#82: Walking with Photographer Wesley Verhoeve
When the pandemic forced lockdowns in March 2020, photographer Wesley Verhoeve found himself stuck in Vancouver, with no idea when he might be able to start working again or return home.
This uncertainty and free time led him to embark on daily walks around the suburban neighborhood he found himself in. Over the course of 123 days he walked 307 hours and made 34,194 images using a variety of cameras and film stocks. All of that work evolved into a new book called 'Notice.' It's a beautiful meditation on walking, photography and mindfulness.
Several months ago, Wesley and I struck up a conversation through email and after some back and forth, I decided it would make for a good podcast interview. It's been several years since the LPV Show, and I felt a little rusty and nervous about recording a new interview but Wesley made it much easier with his easygoing personality.
It was a wonderful conversation and I think the walkers and photographers will find a lot of words of wisdom from Wesley. He's an accomplished pro with some cool curatorial side projects, including The Observers which highlights the photobooks that inspired some of the great photographers of our time.
He also has an excellent newsletter called Process which has some great insights about being a working photographer.
I hope you enjoy the conversation. If you'd prefer to read it, I have a full transcript available over at this post. You can still get a copy of 'Notice' as well if you're inspired by what you see and hear from Wesley.
If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at info@bryanformhals.com
Further Reading
"There’s no reason, really, for anyone to care about the inner turmoil of the famous. But I’ve come to believe that, in the Internet age, the psychologically destabilizing experience of fame is coming for everyone. Everyone is losing their minds online because the combination of mass fame and mass surveillance increasingly channels our most basic impulses—toward loving and being loved, caring for and being cared for, getting the people we know to laugh at our jokes—into the project of impressing strangers, a project that cannot, by definition, sate our desires but feels close enough to real human connection that we cannot but pursue it in ever more compulsive ways."
Sean O'Hagan reviews the Helen Levitt respective in The Guardian:
“For too long, there had been this received notion that Levitt’s photographs are lyrical and poetic, words that are too often applied lazily to the work of female photographers,” says Moser, who has spent years researching Levitt’s archive and, in the process, discovered many previously unseen images. “The truth is that Levitt was part of a highly intellectual cultural and political milieu in New York in the 1930s and her photography reflected her deep interest in surrealism, cinema, leftwing politics and the new ideas that were then emerging about the role of the body in art.”
Writer Nathan Baschez on 'Overcoming web3 bias
"The only thing I would say is: don’t judge the new paradigm by the loudest voices. It’s far more interesting to learn about the fundamentals than it is to listen to the hype men. (And, as always, don’t be a judgy jerk to people who think differently from you.) Whether you’re a believer or not, the root cause of most mistakes people make when dealing with new paradigms comes down to two things: fear and arrogance. We fear we’ll miss out, that we’ll fail, or that we’ll be judged and rejected. And when we’re not afraid, we’re arrogant. We think the new thing is obviously bullshit, or obviously amazing, and it decreases our attachment to the actual truth."
I’m a photographer and consultant from Saint Cloud, Minnesota. This is my newsletter on art, walking, and mindfulness. Each issue, I share new work from my projects and try to make connections between ideas, articles and people that fascinate me.
My consulting services focus on helping photographers with project development, editorial strategy and building a walking practice. I offer FREE 30 minute introductory calls to chat about your projects, and learn if I can help.
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