Behind every photograph is a way of seeing a rhythm of thought, emotion, and light. Photographer Spotlight is a continuing series from The Monochrome Collective, featuring conversations with photographers who use their craft to explore the world in shades of black and white.
Each interview delves into the artistโs artistic style, creative process and the inspiration that shapes their work. From quiet studies of everyday life to ambitious documentary projects, these voices remind us that photography is not just about what is seen โ but about how we choose to see.
Through these spotlights, we celebrate the diversity of vision within our community โ the subtle, the bold, and the deeply personal illuminating the artistry that connects us all.
Here is our interview:
ARTISTIC STYLE
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐?
Iโm a very complex person. I think we all are. I can also be very negative. As a young kid and teen I even described myself as a curmudgeon, but I also have a great love of and for life. I want to show people my world. I was very neglected growing up. Iโm not saying my parents did a terrible job with me, it was very unintentional, but they very much missed the mark as far as giving me what I needed from them. Parenting has to be a very intentional thing. Itโs like the most intentional thing you could ever do.
But photography kind of naturally became my outlet. It was my way of, because I was alone and bored and lonely so much, showing others my world. I started my photography journey in 2001, at the age of 11. This was a time before Instagram and Facebook and even MySpace, My love for the hobby even predates Flickr, by a whopping 4 years! So when I say it was my way of showing others my world, it wasnโt.
But it was my way of interacting with the world around me, and taking something from it and saving it for myself and hopefully someone else, later. I love that about it. I love that itโs a whole language without words. Visuals are better than words, in a way. Photos are like words without words.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐?
Love for life, Documentary, Pulp (Non)Fiction
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ป ๐๐ผ?
People. Iโm a documentary photographer whose intentions are always to make a documentary style image that is also fine art. So I love making photos that include people because people drive stories not landscapes, or animals or buildings, or objects.
๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ?
I donโt have a favorite photo, but I do have a couple I really like. The photo that Iโm most grateful for, was my first artistic image, my first serious image ever and I captured it in 2001 on a trip to Mammoth Lakes, California. A girl friend invited me to go there for the weekend getaway. We were there on Saturday and it was still sunny. We took a boat out on the lake and it was warm and golden.
That night however, a storm rolled in and the next morning snow blanketed the ground. The condo we were staying in had a courtyard, kind of like a community of old 70โs style chalet condos with trees and paths woven throughout the area. Leaning against one of the condos was a vintage Schwinn bike. It had, as I remember it, drop handlebars and a baby blue coat of paint that was not only light pastel blue but washed out as well. It was lined with snow on the seat and on the frame of the bike. That one image and how good it was, how idyllic it was, hooked me. Itโs like that with a lot of passionate photographers, and Iโm happy that I too had my own special moment that roped me in.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ?
On one hand, I try to tell life as it is. On the other hand, I tell life as I remember it. Or, as I created it in my mind. I want to take token moments, idyllic, classic, relatable. I try to make moments that are instantly nostalgic, warm, recalling the past. I grew up in Los Angeles. Itโs an old city like a lot of cities. Itโs also a city that has been becoming modern over time. Most big cities have that dichotomy. But I like the fact that in 2003, or 2009, then the modern era, I would be capturing images that look like they could have been taken years ago. Five years ago, ten years ago, twenty. I really like that.
I donโt know why exactly, but I grew up listening in the 90โs to the Beach Boys and folk music, and psychedelic rock from the 60โs and 70โs. These were all bands from days long gone by. My parents were old. My mom just turned 74 a few days ago. My mom was old when I was young, and my dad was even older. And so I had this old soul in me. I was very lively, and in some ways mature for my age, and I guess I like pretending that the world Iโm photographing could have been from an earlier time.
But also, I want people to feel a sense of instant relatability, that my photoโs make sense, that they portray an image that the viewer already has in their mind. A classic this-American-life-of-ours moment. Itโs why I love the name I chose to represent my photography: Ordinary. American. Beauty. It says all of this. Hah! This whole interview can be summed up, in a way, by that name. I want people to honor the lives of those whoโs lives Iโve captured. And the people I photograph, are not those of typical Hollywood stories. They are the more marginalized and less seen people of my world. Like characters from a deep indie film.
