A picture of HS Matthew Nighswander next to his Chandelier, Chicago

Summer Hey, Hot Shot! winner Matthew Nighswander came to us from Chicago. While he recently relocated to Brooklyn, he definitely soaked up some of that communal energy I have mentioned before. Let’s jut say it’s a good time to be a photographer in the Midwest. This Fall his work was published in the Nov/Dec issue of Adbusters along with fellow Chicagoans and friends Paul D’Amato and Brian Ulrich. And he was featured in a group exhibit in the online F-Stop Magazine. If you find yourself in the Chicagoland area, make a point to pass by 33 E. Congress and see his piece above at a colossal scale.

Where were you born, where were you bred?
I grew up in a small town (Gilmanton) in central New Hampshire, near Lake Winnipesaukee.

Age? 36

How do you pay the bills?
I’m currently the Archivist for VII Photo. I worked previously for 6 years as an international photo editor at The Associated Press.

What’s your formal background (if any) in photography?
I have an M.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago.

What artist drove you to make the work you do? Who inspires you now?
Garry Winogrand originally inspired me to want to be a photographer. Right now I’m pretty into Alec Soth’s “Niagara.” I like work like Soth’s that incorpoates many different approaches to photography. Alessandra Sanguinetti’s “On the Sixth Day“, Paul D’Amato’s “Barrio,” and Brian Ulrich’s “Copia” are three of my favorite photo books from this year.

What camera do you use? Is it always with you?
When I’m going out shooting my main camera is a Mamiya 7. Because of its size and fragility I don’t keep it with me most of the time, but I will almost always have my Leica M6 or my small Contax point-and-shoot with me.

Do you shoot with a plan or on a whim?
When I set out to shoot, I usually have a plan for an area or subjects that I want to photograph. I try to impose some sort of discipline on myself but only to a point. I want to remain open to any distracting influence that might pop up because this will often lead to the best pictures. Also, it’s this kind of open-ended wandering that makes photography so enjoyable. I’m not curing cancer so if it’s not at least enjoyable I’d rather spend my time doing something more productive.

What images are superglued into your mind for all eternity?
Helen Levitt’s picture of the kids walking down the street with the bubbles floating over the road next to them.

Untitled, New York (soap bubbles and girls) by Helen Levitt

What piece of equipment do you fetishize the most and/or what is your guiltiest tech pleasure?
I’m pretty satisfied with the equipment I have for my own personal work but I would like to eventually get a digital setup (maybe the new Leica) to do assignment stuff.

What are your loftiest goals?
I would of course love to have a book but my craziest fantasy is somehow turning my website into something that could support me. Organizing a website is a great way to get to know your own photography and if I could live off that, I would be fine with never being published or exhibited again.

Do you have any other talents, hobbies, or favorite pastimes?
I played for many years in a rock band called Monobrow. Look for our reunion tour in 2012.

Any big plans for 2007?
My wife and I are expecting our first child in a few weeks.

If you had to choose only one film to watch for the rest of time what would it be?
Michael Mann’s “Heat”

Name three songs that would be on your soundtrack?
The Breeders covering “Happiness is A Warm Gun”
Judas Priest’s “Heading out to the Highway”
Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.”

Favorite director/composer/author/artist/musician/etc?
Jose Saramago’s “Blindness“–a thrilling combination of brutal, violent realism and the fantastic.

City you would most like to escape to?
Prague or a small town in New Hampshire.

What do you look for in a mate?
I got me one. Ain’t looking.

If you had to choose any object/service to be branded with your name, what would it be?
Matt’s Guitar Wax.

How do you spoil yourself?
Plugging in my electric guitar.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm by Alice and is filed under General, Hot Shots News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.