The Moment: Joe O’Connell
‘The Moment’ is a weekly series in which photographers discuss the images that inspire them
Joe O’Connell is a storyteller. He’s a photographer, novelist, essayist, journalist and college writing teacher. His stories and photos have appeared in major publications like Texas Monthly and Variety.
Elephant Gun (EG): Tell me about the photo you choose as your “moment” — that is, an image taken by someone else that influenced you in some way or an image which you’ve taken that changed or inspired your photography’s direction
Joe O’Connell (JO): I liked the idea of the 100 Strangers project over on Flickr and took it on a few years back, but it wasn’t until Peter, my #143 stranger, that I really got it. By then I knew how to take a quick portrait on the fly, but letting the instincts guide me really started with this shot.
My 100 Strangers project has stalled at about #250 and those in charge want beginners and are freezing out the old hands, but I still shoot street portraits regularly.
EG: How was this photo made?
JO: I was at Barton Springs, the famous swimming hole in Austin, Texas, when I spotted Peter loitering shirtless by the entrance. I have a camera with me at almost all times, so I left my people behind and walked over to talk. He told me he’d spent 13 years in prison, but had been out for the last five-and-a-half without getting in any trouble. He would never look directly in the camera.
EG: Why was this image “game-changing” for you?
JO: This is when I became fearless and focused. Sometimes it almost gets my ass kicked, like when I asked some Bandidos to take their photo — at least I was smart enough to ask first. But I don’t often shy away from taking a portrait. I see a great face and go for it. I’m good at talking to people and gaining quick trust, so that helps. But it’s about the face. The emotion in it, the story behind it appeal to me.
EG: How has photography itself influenced you as a person?
JO: I’ve learned to see more clearly. I’m a writer, and to me photography is just another form of writing, but it requires you to be in the moment enough to see shape, line, emotion and story. A friend says he became a poet when he had a kid because his free time became too brief to write anything longer. The same thing happened for me when my son was born, only it was photos.
I’d snapped a lot of black and white film in the past, but doing daily shooting again opened the possibilities wide. A photo is the opening line of a story that makes you want to keep reading. You might be disgusted or amused, but as long as you’re not bored, I figure the photographer is doing it right.
EG: Tell us about yourself
I took my first photography class in high school, when I wasn’t skipping school and spending time in in-school suspension. These days I write both fiction and nonfiction down yonder in Texas. I’ve been published in all of the state’s major newspapers and used to pen columns about the film industry for The Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman and The Austin Chronicle. I’ve also written for places like Variety and Texas Monthly. My photos appear in print all over the place, too. I’ve got a novel out there called Evacuation Plan, and I’m producing a documentary film about B movie legend Gary Kent. But my day job of late is as a college writing professor where I give students hell for skipping class. I’ve come full circle.
Joe O’Connell is a storyteller. He does that through words and through images. He’s a novelist, essayist, journalist and college writing teacher. He shoots daily and prefers street photography, rural landscapes, portraiture and recording life as he lives it. See more of Joe’s work on Elephant Gun >
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