Archie at the Gary Screw and Bolt Factory

This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of interviews of Chicago Photobloggers. For this first interview we were lucky enough to convince Archie FlorCruz of Whateverland to answer a few questions.

This is part 1 of a 2 part interview. View Part 2 here

Tell me a little about yourself? Who are you? What do you do for work, fun?

I am a native Chicagoan, and have lived in the Chicago area my entire life. I am the youngest of three, with two sisters. I grew up in Oak Brook, attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for undergrad, and now reside in the West Loop. I currently work in information technology operations for a loyalty marketing company.

How did you first get into photography? What was your first camera ever? What camera did you use when you started your photoblog? Do you have any formal training in photography?

I have always enjoyed taking photos since I was very young. In grade school, I used a variety of 110 film cameras, some with the built in flash, and some that required the flash cube strip. In middle school, I mostly borrowed my parents’ 35mm point and shoot. The primary purpose for using a camera during these times was to take photos of my friends and family.

The turning point of when photography started to become a serious hobby was when I took a color photo class my senior year in high school. During the class, we used manual focus 35mm Film SLRs, and I learned to shoot with my father’s Nikkormat FT as well as a friend’s Olympus OM-1. I first learned how to process color slide film (E-6), then learned how to process color print film (C-41). The class was very inspiring and it’s been a hobby ever since. Shortly after finishing the class I acquired a Nikon N70, which was my first autofocus SLR, and used that as my primary camera until the end of college. One of my high school graduation presents was a 35mm film and slide scanner, which replaced the darkroom process for me.

I began at UIC with an undecided major, and eventually chose to major in Photography/Film/Electronic Media. I was primarily shooting 35mm black and white for class work, but still shooting 35mm color for personal use. Their program had more emphasis on the conceptual aspects of photography and multimedia, versus the technical aspects which they felt people will just pick up on their own. This encouraged creativity and being open to unique concepts; however at the same time it made the learning curve for the processing tools much steeper.

While I was still in school, digital point and shoot cameras were making their way into the general public. Although the digital factor was convenient, the control and output still didn’t compare to shooting 35mm Film and just scanning the negatives afterwards. I continued to shoot/scan film until the first consumer DSLRs hit the market.
A few months after finishing college, I purchased my first DSLR which was a Nikon D100. It was the camera body that made me fully transition to digital, and I haven’t shot a roll of 35mm film since. It had me more inspired than ever to be experimental with my work and I started dedicating all my free time to photography outings in different places of the city with friends.

Why did you start the photoblog? How long has it been going? How often do you post?

Before Whateverland, I was primarily sharing my work on the web in hidden web folders known only to my friends, and occasionally submitting photos to online publications. My initial goal was to build a photography website that would serve as a portfolio. It was never built because I couldn’t get past the formality of what a portfolio website typically is and how it was supposed to contain only my best work. I felt like I had a long way to go before presenting my work in such a manner (with confidence) and to this day I still feel the ongoing process of self-improvement.

My friend Jes Davis (j3s.net) had her own photoblog and was part of the Gapers Block staff. Through her I was introduced to Naz Hamid who was the creative director of Gapers Block. He also had a photoblog of his own (absenter.org). I enjoyed the idea of their sites as a regularly updated visual diary. Through their sites I stumbled across a world of other photoblogs and I knew that was the format that I wanted to follow. I’m not much of a web designer, so I commissioned Naz to build the site into the MovableType platform using an interface that was designed by my friend Mark Wisniowski (probe3.com). The Whateverland photoblog was officially launched on September 7, 2004.

Oak Street Beach

How would you describe your photographic style?

Whateverland contains a variety of subjects from urban landscape, atmospheric portraits, events, to comical experiments. My style tends to be wide as I try to include as much detail/information across the entire frame. I enjoy framing an entire scene, versus having to make the choice of what the viewer should not be allowed to see due to cropping or shallow depth of field. The human element in most of my work has been more of a scale reference to give someone and idea of how small/large a place actually is. Most people identify my work through the use of full frame and/or circular fisheye lenses.

The majority of my images have never been incidental. I’ve always leave the house with a very specific location and composition in mind. It’s only when I arrive at the location begins the “walk around and see what I come across” factor. The key objective to going to these places or events was hoping that I could capture something to put on the photoblog. Because of this, I have often felt that I really only get to enjoy a moment or a place in hindsight, since I was too busy trying to make it into a photograph when actually there. I feel that I am slowly shifting away from having the primary objective be to get the image, and although I always have my camera with me… I try not to let that get in the way of just being somewhere and taking it all in.

Photography has also played a very functional role as much as an artistic role for me. I have incredible short term memory. My photographs are used as mnemonic devices to remembering the story behind the image. Sometimes it’s the images that others find to be the most boring or mundane are the ones that have the most sentimental value to me, because they secretly open a world of personal memories.