A Whole World Here: Sean Crutchfield (aka @the_grain_silo)

Andrew D. McClees (ADM): Hi Sean! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. For those in the audience who aren't familiar, can you introduce yourself, and give a quick overview of your focus in photography?

Sean Crutchfield (SC): I'm Sean Crutchfield. I'm a photographer living in the rural north Florida area. My Instagram project @the_grain_silo has been running for around four years. When I moved back down south in 2014 I decided to start photographing again after a decade hiatus. I was never comfortable with digital processes so I decided to learn to develop and scan my own film. I mostly shoot landscapes, vernacular architecture, candids and small details but I'm open to take a picture of anything I find interesting. I have a show opening in June at the Wiregrass Museum of Art. I'm very excited about my first show naturally. I also make photo books and zines which I distribute through my website crutchphoto.com. 

ADM: I know a lot of people from the south identify with it very strongly, would you call yourself a southern photographer? If so what does that mean to you?

SC: Yes and no. I feel like I would be doing this kind of photography anywhere I found myself, but at the same time where I found myself was back home, so many of these images have an emotional weight to them for me that others who aren't from here might not share. Sometimes I think maybe like Eggleston I want to buck that capital S southern artist label, but my best work so far is here. I DO have some travel projects in mind that would have me leaving my area...we will see. That's such a difficult question! I really raged against that whole southern artist thing back in my previous life as a creative writing student. It irks me because of the stereotypes involved as well as the sort of way work from the south is viewed. And that's a real thing! At my first portfolio review the phrase "lost cause" came up several times. Amazingly they weren't referring to the state of my portfolio which admittedly was pretty low budget with small prints.

SC: I'm keeping those travel ideas close to the vest so to speak. Projects come to me pretty much as an entire idea. Generally I think of them as books. Basically like I want to explore X and show what I found in a form you can hold in your hand.

ADM: That's fair. Does the structure of the book or set come along with the idea? Is there a research and development period for approaching, creating, and sequencing the project -- or does it fit pretty well within the shoot schedule you've previously outlined?

SC: Research and development, definitely. Most of my projects stay in that phase. It all depends on the scope of the project whether or not it takes me outside of my usual schedule.

ADM: In the work you share on instagram you seem to rotate through a lot of equipment, but maintain a fairly similar look, is there a specific reason you rotate through so many different combinations? Does it inform your process?

SC: I really enjoy experimenting. I also have a deep love for mechanical objects. Most of my equipment is fully manual. I guess you could say that I am a gearhead. Honestly I need to sell off some equipment but I haven't brought myself to do it yet. The consistency in my work I think may be down to my eye, my way of composing, and the fact that I control all aspects of the process from shot to print. I've been getting into slide film lately. That's my new obsession. It feels like alchemy when you pull those positives out of the tank. 

ADM: In your experimenting - has there ever been a moment or combo, or even a component that either just "clicked" for you, or flipped what you thought you knew about your own photos?

SC: Not with equipment, no. I've definitely come across stuff that is a delight to use just for the feel of the equipment or look of the emulsion but nothing that fundamentally changed anything. Photo books on the other hand, they knock me out. They keep me up nights wondering about their work, my work, and images in general.

AM: Interesting. I've had very much the same experience re: equipment and photo-books. What are some of your favorite Photo-books, and how have they changed your perspective or photography?

SC: Well, I won some money gambling so I bought the full ten volume Democratic Forest. That thing is a monster. I love it. Parr's Common Sense actually was the push I needed to really get into shooting color. I have a little small sized Moriyama book in Japanese that is awesome too. That one is the spiritual ancestor of my first zine.  

ADM: What does a typical shoot day look like for you, what's your process of gathering and selecting images like?

SC: 7am: out of bed

8-10am: Coffee and Google maps. 

Typically I will pick town(s) in the tri state area (FL/GA/AL), do some street view touring and a little research. 

10-sundown: shooting and traveling 

Sundown: Warm up my chemicals and begin processing.

Usually around 6 or 7 I am ready to begin scanning and sorting the day's negatives which I will do until they're all ready. I hate having undeveloped film around. 

Deciding what to shoot is often just from either walking or driving around and seeing whatever catches my eye. Nothing fancy really, just intuition. Someone gave me a 110 camera when I was a kid, no film just the camera. I feel kind of like placing the world in a frame was burned into my subconscious or something. Often times I pass several scenes that would be perfect, but the light isn't right so I remember where they are and try to determine what time of day/year they would look best for future trips. 

ADM: Can you, or would you, give us an overview of your show; Name, theme, specific topic etc? Also do you have any new photobooks or zines in the works?

SC: I'm still changing elements of the show at the moment, choosing images etc. But I can say that I will be using images taken in the area. I am working on the next photo zine at the same time. I would like to have it printed in time for the show but the images would not overlap. 

ADM: Maybe a bit on the nose, but do you find that your background in creative writing informs your photography? If so, how so? 

SC: Sure it does. I think there is something lyrical or poetic in a good image. And there is a lot of wisdom about editing to be learned from great writers. Ginsburg had this whole deal about "snapshot poetics" that I find kind of interesting too. The rest of that CW nonsense however, the school, the graduate school poetry publishing pyramid scheme...eh.

ADM: What was the specific impetus to pick up a camera again and document Northern Florida? 

SC: I just saw so much everywhere that I wanted to capture. That's how it is sometimes when you move back to a place. New eyes. There is a whole world here. 

ADM: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in, or on the fence about starting photography, especially someone who's not starting in an urban (or even suburban area)? 

SC: Shoot a lot. Expect to go through phases. Look at photo books. Look at rural photography like Bernard Plossu.

ADM: It seems like you've got a pretty firm grasp on your project schedule; is there anything specific that's new we can expect to see from you in 2020, project wise or in general? 

SC: Yeah, I'll have at least one new publication up on the website, there is the show at the Wiregrass Museum of Art, and after that I have a project involving quilts from my great-grandmother that I think will be next. My darkroom will be finished by then, so I also expect to make a lot of prints.

ADM: Where can we find more of your work, and pick up your zines, do you have any shows on the horizon? 

SC: My website is the best place to see most of my work. crutchphoto.com I also sell my publications and soon I will have photographic prints for sale there as well. 

Parting words: Show us what you see.