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For OTSP, 2012 starts off with a thrilling first! On January 30th, we’ll be hosting our very first wine tasting and photo show, Views of Queens! Featuring live music, hors d’oeuvres, artisanal wines and a silent auction of original photography, this event will benefit On The Square and their upcoming production of The Minervae this summer. As this exciting evening approaches, I sat down with photographer Duane Tollison to find out what’s in store. Stay tuned at the end of the interview to find out more about our host, Moore Brothers Wine Company, and how to get your tickets. I hope you’ll be there AND be Square! – Michael Swartz
MS: How long have you been taking photos?
DT: I remember my dad buying a Minolta camera at Wal-Mart when I was very young, about 10 years old, and that was the same camera I used when my 6th grade class decided to start a school newspaper, The Chatterbox, to raise money for a class trip from Minnesota to Chicago. I was the school photographer. After that, I didn’t really keep up with photography, but I must have spent a fortune on disposable cameras, taking literally thousands of pictures. People used to call me “the tourist”. Finally, after I moved to New York, I bought a cheap Phoenix camera and began taking photography seriously.
MS: Why did you choose Queens for this project?
DT: Well, the simple answer is: It’s where I live. It’s also where On The Square Productions is headquartered. But it’s a really dynamic area with a rich variety things and places to appreciate and photograph, from something like the mythic Hell Gate Bridge, to the iconic Silvercup Studios sign. One of my favorite things to do is walk down 36th street in Astoria. People on that street in particular have such diverse and beautiful gardens and flower beds. I like to get up close for some macro shots.
MS: I LOVE the close-up of the Queensboro Bridge. How did you manage to take that photo?
DT: Well, first, this photo came out much better than I thought it would. I was moving at the time it was taken. I was on the tram from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. It was only the second time I had made the trip… and I’m intensely afraid of heights. In fact, the first time I rode the tram I could barely look outside the car, and never let go of the railing.
MS: I think this photo is my favorite of the bunch. Why did you choose this technique for this photo?
DT: There’s something about taking something slightly out of focus that makes it timeless. It almost puts the photo in another dimension. But I think you have to make sure it’s not too cliché, and that it doesn’t look too much on purpose. But I think it makes for a very romantic photograph.
MS: How do you determine what you’re going to photograph?
DT: Well, sometimes I plan it out. I keep a notebook with me where I write down ideas as I’m out, you know, day to day, and I’ll say to myself, “Wow, the Empire State Building looks great from this angle, on the N.W. corner of 38th street, right through those buildings” or “this doorway, with this stenciled sign, at 41st street, just yearns to be photographed,” and I’ll write it down. But mostly I’ll just take my camera out for a day and just go wandering for hours, taking photos of things that I find interesting. I mean, I rarely go out with a concrete idea of what I’m going to photograph. Like the photos in the Views of Queens, most of them were taking during one afternoon just walking from Astoria Park to Roosevelt Island to Manhattan.
MS: Have you ever sold a photo at auction before.
DT: Yes. For years I have donated a photo to amfAR and GLAAD for their respective silent auctions. I feel like it’s a good way to be charitable and also share my creativity. One photo that I’m particularly proud of is one of Bethesda Fountain after a light dusting of snow. I took that photo one morning after work. I got off at 8am and the snow was just beginning so I decided to walk through Central Park. I love the snow. I’m from Montana, so I miss it sometimes. So, I got to Bethesda Fountain and the snow was pristine. It was a light coating and not one footprint. I was probably the first one to witness the unspoiled, ethereal beauty of it. It was gorgeous. Anyway, that photo sold at the amfAR San Francisco Fall Gala for $830.00.
MS: Is there anything you would have liked to photograph that you didn’t for this project?
DT: Well, I am a huge fan of art deco and formalist/post-modern types of architecture, and also old signs. So I was sad not to get more photos of the Silvercup Studios sign in Long Island City, and of the Pepsi-cola sign at Gantry Plaza State Park. I wanted to capture more of Astoria Pool, but it was just too dark. Also, I wish I had gotten to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1964 New York’s World’s Fair.
MS: Why did you decide to give to On The Square Productions?
DT: I have a lot of respect and admiration for OTSP. They have a great ethic when it comes to theatre, which is a kind of rebellious and determined… performance at all costs. That is the distance between good work and great work. I am invested in seeing them grow and succeed. They put a lot of hard work and effort into everything and it always shows.
MS: Are there any photographers who inspire you?
DT: Oh, well that’s… wow, yeah. So many. Annie Leibowitz, James Nachtwey—a war photographer, Peter Lindbergh, Bernice Abbot, Ansel Adams, Laurent Nivalle, David LaChapelle… for the most part these photographers are witnesses to kinds of soft, subtle moments, and they transform them into these weighty, profound statements. I love that.
MS: What’s next for you?
DT: To keep taking photos. To never make it a job, as much as a passion.
Get your TICKETS here: http://viewsofqueens.eventbrite.com/
“Moore Brothers Wine Company is unique – we source our wines directly, working with artisan winegrowers in France, Italy, and Germany.
Our personal relationships with these growers, and our integrated, temperature-controlled distribution model provides our customers with traditional, authentic, and natural wines that taste here in the US, exactly as they taste at the winery.”
