Goodriddence 2020! It was a god awful year for many reasons and the physical act of doing photography was severely limited for most of us. Despite the lack of photo taking, I did manage to be quite productive, fulfilling my 2020 New Year’s resolution of publishing 4 books in 2020 and so much more!
Here’s a list of all that I have done photography-wise in 2020.
I was honored to have been selected for the “Round Hole, Square Peg” LGBTQ photo exhibit that premiered at Photo LA in Los Angeles, CA, in January.
In February, Optic Nerve Collective featured a selection of my early career street photos for a feature on their website.
Also in February, Foster Magazine, the first teen mobile network for misfits, featured an instagram interview with me.
A couple weeks before lockdown, my friend Megan Kwasniak, conducted an interview with me for her blog This Photography Life.
In March I released my first book of the year, Gratuity Included, which promptly sold out, and is now in its second edition.
In April, Jesse Freeman, conducted one of his awesome visual interview’s with me for Japan Camera Hunter.
Towards the end of April, Ian Weldon of the Outer Focus podcast did a quick YouTube interview with me about some of the surprising things people carry in their photo bags!
In May, Iris Marie Tusa of Street Hunters, did a book review of Gratuity Included.
At the end of May I was delighted to be interviewed on the legendary Candid Frame podcast by Ibarionex Perello ahead of the release of my 2nd book of the year called Leather Boyz.
On June 10th, my old bandmate Jeff Berman interviewed me about photography and the DC hardcore scene on his Instagram show The Berman Hour.
June 15th saw the release of my second book Leather Boyz, a challenging dive into the Gay BDSM scene in Washington, DC.
At the end of June, Japan Camera Hunter published a great review of Gratuity Included.
Bob Patterson of Street Photography Magazine did an hour long interview with me for the cover feature of their August issue.
In August, my good friend Cristian Crisbasan featured my work on Bulb Photos (the Balkan Urban League without Borders).
In mid August, Vice Magazine featured a preview of my 3rd photobook of year Old Customs.
At the end of August, I was honored to virtually present my 4 books in a year project, for the London Street Photography Festival.
September saw the release of Old Customs, my first full color photobook about post-Communist Romania.
In October, The Pictorial-List out of Australia featured a book review of Old Customs.
And The Pictorial-List also interviewed me about my other photography work.
In mid October I was excited to have Old Customs featured on The Leica Camera Blog.
Steve Harp of Photobook Journal published a very thoughtful analysis of old Customs.
In November I finally decided I needed to go out and take some photos and started with election night at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. After posting the images on Instagram, The Metropolitian Arts and Culture website out of Detroit featured my work for a story about Election Day in America.
On November 7th I was interviewed by Neal Augenstein on WTOP about what it was like shooting on November 7th in DC when Joe Biden was named winner of the 2020 presidential election.
In early December I physically flew to Miami with Lauren Welles to co-host the virtual Miami Street Photography Festival. As it turned out, the broadcast studio couldn't do what we needed to do, so I wound up producing the stream from my hotel room in South Beach and Lauren Welles co-hosted the event with founder Juan Jose Reyes. It came off great even though it was the most stressful thing I have ever done.
December 15th saw the release of my fourth book of the year called Bad Day. This was a compendium of work by the DC Street Photography Collective featuring Sofia Sebastian, Kanayo Abide, Ashley Tillery, Ryan Madison, Tom Mullins and myself. 200 copies sold out in about 10 days!
Finally, PhotoWorks at Glen Echo Park, enlisted me to be a juror for their first photography contest in 2021, “Hindsight is 2020 - Street Photography in a Tumultuous Year”. Deadline is Jan 15, 2021.
Thank you to everyone who helped make my 2020 an amazing year despite all of the hardships we faced. I am looking forward to 2021 and hoping it will be a much better year for all of us.