Interview by ATS April 2004

ATS: Your images seem to have a slightly disturbing edge to them, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Could you tell me what I maybe talking about?

JS: I don't particularly like the so-called "nice shots". Most of the “nice shots” I see are boring. They seem to rely a lot on cliché compositions or are over obsessed with lighting and technique. The subject is often kidnapped by the photographer’s ego. At the same time I don't like extremes either; photographs that merely sensationalize. Personally, I try to ride the fine line between normal and disturbing. Sometimes I end up making normal subjects look disturbing and disturbing subjects look normal.

ATS: What does a portrait mean to you?

JS: To me, a portrait is kind of like catching someone with their pants down. Not that I'm some kind of "paparazzi" or anything like that, but I really want to catch something in my subject that isn't easily noticeable and I want to catch it in a natural way. I think we all see these things in everyday life with people that we know well.

AST: But many of your photographs are set up aren't they?

JS: Yes most of them are. I hate “snapshots”. I like control in my photography, but what I photograph I have seen before with my own eyes, so in that way, I am merely recreating what I've already seen.

ATS: How do your subjects react to how you photograph them?

JS: Most are pleasantly surprised at seeing themselves so differently from how they are normally. Many of them know my work already. Last week I was shooting a yoga teacher and he asked me before the shoot if he had to be tied up to a chair or something like that. It was funny but at the same time I felt he was serious.

ATS: Do you prefer location work or studio?

JS: Location, even though it is more difficult to arrange sometimes. I prefer studio for certain work, but mostly I enjoy discovering a location for my subject. I also don’t like the location to overpower my subject. Saying this, I have certain favorite locations I often return to, like the bathtub. Many of my photographs, especially of women are taken in bathtubs. Bedrooms are also a favorite location.

ATS: What is it about the nude that attracts you again and again?

JS: It is a very pure subject. I feel that people look more interesting nude or seminude. But they could also look equally amazing in great clothes. I prefer to photograph the nude. Even when I do a commissioned portrait: I’ll shoot the portrait as required, but I will also try to shoot something for myself. Most subjects are willing to please.

ATS: Is there a particular type of woman that you like to photograph?

JS: I like to photograph women who have some experience of life. Usually they are in their late twenties or older. The young women that I’ve photograph in the past lack a certain depth that I like to see in my work.

ATS: Have you ever had a hostile subject?

JS: Rarely. Although, I once had a subject walk out on me; but that was because she was trying to control the way I was working. Once I drew the line, she bolted. That’s ok, I was paid for the job anyways and I didn’t have to compromise my work.

ATS: Do you have to compromise your work often when shooting for clients?

JS: Not as much as before. Now many of them know my work and know what to expect, so they already have me in mind. This is where having a style really helps with clients; they know more or less what assignments to give you.

ATS: You used to shoot a lot more fashion before, do you still like shooting it?

JS: I started out shooting fashion in 1991, but I only realized I prefered shooting portraits afterwards. Now, I prefer portraits, but I also enjoy shooting fashion; that is, if the assignment is right. Fashion photography has become boring of late and has been in a slump for a few of years now. I don’t think it has a strong direction at this time. It seems to be turning in on itself and getting caught in it’s own clichés. The 80’s thing is also getting a bit much. There seems to be a lack of imagination and courage everywhere I look. People are afraid of pissing other people off and the result is boring unimaginative images that lack depth. Stock photography is also killing the art of photography, especially in North America. The fact that many design companies would rather buy a ready made photo off a stock CD, for quite a bit off money actually, and use it on their designs instead of hiring a real photographer to do it in a unique way, is telling of what direction professional photography is heading. It's a little depressing actually.

ATS: Do you have a favorite photographer?

