From the Archive - Joe’s Barber Shop, St. Paul, MNFrogtown (1993 - 1995) I first started coming here in the 30s when I was 16. It was called Nick’s Barber Shop then. Haircuts were 35 cents. Now they’re $7.50. Still a good buy. Joe here has been cutting my hair since 1950. I’ve been a good customer. I get it cut every three weeks. If you can stand his bs you’ve got it made. That’s a lot of bs over 40 years. I guess that’s why I come here.
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From the Archive - Joe’s Barber Shop, St. Paul, MN
Frogtown (1993 - 1995)

I first started coming here in the 30s when I was 16. It was called Nick’s Barber Shop then. Haircuts were 35 cents. Now they’re $7.50. Still a good buy. Joe here has been cutting my hair since 1950. I’ve been a good customer. I get it cut every three weeks. If you can stand his bs you’ve got it made. That’s a lot of bs over 40 years. I guess that’s why I come here.

Changing Lenses is the product of an ongoing conversation between eminent sociologist Doug Hartmann, Ph.D. and myself. In each post, we exchange what’s seen behind a camera lens and what’s seen through a sociological lens to get at the diversity of perspectives and cultivate a unique look at the human experience. Below is my perspective. Read Doug’s reaction here. From the Archive - Politician, St. Paul, MN Frogtown (1993 - 1995) I haven’t photographed that much in the political sphere. I’m not sure why. Partly perhaps because the circus surrounding politics are often orchestrated media events and I’m interested more in what is usually not covered by the press. Also I’ve been apolitical most of my life, just as I’ve been areligious, although I’ve photographed in a lot of churches and faith-based places, so I guess I can’t use that as an excuse.  I’m more interested in the sociology of politics than politics itself. For instance, do aesthetics determine political beliefs or is it the other way around? Why do liberals and conservatives dress the way they do? Can knowing whether or not you like to color outside the lines as a kid be a predictor of your opinion on abortion? I assume that sociologists are plagued with the same biases that challenge every field of study that supposes objectivity, unlike artists who are expected to flaunt their point of view. I guess in that sense I’m more like a sociologist than an artist, in that I want my point of view to seem transparent.  This photograph doesn’t have much of a back-story. The image is really my only memory of it. I went back to the contact sheet and realized it was on one of the first rolls I shot for Frogtown, which was my first project. It put me on the artistic map, so to speak.  I believe I was just walking around and bumped into this scene. I only took two shots of the politician, both from the back. Amazing how few of the children, who became unwitting political advertisements, are actually looking at the politician. 
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Changing Lenses is the product of an ongoing conversation between eminent sociologist Doug Hartmann, Ph.D. and myself. In each post, we exchange what’s seen behind a camera lens and what’s seen through a sociological lens to get at the diversity of perspectives and cultivate a unique look at the human experience. Below is my perspective. Read Doug’s reaction here.

From the Archive - Politician, St. Paul, MN
Frogtown (1993 - 1995)

I haven’t photographed that much in the political sphere. I’m not sure why. Partly perhaps because the circus surrounding politics are often orchestrated media events and I’m interested more in what is usually not covered by the press. Also I’ve been apolitical most of my life, just as I’ve been areligious, although I’ve photographed in a lot of churches and faith-based places, so I guess I can’t use that as an excuse. 

I’m more interested in the sociology of politics than politics itself. For instance, do aesthetics determine political beliefs or is it the other way around? Why do liberals and conservatives dress the way they do? Can knowing whether or not you like to color outside the lines as a kid be a predictor of your opinion on abortion?

I assume that sociologists are plagued with the same biases that challenge every field of study that supposes objectivity, unlike artists who are expected to flaunt their point of view. I guess in that sense I’m more like a sociologist than an artist, in that I want my point of view to seem transparent. 

This photograph doesn’t have much of a back-story. The image is really my only memory of it. I went back to the contact sheet and realized it was on one of the first rolls I shot for Frogtown, which was my first project. It put me on the artistic map, so to speak. 

I believe I was just walking around and bumped into this scene. I only took two shots of the politician, both from the back. Amazing how few of the children, who became unwitting political advertisements, are actually looking at the politician. 

From the Archive - Loring Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota (circa 1995) It was during a one-week workshop in 1981 at the long defunct Film in the Cities in St. Paul, conducted by the legendary Garry Winogrand, that I decided to become a photographer. He said a lot of memorable things that week, including his famous dictum: “There is nothing as mysterious as a fact well-described.” About the picture taking process itself, he said, “The most important thing is knowing where to stand.” Certainly true about this photo. I was doing a series on pick-up playground basketball (I’ve played in a weekly game of hoops for 30 years) when after a series of ordinary shots, I was fortunate to be standing in the right place as the ball hit me in the head, narrowly missing the camera held to my eye.
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From the Archive - Loring Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota (circa 1995)

It was during a one-week workshop in 1981 at the long defunct Film in the Cities in St. Paul, conducted by the legendary Garry Winogrand, that I decided to become a photographer. He said a lot of memorable things that week, including his famous dictum: “There is nothing as mysterious as a fact well-described.”

About the picture taking process itself, he said, “The most important thing is knowing where to stand.” Certainly true about this photo. I was doing a series on pick-up playground basketball (I’ve played in a weekly game of hoops for 30 years) when after a series of ordinary shots, I was fortunate to be standing in the right place as the ball hit me in the head, narrowly missing the camera held to my eye.

From the Archive - Boy Scout, St. Paul, Minnesota (1982) It was exciting to be on one of my first paid commercial gigs, dutifully documenting the sundry festive activities surrounding the 100-year anniversary of the St. Paul Public Library for promotional materials. I had already taken hundreds of carefully composed shots that hopefully conveyed the celebratory nature of the event and, more importantly, pleased the client. But then I turned around and saw this, getting off one shot. When I get a good photograph, one that seems to have its own complete and particular logic, I often don’t know at the time I take it that it’s the “one.” You look so hard but sometimes it’s the photo that finds you. The best ones seem to take themselves.
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From the Archive - Boy Scout, St. Paul, Minnesota (1982)

It was exciting to be on one of my first paid commercial gigs, dutifully documenting the sundry festive activities surrounding the 100-year anniversary of the St. Paul Public Library for promotional materials. I had already taken hundreds of carefully composed shots that hopefully conveyed the celebratory nature of the event and, more importantly, pleased the client.

But then I turned around and saw this, getting off one shot. When I get a good photograph, one that seems to have its own complete and particular logic, I often don’t know at the time I take it that it’s the “one.” You look so hard but sometimes it’s the photo that finds you. The best ones seem to take themselves.