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untitled (t2f19a), 2009, archival pigment print
with the murkiness of the water; you’re dealing with the surface wave conditions – the choppier the water is, the less light is reaching the bottom. And when I’m diving, I’m constantly aware of shapes coming from the distance and then materializing as they get closer. And when people see the prints it’s a very similar kind of experience – as you get closer, things become abstract; the grain resembles the murkiness. It’s a very viewer-involved experience. KV: What camera do you usually work with if you’re just shooting casually? Film or digital?
SP: Absolutely not. I grew up in Michigan. All of my friends growing up had boats and they lived on lakes. But from a very early age, I had an aversion to going in the water. I was afraid for many reasons. Every time I got into the swimming pool, I knew that there was a shark in the pool waiting for me. So literally, I didn’t get in a body of water from probably second or third grade until probably my senior year of high school. It must have just been a situation where I grew out of it. All of a sudden, I started getting comfortable going in the water. KV: So far as to learn how to scuba dive!
SP: I have photographic obsessions... I have a collection of cameras. My very first SLR was a Minolta Maxxum 5, and I shot with that for quite some time. I haven’t bought a digital camera yet, I don’t own one, but I’m going to buy one when I graduate. I promise. I’m going to have to if I want to do freelance stuff on the side. I own two 4x5 cameras – one of them I bought, and one of them I built. I own a Bronica ETR 645 medium format camera. And a pinhole camera.
SP: Well, that was still to come. That didn’t happen until college. A buddy of mine had been scuba diving since he was twelve... it must have been sophomore year of college, he finally got certified as a scuba instructor, and he called me up – he has a vacation home in Florida, in West Palm Beach – and he said, “Simon, I want to certify you as a scuba diver.” I was his first student. KV: Were you still nervous about going in the water?
KV: Have you had a life-long fascination with the sea?
SP: No. No, the fear disappeared almost instantly. After that trip, I went home, and really reflecting on
ISO ISSUE NO. 4