This week’s Member Moment features work by Film Club member Chris McCall, who takes day-in-the-life photos that reveal the odd in the ordinary. Scroll down to see his pictures and to read the interview!
PL: What got you interested in photography?
CM: Growing up in the early 2000s, I remember my parents had a coffee table book of Life Magazine’s “Best Of” photos, or something close to it. I’d say flipping through that book was the first time I was exposed to ‘real’ photography, if you don’t count the early days of Myspace and Flickr. I wish I had a better or more eloquent response, but the honest, unfun answer is I probably just thought photography was cool and I was trying on different hobbies/personalities at that point. When I was 17, I got a 35mm SLR and spent the next few years taking poorly exposed photos and getting the film developed at CVS. I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d still be obsessed with photography twenty years later.
PL: What type of camera do you shoot with?
PL: When taking pictures, what are some objects or elements or feelings within a scene that inspire you to take a photo?
CM: Broadly speaking: spontaneous moments, oddities, things out of context. My wife jokes that I love trash and shadows, and she’s not that far off. I typically take photos of things that I encounter during my commute because Philadelphia has no shortage of interesting subjects, and I like to capture real life. Other than daily life, most of my photos come from traveling, hanging with friends, parties, weddings, etc. I’m not doing anything particularly profound with my photography, but I also don’t think it’s entirely superficial or contrived. There was a time when I would’ve tried to shoehorn phrases like “capturing the human condition” or “unguarded, overlooked edges of life” into this response. I think I’m generally drawn to parts of life that feel real and unfiltered and sometimes just ordinary. If anything, carrying a camera with me everywhere is the closest I get to journaling and I hope it’s interesting or comforting to get a glimpse of the (sometimes) mundane world through someone else’s eyes.
PL: Of the pictures you submitted, can you share an interesting story about one?
CM: I shared a photo of the Melrose diner from 2017 that I took walking home from the bar one night. The Melrose was a bit of a North Star for me when I lived in that neighborhood. It meant I was almost home. I don’t think anyone would have guessed that the diner wouldn’t be there one day, much less that housing would be built on the site. But now the photo means a lot more to me and carries a different weight: That block has changed dramatically, I moved out of that neighborhood and the house I lived in at the time looks totally different, and I hope I’ve grown a lot since then. The photo has evolved with time.
PL: What do you enjoy most about digital/film photography and what is challenging about it?
CM: I primarily shoot film and like that it’s tactile, it’s not immediate. It gives me something to look forward to. There’ve been a lot of times that I’ve taken a photo in the moment and thought “that was either really cool or I totally blew it,” and knowing it’ll be a minimum of a few days if not weeks/months until I know for sure. Most of the time I blew it, but when the shot that I was hoping for comes out, it’s the best feeling. The challenges and limitations are what I find enjoyable. The stakes are raised, but so is the reward. What keeps me coming back to photography is that it helps me stay present, especially in social situations. Having a camera with me lets me be both a bystander and part of the scene at the same time. I've always liked the Alec Soth quote that he "fell in love with photography because it was an excuse to wander around alone."
PL: How would you like to grow this collection of photographs?
CM: I’d like to have a life well-lived and make photos along the way to show for it. That’s about it. My unsolicited advice to anyone would be to use something other than your phone to take lots and lots of pictures, especially of your friends, family, and pets. You won’t regret it.
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