THE
Portraits OF Todd Franson As M etro We e k l y tur ns 26, we ce l e brate th e wor k of a pe rson w ho has helpe d to create a nd def in e i ts ve r y esse nce. I nte r v i ew by Ra nd y Shulma n Photogra phy by To dd Fra nson
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AY BACK IN 1995, A YOUNG, GAY, 23-YEARold photographer grabbed a copy of Metro Weekly and carefully combed through its masthead. He sent the entire staff personal invitations to his show, Nightlights, an assortment of glamorous, black and white portraits of people behind the dance-based fundraisers that were, at the time, extremely popular in the Washington, D.C. LGBTQ community. The stack of envelopes arrived at the Mount Pleasant office, and each was doled out to the appropriate staffer. One, however, stood out. It was addressed to Alan Turing, the deceased gay mastermind who famously helped crack the Nazi code during World War II. Turing had been listed in that week’s masthead under Patron Saint, an “easter egg” in every issue that continues to this day. “I didn't know my gay history very well,” laughs Todd Franson, somewhat sheepishly. Over the past 25 years, Todd Gregory Franson has more than learned his LGBTQ history — he’s become part of it. As the central photographer for Metro Weekly, Franson has been responsible for more than half of its 1,300-plus covers and interior shots. Perhaps more than anyone else in the magazine’s history, he has shaped and defined the publication’s various looks and visual atmospherics. In 2007, he became the magazine’s sixth (and longest-serving) art director, further cementing his place as a key figure in the magazine’s history. A graduate of the prestigious Savannah School of Art and Design in Georgia, Franson had his sights set on a career in photography and art direction since graduating in 1991. He began his career in Washington, D.C., as an assistant in the now-defunct Woodies’ catalog department, and later worked for its rival, the also now defunct Hecht’s. But the majority of his adult profes34
MAY 7, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
sional life has been spent at Metro Weekly, capturing members of the community, celebrities, politicians, and other assorted assignments — from interiors of homes to glorious photographs of food to the vibrancy of the Capital Pride Parade and the 17th Street High Heel Race — as required. As Metro Weekly’s art director, Franson has further refined the work forged by his predecessors. His standard of excellence and quest for perfection produces a publication that is as enjoyable to gaze at as it is to read. Whether using his own work, or the work of other photographers or illustrators, Franson finds the perfect balance each week between text and image. He nails it consistently. And his covers exist as proof. The sweetly congenial, playfully acerbic 50-year-old with a Duran Duran obsession that is well-known among his friends, currently resides in Maryland with his husband of eight years, Collin Ingraham, who works in cultural historic preservation for the state of Maryland. Theirs is a deeply loving homelife filled with gourmet cooking, perpetual gardening, and ensuring that their boisterous corgi, Abby, doesn’t dash after the deer and rabbits that frequent their vast backyard. A visible and active member of D.C.’s leather community, Franson has also been an Associate Member of the Centaur Motorcycle Club for several years. His home office is cluttered with trinkets and toys, oddities and visual treats, not to mention volumes upon volumes of art books dedicated to Blade Runner and the various Alien films. There’s even a Gizmo Furby. In 2019, Franson endured back-to-back tragedies when his father, Alvin, passed away in April, followed by his mother, Alice, in June. The grief, obvious to those who know him intimately, did not stand in the way of his duties or commitment to a weekly deadline. In fact, it was about a year ago that he strode into the Capitol, photographic equipment in tow, to capture
