been seeing a lot of commercials for nice cameras and thought it would be a good investment. I would randomly go out and take photos at first but then fell hard after my dad gave me his Canon Ae-1 after cleaning out the attic. I take my camera everywhere with me because it feels like I’m missing a piece of myself if I don’t. It also feels like an ultimate type of awareness, like I’m really appreciating my life by acknowledging and capturing the uniqueness and beauty in all the moments.

katherine-squier-emptystretch-02

 

ES: Who is your favorite person to photograph? Who is someone you’ve always wanted to photograph?

KS: Both of these question are hard- I don’t know if I have a favorite person, I love photographing all the people I’m close to. I have never thought about who I would love to photograph, as there are so many people out there that I think would be so interesting to capture!

katherine-squier-emptystretch-03

 

ES: You seem to be extremely attracted to light & it’s placement, it makes it seem like you’re more interested in an internal moment as opposed to external. Is this something you’re conscious of & does that make the photos hold a special place for you?

KS: I love interviews because a lot of the time the interviewer has insightful questions about my work and it even helps me gain better perspective sometimes. I take photos never trying to produce a certain type of look or feel, I just go with instinct, so your observation about light and internal moments hit a chord with me. Light moves me and I think it places a special spotlight (no pun intended!) on each moment– the most ordinary, mundane scenes become beautiful and heightened experiences with the right light. So it’s much more an internal recognition of what I see as the external manifestation of how special a moment is? Photos with special light aren’t necessarily more special than other ones, but light is a powerful factor in terms of what moves me.

katherine-squier-emptystretch-04

 

ES: You’re Ground work photographs seem very much about mark making & remind me a lot of abstract paintings, is that something you are influenced by or interested in?

KS: I wouldn’t say it influences me but I have been developing more of an interest in it since I started photography.

ES: Your portraits show very little if any of people’s faces is this for their sake or your own?

KS: I’ve always wanted to show people’s full faces but unfortunately because most of my photos are of my close friends and family, and during times when they aren’t necessarily wanting to be “seen,” photographing them when you can’t see their face is the only option I have in that moment, out of respect for their privacy and not having my camera always intruding into their lives. Also, my sister is a big subject of mine and she almost never wants her face shown. For all other cases, unless they are obviously happy I am photographing them, it’s because I’m afraid it would make them uncomfortable since I can get that way when someone wants to photograph me.

katherine-squier-emptystretch-05

ES: Who has the best beard you’ve ever seen?

KS: My future husband? (kidding, kidding– maybe)

ES: What is your favorite place you have been?

KS: So hard. Over my entire life, I honestly don’t know!

katherine-squier-emptystretch-06

ES: Any projects we should be keeping an eye out for?

KS: I spent 5 months solo in Europe traveling around during the later part of 2012, and I’m self-publishing a photo book out of the mass amount of film I shot. It’s taking me a while now that I have more obligations than ever— but it’s happening. And I’m excited– so keep an eye out for it and get excited too! :)

Please find more of Katherine’s work on her website & tumblr.

 

 

Matthew Swarts

Posted on by

Matthew Swarts’ photographs unnerve me. They leave me nervous & wanting leave but I keep looking. His titles & subject matter play into peoples natural inhibitions & stereotypes, with series titled “Amsterdam,” “Rapture,” & “Open Water.” His photographic work has a veiled openness. Portraits of persons with disabilities look trapped in time & topless swimmers on the beach, skin & sand almost the same color, look confused & removed from where they are. Details of water swells pull at my longing for the ocean but bring up the fear of what’s beneath. Photography was originally intended for use of documenting what was there & Swarts skirts this line with great skill.

fts Open Water

fts Open Water

fts Amsterdam

fts Amsterdam

fts Mystery School

fts Mystery School

fts Amsterdam

fts Amsterdam

fts Rapture

fts Rapture

fts Mystery School

fts Mystery School

fts Open Water

fts Open Water

Please find more of Matthew’s work at his website.

Ben Huff

Posted on by

Maybe it’s because it hasn’t stopped snowing for almost a week, but I can’t stop looking at Ben Huff’s series “The Last Road North.” Started as most projects, as a one off trip, Huff became obsessed with the road tracing the Alaskan pipeline. I usually hate when people do this, but the photos that follow, speak for themselves.

Please see the rest of the series on Ben’s website.

Feature: Tim Richmond

Posted on by

I like Tim Richmond’s photographs because I like movies. This may seem like an easy realization but sometimes, that’s all life is. His portraits look like extras in the background of bar seenes & grocery stores, because that’s who they are. Alley ways, interiors, & landscapes look like scouting shots, & that’s a good thing. British by birth, Richmond spent years photographing the old oil towns of the American midwest & has made a beautiful document of the states.

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Circus Left Town

fts Circus Left Town

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Facade

fts Facade

fts Free Parking

fts Free Parking

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Last Best Hiding Place

fts Facade

fts Facade

Richmond also turns the lens on his native land in the series “Love Bits,” documenting the seaside towns along the Bristol Channel. The cinematic quality is far from lost on this series, & maybe it is because I’ve only been to England in the winter but damp parking lots & the lights of night hit a nostalgic chord in this yankee’s heart.

fts Love Bites

fts Love Bites

fts Love Bites

fts Love Bites

fts Love Bites

fts Love Bites

Please find more of Tim Richmond’s work on his website.