Anyone picking up the paper or scrolling through Itemlive is surely familiar with my credit line appearing under numerous photos. Becoming a photojournalist was never something I planned on, rather a very lucky combination of being in the right place at the right time. A gentleman by the name of Fran Delano put me in touch with Ted Grant, the publisher of The Daily Item, which set me on the path to where I am today.
I love my job. Every day has me doing something new, meeting new people, and allows me to share important stories through photographs across the North Shore. Capturing that perfect moment that sums up a story in one frame is always a rush, and something I chase every day when out on assignment, but being a photojournalist means that I never have control over my subject. I’m simply there to be a fly-on-the-wall and document life as it unfolds. But, I long for control and taking the time to set up the perfect frame.
This is where my personal work comes in. The other side of my photography could not be further from my day job. I’m obsessed with minimalism and abstract imagery, along the lines of Abstract Expressionist painters like Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. I am by no means saying my work is as good as theirs, but they are two artists that I have heavily drawn inspiration from over the years.
My day job tends to have me focusing on people and how they interact with the world. My personal work has me looking for quiet spaces that would go unnoticed by the typical passerby and I have the freedom to make artistic changes, like a tweak in color or the removal of something distracting. I’ll often be lurking around the sides of buildings, searching for interesting textures, shadows, shapes, and colors. I think to myself when a car drives by or a person walks past that they must be wondering “What the hell is that guy taking a picture of?” Well, around this story you’ll see just a glimpse of the photos I make on my own time and I hope you find these images of the “overlooked” as interesting as I do. More examples of my work can be found at spenserhasak.com.