JS: Helmut Newton, may he rest in peace, has been an influence. He really got below the surface of things. He had the courage to go into territories that were taboo at the time. Mind you he only got that way after he moved to Paris from London and started working with French Vogue. He never got much respect with London Vogue and it wasn’t until years later with French Vogue that American Vogue had the courage to use him. By that time he was already pushing fifty. Remember he was born in 1920 and died at 83, so he had 30 good years of creativity. There is not much of his published work pre 1970. He pissed off many readers, but overall he had a positive influence on the medium. He has been much imitated but never surpassed. I admire that. The same is true with Robert Mapplethorpe’s work. At the time he pissed everyone off, but now he is seen as the forefather of homoerotic photography. Living in a place like New York and having supporters that believe in you is a big help no doubt. With out places like New York and Paris and now Tokyo, with Araki; erotic photography would not have seen the light of day. Smaller cities just don’t have the kind people with power and influence to make that sort of thing happen. Speaking of Araki, I really like his work. When I first saw his work I was in India spending time at the OSHO ashram in Poona, a very sexy ashram by the way. A German girlfriend of mind from Hamburg mailed some magazine tear sheets of his work to me, thinking that I would like it. To her surprise I didn’t. I was like: this bondage thing is so boring, why does everyone keep wanting to do it over and over again? A couple of years later though when I was back in Toronto, I was in a bookstore and picked up one of his books called Tokyo Novella and I loved it. I understood him. The bondage took on a different meaning for me. To me it represented the repressed feminine in Japanese society. Somehow he summed up the Japanese Shadow very clearly in that book: but never having talked to him I don’t even know if he is aware of it himself. His urban landscapes are also beautiful and remind me very much of Atget’s Paris landscapes at the turn of the century.

ATS: Do you get a lot of complains from feminists about your work?

JS: My best friends are women. There are times when one will say: oh come on Joseph, not another nude woman shot, but for the most part they are quite supportive. However, I am not famous or seen widely in the media, so I don’t know what response I would get if I were.

ATS: You’ve traveled extensively through Asia and especially India. What draws you to go there?

JS: The first time I went to India was in 1989 and I was 29 years old. I stayed for a year and fell in love with the place. Mind you I was going through some kind of spiritual awakening at the time and India was the perfect place to be for that. I’ve returned many times since then and every time it’s a different experience. I also think that it is a different experience for everyone that goes. I’ve met people there that hated it and where dying to get out on the next flight. It is not for everyone.

ATS: I’ve heard that India is where you discovered photography. Is that true?

JS: Yes, that is right. Before India I was a fine art painter and before that I was a chemical engineer. I thought that I could paint when I got to Asia but within a week I realized that I couldn’t and shipped all my paints home. I was left with a point-and-shoot that my father gave me and that was it. A month later I when to Singapore and I bought a Nikon 801 system and 40 rolls of Kodachrome, the rest is history. The interesting thing is that in the 2 years I was abroad I didn’t develop a single roll of film. I was in India and no one there processed Kodachrome. It was only when I returned to Toronto that had it all processed at once, so getting all those slides back at once was like Christmas. After seeing the film, I fell in love with the medium. That was in 1991.

ATS: Where are you based now?

JS: Well, at present I am in Toronto, but I have plans to move to Lisbon in the next year or so. Ideally I would like to be based in Paris but that is too expensive for me at this point in time. I have an EU passport and I like the direction in which Europe is heading at this time.

ATS: Is there a particular camera that you like to use for your portraits?

JS: I started out using a Nikon 35mm camera, but now I am all over the map. For a while I was using a Rollieflex and I loved it. I still use it now and then. I also use Hasselblad and a Plaubel Makina, which is a rangefinder camera. Lately, I’ve gotten into 8x10 and have shot a couple portraits with it. I love that too. It takes a little getting used to but the results are outstanding. I’m trying not to let the camera define my style like so many other photographers.

ATS: What are you working on now?

JS: I am presently shooting a series of nudes in a white bedroom with 8x10 color Polaroid. The results are quite astounding. I love the look and feel of 8x10 Polaroid, especially skin tones.

ATS is a Graphic Designer and Photoshop artist who runs his own website alwaysthesun.com.

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