By Elizabeth Gracen:
Photographer and cinematographer Paul Mitchnick has shared his work at Flapper Press over the years, but when he told me of his recent exhibit at The Commotion Digital Gallery and his newly revamped website, my curiosity was piqued. A big fan of his work and the proud owner of one of his pieces, I wanted to reach back out to Paul and discuss his new work as well as pry into his process. While we feature that new work here, if you want to find out more, please click on the links at the end of the article and make sure to check out his new website!
Elizabeth Gracen: Paul, congratulations on your beautiful new website that features an extensive look at your gorgeous body of work. You already know that I’m a big fan, but I wanted to tell you how inspiring the new work is—on top of the other outstanding images! Before we get into the specifics, tell me why you decided to undertake creating such a comprehensive look at your work through this new site.
Paul Mitchnick: Thank you for the kind words. This website was way overdue. I had started work on it about 6 years ago, but there was always a great excuse to not go further . . . work, renovations, a haircut, anything. In April, my dentist’s receptionist asked me if I had any photos of the Toronto Cityscape. Already they had rejected over 50 stock images and were searching for something different, and a very large something different. So, it was time to go location scouting. I knew a few potential places and wanted to offer alternatives. Then, someone suggested something I hadn’t thought of.
I got up insanely early and drove to the spot. My habit is always to catch first light, to be set up when the sun breaks, then see what happens.
But it was enveloped in fog. Seeing 50 metres was impossible. Wait for the fog to disappear? Time for a coffee? Hmm, I’m up anyway. My camera is round my neck. Maybe make a few photos. The further I entered the fog, the more special it became. Images disassociated with the rest of the world. There but not there. The beginning of everything; the end of everything. The whole of life.
I shot with both my digital camera and my iPhone. What I saw was pretty special. Then the fog went away and that time-out-of-time world ceased. No further along with the cityscape but a great morning’s shooting.
A month later I was in Vancouver having coffee with Peppa Martin of The Commotion Digital Gallery. She represents a couple of my photos and has a great one in her house.
“How is the cityscape mural going?”
I told her of my frustrations but my joy in the fog photos.
“Can you show me?”
I flipped through some of the images on the back of my camera and phone.
“Do you want to have a show of these in the fall?”
Duh? Of course!
Rough details were discussed. Most of them washed over me under the shadow of "there is going be a solo show of my photos. Cool, cool, very very cool."
“Then people can go to your website to see other work if they are interested in your images.”
That website thing again.
OK OK OK . . . maybe I have to take it seriously. No excuses. In the past when people ask me where they can see work, I have sent them to Flapper Press. My articles here have quite a few nice images, and I didn’t have to make a website.
However NOW I HAVE A SOLO SHOW!!!
Over 55,000 images of various kinds to wander through. It took me three months to pick images, fix the candidates that needed fixin’, and figure out a way to organize them. Revisiting a lot of my life. Putting my universe in order. The picks were ones that pleased me most and gave something back.
The website is also a place to have my Flapper Press articles. If people like the photos, maybe the writing will interest them.
EG: Your work reveals the heart of a storyteller. For me, I feel a sense of mystery when I look at your photographs. I want to know the story behind the image. Can you share a little about your passion for storytelling through image?
PM: My father always worked late. When my brother and I were kids our treat was having him tell us a bedtime story. It made us behave. Never a fairy story but a life story. Surviving the Depression. Having immigrant grandparents. Playing semi-pro basketball in Detroit. Being a musician. And our family story.
We learned to read through comic books. There were piles under our beds that were read over and over and over. Images. Stories. My father was also the family photographer. There is a photo of my brother at our uncle’s farm from when he was about two and a half. It was who he was then and who he is now—the story of him forever in one photo. I always knew what a powerful photo that is.
EG: I notice that you’ve added the category of iPhone images to the gallery, but I’m curious about what your go-to camera(s) are. Can you share a bit about your process once the image is captured? Do you use a particular software or app to enhance and edit your images?
PM: I have some go-to cameras. My digital Leica Q3 has one beautiful 28mm lens and is physically, quite small. Great for travel, near and far. Put it in a small bag and go. Less gear, less fuss.
