Q&A: Darren Hauck

© Darren Hauck

Todd Langkamp: My first question is how did you first get into photography? Was there a moment you realized that you wanted to continue it as a career?

Darren Hauck: When i was 10 i asked for a camera, it was out of the blue really I can not even remember why i wanted one at that point but i knew i wanted one. After that i used it here and there but it really did not settle in that i wanted to take pictures until i was late in high school. From there it really took off in college, but i was always looking at photographs in magazines like NGS and Time and such. The typical thing adventure news seeing things that were vastly different then what i knew already.

© Darren Hauck

Todd Langkamp: You have said that you have been to more countries than you have states. Which country has been your favorite to be in?
Darren Hauck: Growing up my family never went on vacations, i think we went on one in Florida when i was about 10. Besides that we stuck around home and spent our summers on Lake Winnebago, which was great fun. So after college i decided to start to travel, I have good friends who have a place in Warsaw Poland and that was my first trip. Eastern Europe is great i really like it but the winters are ruff. So i think one area that i would like to go back to is central Asia, It is so different then where i grew up that it is just filled with so many interesting things. But to be honest there are so many places I have never been to that I would rather go somewhere new then return to a place i have already been. If i have not been there I would like to go to it, pretty simple i guess.

© Darren Hauck

Todd Langkamp: You often photograph conflicsts and tragedies. How do different groups in these conflicts (Militaries, Revolutionaries, Refugees, etc.) feel about you as a photographer taking their photo? Do they view you as an annoyance, a threat, or do they welcome you taking their photo?

Darren Hauck: Subjects in difficult situations vary on their acceptance to being photographed. Some see it as a voice to the outside world that they would never have normally and some see it as a problem I have been yelled at on more then one occasion. I mean no matter what you are there to try and tell people what is going on, with out the raw true images, how are people to kn

ow

what is happening. I do not think my pictures will put a end to suffering or anything like that, but I do hope it will bring awareness that will lead to intervention or aid. And well more times then not the military is annoyed with my presence.

©Darren Hauck

Todd Langkamp: Is it difficult for you to photograph images of these conflicts, death, tragedy and violence every day? How do you deal with the emotions and memories that come along with it?

Darren Hauck: These situations where death and violence and suffering are your subjects they will always leave a imprint on you. Some times its a direct effect or others it shows up later on, for me more times then not when i am working and seeing a lot of death i just start to have really vivid dreams. These can be good or bad, I guess its just my way of dealing with it.
Todd Langkamp: What is the most challenging assignment you have had? What whas the most enjoyable assignment you have had?


Darren Hauck: Most challenging assignment is all of them, I mean some have more logistical or access problems but to me I put forth the same effort on my work. Sometimes when very little is going on it makes things harder, but you work through it. Its the way it is, these things are all like puzzles you get piece by piece until you have your complete story. For me everyday that I can work as a photographer covering life and what is going on around me is a great day. I don't work well when I have to report to a office or anything like that.

© Darren Hauck

Todd Langkamp: Lastly, Do you have any advice for aspiring photographers/photojournalists like myself?

Darren Hauck:My advice is find a time machine go back to the late 70's and start your career then!! I hope the future and magazines and what ever form of showing our work figures its self out soon I mean at this rate now it will not be a possible avenue to make a living. Some big decisions need to be made on behalf of our industry but really on behalf of the public, because with out the true journalist working the whole world will suffer.

Bio: Todd Langkamp

©Todd Langkamp

Todd Langkamp was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1987. He first started taking photos in grade school but didn’t think about it as more than a hobby until high school. It was in his Junior of high school year that he took his first photography class. In that same year he got the chance to photograph the recreation of the Wright Brothers first flight in Kittyhawk, North Carolina. After that trip he knew that he wanted to turn his hobby into his career.

After high school Todd spent two and half years at Arizona State University before transferring to the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design where he is pursuing his BFA in Photography today.

