The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Bill Salawich

Today I will present Bill Salawich the author of Art + Math. Bill is a proffesional photographer, semi-pro writer and an amateur napper.

1. Why photography?

It's always been photography for me. As a little kid I was mesmerized by my mom's instamatic and my dad's SLR. They were the most interesting devices: mysterious, mechanical, futuristic. I wanted to use them even before I knew what they did. I made my first darkroom print in summer school (I think I was 9 or 10) and was hooked. I don't consider myself particularly technical these days, but when I think back on my earliest interest in photography it was those technical things—the cameras and the chemical darkroom—that drew me in.

We didn't call them "captures" back then, but I think that's what I was trying to do: use photography as a way to hold on to moments, stop time. I still find myself doing that with some personal work, particularly when I’m photographing my family. I studied photojournalism in college, but around graduation I started thinking about the difference between capturing and creating and ultimately pivoted to commercial photography when the opportunity arose. I’ve been doing that for almost 25 years now, and my thinking has come full circle: I’m back to believing documentary just might be photography in its purest form.

Because it's always been photography, it's wrapped up in my identity—for good and bad. I don't know what I'd be if I wasn't a photographer. And as much as I love it I'm not sure it's ideal to have your self-worth so closely tied to your vocation.

2. What is your favourite gear? (camera, lens)

It’s fairly pretentious to say “I’m not into equipment,” so I won’t. But I will say that I wrote camera reviews for many years and that has made me somewhat allergic to excessive gear talk. I make my living with a camera, though, so I absolutely care about it. I use a pair of Sony A7R3 bodies and a friend jokes that I need to try something other than my 85mm f/1.4 once in a while. That combo is so great for portraiture: super sharp, super fast, feels good in your hand, and paired with eye-tracking autofocus I can do things I simply could not before. It’s been a game changer. And while I generally don’t feel the need to upgrade, I have recently begun considering it for some simple conveniences such as a fully articulating LCD and better low light performance. But I don’t need more megapixels.

I will also take this opportunity to mention my love for prime lenses. I know zooms are more convenient, and they are incredibly sharp and versatile, but my brain thinks differently when I have a prime lens tied on. I think it’s turning a limitation into an advantage. I become more deliberate, more inquisitive. It could all be in my head, but I would swear the effect on my thinking and seeing is real.

I have also started thinking of my smartphone as an actual, useful camera. It’s always with me, and it’s liberating to abandon technical concerns and think only of aesthetics. As I wrote in a recent essay, “just because the camera isn’t serious doesn’t mean the work can’t be.”

3. What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

When I was a new I was intimidated by the thought of photographing people. Interacting with strangers, telling them what to do… It all seemed very daunting. Turns out I actually quite like it, and now people are one of my favorite subjects. Unlike inanimate objects, humans bring unpredictability and spontaneity and that leads to magic.

As for personal work, lately I’ve been documenting more of my personal life. During the 2020 lockdown I thought it might be nice to preserve that particular moment in time, which I assumed would last a week or two. Three months later it had become a very important period for our family, and those pictures still mean a lot. The experience taught me that I don't have to go to exotic locales and find the world’s most exciting people to make worthwhile photographs. There is a long tradition of photographers looking inward—or nearby—to make their best work. It's been liberating to think of it as just living my life with a camera in hand, taking pictures when something catches my eye. I’ve begun to believe this casual work is every bit as legitimate as anything I’m ever hired to do. And it’s often more personally gratifying.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed the challenge of trying to make interesting photographs of mundane things. I especially like to group images in diptychs and triptychs and grids, making typologies. I find great joy in turning nothing into something, and the faux scientific rigor implied when you group images together never ceases to delight me. I don’t quite know why I find this so appealing, but I suspect it has something to do with a deep-seated desire for logic and order.

4. Can you name a few of your favourite photographers?

I have always been drawn to art that is particularly photographic. By which I mean imagery that is unique to the medium, a picture that could not be made in any other way. (Think long exposures or cameraless images that reveal things our naked eyes can’t see.) Along those lines I especially love the work of photographers like Hiroshi Sugimoto, Abelardo Morell and Caleb Charland. Charland’s "Attempting to Paddle Straight at the Moon" brings me such joy—the moment between reading the title and understanding what’s happening, in particular. It is one of my all-time favorite photographs, and I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing him. What a distinctive vision. Legitimately unique.

On my personal photographic Mt. Rushmore, two names would for sure be there: André Kertész and Harry Callahan. Their work has a sense of humor, playfulness, graphic strength, minimalism… They do a lot with a little, and are each wonderful examples of photographers making art in their homes and with their families. Kertész’s Satiric Dancer is of course a favorite, but his photographs of Chez Mondrian are sublime. And while Callahan made wonderful photographs of his wife and daughter, I really appreciate the minimalism, simplicity and orderliness of his Chicago streetscapes.

5. What can Substack community expect from you/your publication in the future?

After years of writing what editors assigned, I am enjoying the Substack-induced freedom to write about whatever interests me most. I touch on everything from my own photographic struggles to what I generally think of as “the business of being creative.” Basically, anything that might be pertinent to an audience of photographers, or even more broadly people who are interested in creating. I feel a profound sense of kinship with other photographers of all kinds, but especially those who are like me trying to eke out a living with a camera. Photojournalists, artists, commercial photographers… I’m always trying to learn from other photographers, and hopefully I can pass along some of what I learn to my readers.

I don’t do gear talk because there’s no shortage of that content out there. In fact, I’m trying to avoid churning out “content” in general, instead taking a “less is more” approach and writing when I’ve got something good to say rather than because it’s Friday morning.

The main thing I can assure readers is this: it won’t be the same thing you’re getting elsewhere. And I try to make sure it's an entertaining read. This stuff is supposed to be fun, after all.