Interview Peter Baker
“Photography is for me a reminder of the way things are, and the things we’ve done. It’s the art of documentation.”
Name:Peter Baker
Hometown:Home town of Blissfield, a little farm town south of Detroit. Recently relocated back to Ann Arbor, Michigan, after spending years in Chicago, San Francisco and Oakland
Type of camera:Mostly shooting with Hasselblad and Mamiya 6×6 medium format cameras
Websites:www.peterbaker.net, www.ptrbkr.com, www.elevatedworks.com
What gives you inspiration?
The world around me. I’m less conceptual and more visual. Less constructed and more haphazard. My process involves wandering and searching, keeping my eyes and mind open and seeing everything I can.
What are your influences?
Just about everything, my eyes are a sponge. Films by Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson and Spike Jonze. Photos by Stephen Shore and William Eggleston and Alec Soth. Paintings by David Hockney and Edward Hopper.
Graphic design by Saul Bass and Paul Rand.
Why did you choose these photos?
The one of the mechanic is from a recent submission to the 50 States Project (www.50statesproject.net), the others are from Las Vegas, Iceland, and Nicaragua. I simply chose them because the were the first to catch my eye while browsing my own work.
What does photography mean to you?
For me, it’s a reminder of the way things are, and the things we’ve done. It’s the art of documentation.
Photos:
Copyright reserved by Peter Baker.