Great Shot: Laforet

© Vincent Laforet

Before this class I had not heard of Vincent Laforet but after viewing some of his work and reading some of his interviews and his bio I can see why Kevin recommended that I look at his work. This shot by Laforet really caught my attention not only because of the beautiful imagery or the cute moment captured but because of what he said in an interview and also what has also been said by a mentor of mine and fellow photographer. That "photographs are about telling stories, sharing stories." Those are the type of photos I enjoy most and enjoy taking the most.

More of Vincent's work can be seen at http://www.vincentlaforet.com/

Q&A: Susana Raab

© Susana Raab

On the first day of class, we had a chance to visit the Dean Jensen Gallery to see Rank Strangers, an exhibit of work by Washington D.C. photographer Susana Raab. Dean spent time with us, discussing Susana's pictures, and how the show transformed from an initial idea to pictures on the gallery walls. Susana kindly agreed to participate in an interview with the class. Each student submitted 3 questions, of which I selected ten below. - Kevin J. Miyazaki

Andrea Payne: Do you prefer to work independently or is it nicer to work with a company like the New York Times? Does one give you more satisfaction than the other?

Susana Raab: I prefer to work independently, I view my paying assignments as creative exercises that will build and inform the performance of my personal work. That said, most everyone treats you exceptionally nice when you are working for the Times, so there is no denying the benefit of that aspect.

Mandie Louiser: Do you think color plays an important role in providing the intended meaning within your work?

Susana Raab: I think color helps seduce and create a mood. Of course it's very important to my fast food work because color is such an important factor in the advertising industries' strategy, and I am trying to mimic that strategy in that project. People respond to color, and understanding this does help create a more successful picture, in my opinion.

















© Susana Raab

Rebecca Gaimari: Are the people in these towns fairly willing to let you take the images?

Susana Raab: People never seem to mind me taking pictures, if they did I would just move on, there is always another photograph around the corner. I think you have to be comfortable with the idea of taking strangers pictures, and when you project confidence and security, people respond to that. On a few occasions I have had people tell me not to take their picture, to which I always acquiesce, but by the time we finish having a conversation they are literally begging me to take their photograph. Just happened last week.

Mandie Lousier: After working on a project for over a year, how do you begin making a rough edit, followed by the final edit?

Susana Raab: I love editing, and find as my projects evolve there are so many ways to edit the project. For me the most important thing is how the pictures play off each other, the flow. There are a million ways to do it, and I usually just make thumbnails and storyboard them out. After you play with editing and sequencing for long enough, the process just becomes kind of intuitive. Stephen, my partner, is usually my only other editor, he understands how I think and we banter about different sequences, but I have never been one who needed to show my work before ten different people to get a sense of how it should be edited. I know what I want to say and how I want to say it. Probably am too decisive!!!

Rose Tarman: I personally tend to work with color medium format imagery quite often, what is it that draws you to the format? How do you think it relates or fits with the subjects and ideas you portray? It can be a difficult medium to work in at times, there are challenges with speed and agility and many of your images depict candid, quick flashes and moments, which I find difficult in my own work much of the time. What are your thoughts on working with medium format?

Susana Raab: I love working in medium format analog. I love the process, how you have to be completely focused on technique the entire time, no chimping on the back of the camera, the uncertainty of the capture, and of course, the quality of the print achieved from the format. I find I respond more to prints made in medium and large formats than small. To be able to capture moments with the medium (am still working on the large format achievement of this) is just a question of practice and patience. It brings to mind Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers, and the 10,000 hours spent practicing a skill before becoming intuitive or proficient in it.

















© Susana Raab

Debra Leal: With A Chicken In Love being one of my favorite images from the series, I wondered if you had to tell the models to hold the pose. If you did, do you feel that it could have been a better/more honest photograph if you hadn’t told them to pose?

Susana Raab: No posing! No models! Those are just real people, not posing, not paying attention to me. I find it amusing how seldom people will pay attention to you when you are holding a ginormous camera to your face. Of course, not using a flash during that moment helped. For me the story is truth is stranger than fiction. The photography is somewhat conceptual, but only in the way that I conceive of what I will say through the picture in my mind, not by setting up situations.

