On Old Pictures
Scanning 20 years of film photography
When we closed Harvest Roots, I dreaded that I was going to have to be a photographer. After all, besides fermentation, what other marketable skills did I have?
I endevoured to scan my entire portfolio of film negatives from the age of thirteen or fourteen. This was a humbling experience that called on some persistence, because there was a lot of shit pictures, and a few great images. Here are some nice ones.
I didn’t even have a cell phone on my first trip to New York City. I had lined up several meetings with photography professors, and professionals. Benford and I met on SkatePerception, a skateboard photography forum at teenagers. He’s my brother to this day.
I’d watch skateboarding videos for years from around the world, including New York City. I knew what to expect even at a young age. I’m so thankful for the culture that skateboarding exposed me to in Harvest, Alabama.
I never really liked this Canon AE-1, by the way. Shout to being young enough to have acne. Shout out to the military fatigues era of skateboarding.
I was talking with my therapist about how me and my Mom traveled outwest after my Dad died. It could have been a movie. I confuse one or two of the trips we did out there. I remember that the negative folder from the trip got totally submerged in water in the back of my Pontiac in high school. I still have them but they’re stuck in the sleeves.
When I lived in Chicago, I was 19 or 21, and our rent was $200. We didn’t have A/C, and the heat was illegally insufficient. I was a bike messenger and law clerk. I can’t process how they didn’t fire me - I was horrible at my job. I made such good money though, even in today’s terms. I attended Harold Washington City College after I left Columbia College, and it was great.
No one had smart phones, and we just rode bikes, skateboarded, drank and smoked, and created art. Friends visited from all over the world and stayed with us. I had burrito pop-ups frequently. I did live in a loft in a firehouse, and a loft in a very old Polish ballroom. That place was crazy. I lived with a lot of Oberlin hippies. We ate a lot of food out of the dumpster.
I learned a lot about life at that young of age. I didn’t have a lot of emotional intelligence and hurt people around me being inconsiderate and selfish.
This was in the era of Flickr. And lots of people traveled to Chicago, and would stop by. I really think this was a cool era. Such an array of talented and passionate individuals who have gone on to do really incredible work. Bobby Doherty, Charlie Engman have been very successful. Dave Geeting, too. Lots of people I’m not giving credit to. But overall, so many people are just great people, living their best life adventuring in the mountains, making natural wine, foraging mushrooms, and being really interesting.
One time I traveled to St. Louis. A friend in photography put me up, and I don’t remember much of the trip. But I did get this picture.
A bunch of us lived in Pilsen. It was 2010 or so. I remember the iPhone came out when we were there. It’s hard to imagine, but I took this picture of Will Govus as we just sat on the sidewalk, quite literally laying there to pass the time before we went to grab some Miller High Life or 40’s, or go scale some abandoned industrial building. Or both. Will and his friends were the first people I knew to train hop. They traveled all over the world train hopping.
What I learned about myself scanning twenty years of photographs is:
Photography takes discipline. It takes focus, and should happen daily. Respect to all artists.
My best photographs were of daily life, and off the cuff.
I am happy I shot as much film as possible when one could afford it. I used to shoot Porta 400NC like it was a point and shoot.
Challenging myself while embracing my nature is a life long journey.
I’m so thankful for those who have been patient with me, and loved me, even if it was temporary.
I want to make my best photographs be of daily life again.
One great photo may be in a pile of ten thousand, if you’re lucky.
If you want to see more of my work, check out www.petehalupka.com. I made it a food and beverage portfolio last fall because I swore I would have to be a photographer, and was applying to jobs where I needed a portfolio. I’m so happy I didn’t have to do that, as I really wanted my job to not be my passion. I’ll probably overhaul it soon.
I mentioned Flickr to a group of college students earlier this week and wondered if anyone still uses it. They had no idea what I was talking about.