CREATIVE PROCESS
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต?
I shoot with a 1D Mk IV. Itโs a really cool camera, and Iโm so happy Iโve been able to shoot with it and before that, briefly, a 1D Mk III. But it is VERY OLD. I also miss having a Full Frame For a couple of reasons, namely the quality of the file, and my focal lengths being normal. Haha. Oh well, Iโm stuck with it. That being said, if anyone wants to buy an awesome envy worthy pro grade camera from WAY back, let me know, itโs affordable!
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐. ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐?
I donโt plan my shoots hardly at all. My photography is very spontaneous. In my golden years of photography I shot in a style that Jessica Lange coined, Dรฉrive. She took it from a French philosopher and the term describes the idea of drifting. Going out into the world and following the wind, you could say, or your instincts. In those golden years from 2015-2017, I would just pick a location where I knew that there was a lot of graphically interesting stuff to shoot and go wander that part of town. LA is so visually rich! Itโs brimming with cultures and subcultures, artsy stuff and places to shoot and see. Before then, when I was a kid running around the streets of LA with my little prosumer digicams, that was how also I did it.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ?
Iโll answer your question with an interesting fact about my editing. I use numbers that are significant to me when Editing. โWhat the heck are you talking about?โ youโre probably thinking. Haha.. All I mean is this. Iโm 36 years old. I like to stop my editing tool at 36 if Iโm close to it. I like to stop it at 54, my role call number in 3rd grade, or 57, my best friendโs role call number, which is a very aesthetically pleasing number, or 89, the year I was born, or 86 the year my brother was born. Itโs silly, itโs quirky, itโs weird, but itโs funny and fun. Thatโs all.
๐๐ถ๐น๐บ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น โ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐?
Honestly, I will not shoot film until itโs truly dead. I like film, I can agree that there is something nice about having less shots, and the colors and the grain patterns and the organic nature of a film image. However, Iโm broke, I have no time, and Iโm also a really sloppy shooter. I need lots of opportunities to make the best image possible. Hahaha!!!
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด?
I donโt know. Nothing really. I donโt shoot much these days, but I can give a few pieces of advice that are dear to me. The first is this: Work the scene till youโve exhausted the it. Donโt be afraid to shoot a lot, itโs all just file space.
Two: NEVER delete! Feel free to remove photos from your catalogue, but keep the files. itโs an incredible advice, that everyone would do well to follow. If you are serious about this and getting good, you will want to have your whole archive! I learned it from Daniel Milnor and I swear itโs solid gold advice. I lost a lot of my own work from early years, because I didnโt realize this was something that I should have been doing. And I was good then! Itโs sad! Donโt be like me! Lastly, print your work. Using a cheap home printer is fine. Use cheap paper, it doesnโt really matter. You can print two 2×3โs on one 5×7 paper, cut them up, toss them in a bag, cherish them, share them, give them away! I have this as an advice, but even I need to do a lot more printing. Iโm set up for it, I just donโt yet.
INSPIRATION
๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐?
Good images. Thereโs so much bad work out there.
๐๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ?
No. I learned all on my own. Itโs my vision that influences my style. And I have a pulpy kind of style. Saturated, contrasty, hip hoppy, gritty city life.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป-๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐?
Hmm.. I donโt know. TV.. Movies. But I RARELY watch anything these days. The only thing I can say is that I am working on healing a lot, so maybe my own journaling, or poetry. I mean nothing really, because I donโt shoot my best work now. I shoot my family, which is great, itโs definitely important but it is boring to me to a degree. I know that sounds bad, but this is my hobby, and itโs most fun when itโs separate from my family. Anyways, I guess my love for life is the biggest non-photography source that fuels it, but loving life IS part of photography too. Haha!
If you would like to see more of Eriks work you can find him on foto @ordinary.american.beauty or on his website www.ordinaryamericanbeauty.com