Aimee Keil: While we were visiting the Dean Jensen Gallery, he mentioned that you will be having a show in Shanghai. How do you think the Chinese culture will view these photographs?

Susana Raab: I have no idea how the Chinese will view my photography, since I have no conception of the contemporary Chinese art market. (My education sadly ends around the Terra Cotta warriors). And honestly, I just don't even think about it. It's like producing art with the intention of selling it, it is not how I operate (for my personal work). That would take the joy out of it. The joy is in the production. I don't want to overthink the process.

Priscilla Whitenight: What advice would you give young photographers who are interested in documentary and editorial photography, but have a primary focus in their fine art work?

Susana Raab: You know, I always think about Rilke, who wrote something to the effect of "You must ask yourself in the stillness of the night if I could not create would I die? If the answer is no please go and do something else." There are about a million different things you could do that would be easier than what I am trying to do. But if it is a compulsion within you, then do it. There is no path, but by being involved and pushing yourself, and working constantly you will make a way - and it is the way that is the important thing, not the result (I mean of course we don't want to die in complete obscurity, but if I am able to sustain the process than I consider that success). I am not trying to evade a clearer answer, I just feel that making a living as a photographer is about doing whatever you need to do, there is no straight way. For me producing work is the best part, making new images, and all the other stuff that goes into getting it out there is necessary drudgery. But for that 10 percent of time that I making work, it is sheer heaven. It is enough to keep me going for the other 90 percent.


















© Susana Raab

Todd Langkamp: Who are some of the people and artists who have influenced you in your work over the years?

Susana Raab: Stephen Crowley, Karl de Keyzer, Martin Parr, Margaret Bourke White, Steichen, Martin Chambi, Sam Abell, Edward Hopper, Turner, Jacob Lawrence, Alice Neel, John Singer Sargent, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Willa Cather, Wendell Berry, Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe; it's an endless continuum!

Andrea Payne: What is the best advice you can give to a photographer who is struggling to find their voice? How did you find your voice?

Susana Raab: Well if it wasn't a struggle to find one's own voice, what would be the point? Struggle is good! I think it helps to be an independent thinker. Be sure of yourself and your intention. Read and read more. The struggle is what makes it worth doing - what gives your voice the meaning. What is it that really motivates or engages you? Also, I don't go into projects knowing what it is I'm going to say or how I'm going to say it. The discovery is in the process. Allow the process to engage you and you will find the conversation flowing. That is really what it is about, getting into a kind of flow that happens when you are fully present - when everything that you have studied or read inhabits you unconsciously and it becomes a part of your performance. It's about practice. After you practice enough it becomes innate and integral. I always think of Faulkner and James Joyce who wove so many archetypical thoughts and images throughout their texts that everything became layered with multiple meanings. I love this idea of intertextuality, because everything informs us. At whatever locus you are standing on is a composite of cultural interactions that inform you. Use this vantage point to communicate your vision to the world. When I started thinking like this, that is when my images became more layered for me (maybe not for everyone else though!). Also working in a series form helps build the conversation. The single images are not as important as the story they tell collectively. Don't read People Magazine, tune out popular culture as a primary method of information gathering, turn off the tv, and pick up a book, go for a walk. Enjoy silence. Write a letter. Go to a museum. Be engaged in your world and don't worry about getting to Point B.

Thanks all for your thoughtful questions and for visiting my show. I hope I have enlightened you on your photographic journey in some small way!
Warmly,
Susana

Pour My Pain In A Dirty Glass © Todd Langkamp

Over the summer I had a chance to see the band Dropkick Murphy's at Summerfest. Dropkick Murphy's is an Irish Punk Rock band. This a photo of the band's lead guitarist. The title of the piece is a reference to one of their songs that I thought was appropriate. I really enjoyed doing this series though taking the photos was a real challenge since I was front row center at this concert and the crowd was very wild. For this piece I was really drawn to it from the expression of the guitarist, the slight softness which shows his movement, and the harsh light of the spotlight on his face washing out some of the details. All of this I believe creates drama within the photo and you can really get a sense of the passion of this performer.