PHOTO CONFESSIONAL: Tony Chirinos
IF YOU WEREN’T A PHOTOGRAPHER, WHAT OTHER PROFESSION WOULD YOU PICK?
I have always been a person that likes to do manual work, so, maybe I would have been a chef or a dentist.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CRUCIAL DECISION YOU HAVE MADE IN YOUR CAREER’s DEVELOPMENT?
Education has been crucial in my development, from standard education to workshops to portfolio reviews.
HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH IN YOUR WORK?
My work is 80% research and 20% creating the image. All of my projects are heavily weighted with tons of research.
IS THERE A PHOTOGRAPHER/ARTIST WHO IS A CONSTANT REFERENCE FOR YOU?
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, André Kertész, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Picasso, there are so many.
WHAT WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH?
Homelessness.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE, AND WHAT IMPORTANCE DO YOU GIVE TO TECHNIQUE?
I mainly use film, so I use a Leica M6, and Mamiya 7, two handmade cameras, Psyclopes by Thomas Roma and a Panoramic Camera made by Trastic from Canada.
WHAT IS THE STARTING POINT OF YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
Research, I make sure that the images I want to make are complete in my head.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A # TAG?
#BnW #analogue.
at what point did you feel you were a photographer, and what made you think that way?
In 10th grade, I found out that the photographs I was making sparked interest from the people who saw them, not only visually but also intellectually. I always wanted to be a writer but now I write using images rather than words.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTION?
It reminds me of riding a bicycle, if you want to ride, you get up after a fall, dust yourself off and get back on.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SUCH SUCCESS?
1. I created my own definition of success and, 2. my relationship with this medium of PHOTOGRAPHY is a long-term relationship. I AM IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH STRANGERS IN YOUR PROJECTS OR TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PROJECTS?
I don’t ask for permission, I ask for forgiveness.
IS IT COMMON FOR YOU TO QUESTION YOURSELF OR YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY?
I think if you don’t question yourself about being a creative person then you are dead. I talk to myself all the time, especially when I am working as an artist/photographer, and I am always questioning myself if I could have done it better.
HOW IS YOUR APPROACH TO THE ART WORLD/ PHOTO-BOOK WORLD?
I think that new photographers have to understand that the art/photo/photobook world is very subjective so don’t get upset if you are not accepted to a show or a grant or to produce a book. There are many organizations that you should send your work to, maybe something will stick.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A NEW PHOTOGRAPHER WHO IS JUST STARTING OUT?
Train your eyes to see, describe and analyze what is in front of you then take a picture. Everyone takes pictures, a photographer must align the heart, brain and eyes to make a photograph.
ABOUT tony chirinos
Tony Chirinos is a Venezuelan-born photographer and educator based in Miami, with over forty years of experience focusing on the themes of death and the vulnerability of life. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University and has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 2023. His work has been exhibited widely and is part of several notable collections, reflecting his commitment to challenging viewers' perceptions of mortality through documentary-style photography.
the images we shared in this photo confessional belong to “The precipice”
“The Precipice is the summation of nearly two decades spent working as a biomedical photographer in Miami. Chirinos threads the needle between the sometimes delicate, often brutal world of surgical intervention. The book is separated into three main bodies: surgical photographs of living subjects; vibrant typologies of exquisitely photographed tools; and the journey to the afterlife. The Precipice draws back the curtain to a world which most of us never see, where human fragility and resilience coexist in an uneasy equilibrium.”
Chirinos, T. (2021). The Precipice. Gnomic Books.
Self-portrait