While working on the website, I fell in love again with images shot on my former Medium Format Film Camera. So, I went out and rebought one. It is my other go-to: a Contax 645 with a few lenses and stuff. Heavier and in need of more fussing but capable of MAGIC. There are no portraits as beautiful as those shot on film.
I also have an early digital Canon 7D with a wide zoom, which is the Toyota Corolla of the bunch. Always works, great for testing, and nice pictures.
Having an iPhone means you never have an excuse for not shooting. There are a couple of apps which give me unpredictable results; sometimes painful, sometimes pleasantly surprising.
If I like any of my photos, I will make tiny adjustments in Photoshop or Lightroom. Basically, I am a luddite, so I don’t go too far. With the exception of cropping, I am never trying to make a photo in Photoshop; just touch them up to taste, salt and pepper.
EG: We’ve featured many of your articles here at Flapper Press over the years (and hope that you submit more soon!). The articles and photography cover your travel adventures as well as visits to amusement parks and beyond. In your opinion, do you feel there is a connecting thread that unites your body of work?
PM: I have a restless nature. I’m not afraid to go down whimsical paths with my photos. They reflect my curiosity and my fascination with observing life. If there is something special, well, I follow the path, looking for what the image has to tell.
EG: Okay, now to the nitty gritty of the site. . . . Please share info on some of your fantastic work.
Summer of 2024
A recent addition that represents some "rejects" from the "ALONE" show for Commotion Digital Gallery. Others represent a summer spent on water.
Amusement Park
A fascination since childhood . . . The Wonder. Sounds. Smells. Movement. Colour. Forbidden things. Human behaviour. All stirred up in late summer heat. A cauldron for testing different photographic ideas.
Floral
My wife, Michaelin, is a passionate gardener. Her love of things floral has caused me to take a longer look. When on location, I send her iPhone flower photos to tell her that I am thinking of her.
Infrared
Years ago, a friend showed me some black and white infrared portraits of a couple in a garage with their Harley Davidson, lit by one light bulb. I was hooked immediately. For the next 15 years, until it was discontinued, I shot nothing but Kodak infrared black and white film, nothing.
iPhone
You always have one with you. Point and shoot. Sometimes when I have a more sophisticated camera with me, I will use the iPhone to shoot a preview to see if I really like the image enough to shoot it better. But it is not really about the equipment; it is about the image. Half the photos in my "ALONE" show are photos taken with my iPhone.
Life
What connects us.
Portraits: Formal and Less
I spent over 20 years as a Focus Puller and Camera Operator in the film business. I was acutely involved in watching actors. What they did affected what I did. How they moved, where they looked, why they looked. When they were connecting, when they were unguarded. Small things add up to telling a person’s story. That has given me a certain skill in watching people.
Scenics: Rural and Urban
I am out in the world when these images approach and demand that I photograph them. I try to honour that and my instinct about them.
Transportation
I was asked to submit photos, potential mural images in a new building, for the Vancouver Transit Authority. Their job is to move people. My idea was to take a passenger’s point of view as if they were on a bus, on a ferry, in a train, or moving in a terminal. Longer exposures would accentuate the movement. I love these images a lot. These images scared them.
EG: To any beginner who shares your love of photography, what advice can you give to inspire and guide them through the art of photography?
PM: Scratch the itch. Take lots of photos and immediately put the ones you like in a folder. Look at the bad ones, learn from them, and never look at them again. Take joy in the good ones and figure out technically and spiritually how to make more.
The most important thing is to determine what story you are trying to tell with the photo.
Doesn’t matter what you are shooting with. What about this image makes you want to make a photo? And then put that want into the photo.
EG: Last question, tell me what work is available for sale and how interested buyers can contact you.
PM: My work is available through the website, and interested people can get me though paulmitchnickphotos.com or paulmitchnick@gmail.com. The website is the iceberg tip of what I have and what I do. See something you sort of like, there will be alternatives.
The Commotion Digital Gallery also has some of my work.
There are also some pretty cool images on my @pmmithcnick Instagram.
Elizabeth Gracen is the owner of Flapper Press & Flapper Films.
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