I studied photography in college, which I regret – I should have done a double major in film and graphic design. You could learn everything you need to know about photography by looking at those things, but I don’t think it works the other way around. Photography is predicated on its frame ie the page, the website, the social media platform, the gallery whatever. Without the frame, the photograph is nothing.

But when I was in art school photography was very cool. It was the Wolfgang Tillmans Ryan McGinley Richard Kern Mark Borthwick Terry Richardson Juergen Teller era. Major campaigns with supermodels and scenesters were shot autofocus with a bright flash, and were printed in magazines and then exhibited in art galleries. There was also large format grad school photography like Gregory Crewdson, Jeff Wall, Philip Lorca Di Corcia. I spent hours in the school library staring at the images, thinking that might teach me something.

Here’s what I wished someone had explained to me the first day of class: The best format to look at a photograph is a book. The most interesting thing to photograph is a person. The second most interesting thing to photograph is a naked person. You have to choose your camera based upon what is the easiest and natural for you to do. If you are not technically minded, stay away from cameras that require technical rigor. If you don’t like that stuff, you’re never gonna like it. It is very important to figure out your camera as soon as possible. Your camera is your signature style and if a photographer fails to find a signature style their career will be that of a craftsman. Photography is all about risk and reward. If you are willing to get into a situation that most people don’t have the bravery to enter, they will value your images. Whatever you have access to that other people don’t – you should shoot that. Most importantly – you exist in a moment in time at all times. Photography’s value spikes the moment it is shot. It’s value then dips and then slowly rises again over time. Time is very important to photography.

Instead I wasted 3 years trying and failing to understand how to use a 4×5, how to use professional lights, how to use a vintage leica lens, how to color correct, how to scan a negative at a jillion DPI, and how to make a big black leather bound portfolio book for $1000. I took a class that taught me that you couldn’t take a photograph of someone without “robbing them of their subjectivity” whatever that means and resolved to only take still lives. It was weird and it was a waste, and the moment I graduated Flickr was invented and none of that stuff mattered anyway. Then one day everyone had a shitty camera on their phone and there was no more exclusivity anymore and the most interesting images of celebrities were taken by themselves.

It wasn’t until Sex Magazine got commissioned to make a book of our web content that I started thinking about photography again. In retrospect, those Iphone photographs we’d been running just did not print well. I started bringing my camera with me and shooting portraits, which I realized I loved. When the magazine rebooted for print, I shot 100 Gecs for the cover of the 11th issue. I shot Paul Schrader, Zia Anger,, Gabor Mate and Genesis Evans. When I did these shoots I felt like I was blacking out every time. There was nothing intellectual about it. It was like the most intuitive creative act I’d ever done.

Today I live in Vancouver and the only things to photograph are my family, my girlfriend and my dog. I could take photographs of nature but I don’t want to and I don’t want to get on a plane to go anywhere. I always try to remember to bring the camera to my nieces and nephews birthdays. Those pictures always turn out great.