An Intrinsic Bond Between Process And Outcome

Featuring Eric Ruby

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Eric Ruby is a photographer who was born in Manchester, Connecticut, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eric holds a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt). Travel is an opportunity to explore the country that also allows to form new connections and create stories based on these experiences. Eric has been to various parts of the US, Europe, and Africa to capture narratives combining portraits and landscapes. The viewer becomes an integral part of this journey and witnesses the continuity of the story created, imagining people's lives while also connecting to the photographer who's opening up via self-portraits. This forms a genuine connection through the vulnerability of all the parties involved, eager to learn about each other. Eric says, “I want to have a mutual respect for the process and experience that feels beneficial for the image and the person being photographed to actually enjoy it.”   

In this interview, we speak with Eric about the significance of the gaze in photography and the power dynamic that exists between the photographer and their subject. The work on self-portraits contributes to the deeper scrutiny of what the process of being in front of the lens entails and the insecurities that can emerge. We discuss the way narrative is created through the storyline that comes to life at times during the editing phase. With portraits, Eric explains the important factor in getting an emotion is in the connection that occurs between the photographer and the person being photographed. The authenticity in interest towards the person’s life, their day-to-day through a conversation, getting to know their environment and the life they lead is fundamental to connecting and eventually reaching the best result from this encounter. 

Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

‘It feels strange to look at yourself — but cumulatively, the photographs can show me aging, changing style, there’s some kind of humanness that can be revealed through time, and the whole collection of them.’

My Narrative

Hi Eric, it’s very lovely to meet and thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your work! 

I would like to begin our discussion with your self-portraits and how they create a cinematic atmosphere, a narrative and a story about the character, in this case, yourself, their life that continues way beyond the frame. How do you prefer to work with the duality of being before and behind the lens, photographing and being photographed, and the control you have over the end results of the image in both cases? 

Self-portraits — I think about as purely proof of my existence in the world. I’ve never really been that interested in them individually. It feels strange to look at yourself — but cumulatively, the photographs can show me aging, changing style, there’s some kind of humanness that can be revealed through time, and the whole collection of them. I like to challenge myself to make them, sometimes out of boredom or trying to light a picture in a different way, but really, it’s a curiosity about what I look like in a photograph at that particular time and space. Sometimes, they are difficult for me to look at: perhaps I don’t like how I look, or I was depressed. These pictures can hold a lot of baggage because they are so immensely personal. 

I think I can relate to being photographed because I do it to myself. It builds empathy when I’m photographing someone else. I know it’s not easy: any specific gaze can bring out anyone's insecurities about how they feel or look. Having an understanding of what it feels like is important for my process. With my self-portraits, there isn’t always a lot of control, more like educated guesses. A lot of times, I’m running to get in place before the self-timer goes off, hoping I’m positioned how I should be, in the right spot for the light. There’s a sort of unease for me that I have to try and let go of in that 10-15 second window.

‘There's an intrinsic bond between process and outcome and how the pictures end up feeling cohesive from the making of them to the final edit.’

Skies The Limit

The selection titled Skies The Limit depicts life in rural California through landscapes and portraits. What makes this series captivating is the sense of familiarity with the place and its inhabitants through a cinematic feel that is created. I'm curious, what is your process of constructing a story out of the images captured? What is the connecting element that helps to form the narrative? 

For me, it's multifold. I think the basis is comfortability: how comfortable I feel in the place, how the subject feels with me around, and also the introduction of the camera. These relationships have a direct impact on how the photographs end up feeling/looking. There's an intrinsic bond between process and outcome and how the pictures end up feeling cohesive from the making of them to the final edit. I also spend a lot of time explicitly not photographing, just hanging out, cooking, etc., having photography not be the center of the experience. For me, it feels intrusive and domineering if the ultimate goal is to make a good picture rather than everyone around having a good experience. I try to have my actual photographing be very minimal. Maybe that's what contributes to photographs feeling cohesive or some kind of narrative feeling? 

Of course, the editing process is the whole other end of the spectrum for creating a story. Since nothing in photography is factual, you can make the ideas flow in that way. I do think a lot about filmmaking: the construction of a story and also the process of filmmaking, i.e., shooting scenes out of order and doing lots of takes. Also, most of my pictures are lit, even if subtly. I think a lot about filmmakers like Les Blank and Frederick Wiseman, who have this fly-on-the-wall approach to documentary films where the subjects are so comfortable with the filmmaker that they can just be themselves. That's always something I strive for.

‘I want portraits of people to show some kind of glimpse of their personality or something that I saw in them that I found interesting and felt it was important to share.’

Travel & Encounters

The theme of travel returns in most of your work. The vibrant colors and the work with light allow the feeling of connectedness to the characters to emerge. Short encounters with the subjects and glimpse to the familiar actions, like putting on lipstick, reading a book, playing a guitar, or interacting with the surroundings, create a feeling of watching a film or reading a book and getting to know the characters to the point you don’t want to separate ways. In what way do you focus on creating the emotion through images? Also, how do you approach working on portraits and building connections with people while on the road?   

Not many of my photographs are chance encounters, they are usually people I know or when traveling, end up spending some time with (not without exception). I feel like the emotion comes from having some sort of connection with the person, even if it’s fleeting. Trying to be really present and bringing my whole self; when I’m phoning it in, the pictures feel superficial or lack that emotional x-factor. I used to try to photograph everyone and anyone when I was traveling, which was definitely good practice but didn’t usually yield good results. I think being intentional and honest with myself about the people I choose to ask. It’s a kind of game to gauge someone’s interest, as well as my own. If someone isn’t interested, I won’t try to convince them because that usually makes the whole experience feel coerced. I want to have a mutual respect for the process and experience that feels beneficial for the image and the person being photographed to actually enjoy it. In general, I want portraits of people to show some kind of glimpse of their personality or something that I saw in them that I found interesting and felt it was important to share.

‘The most exciting parts of meeting new people are getting to see their worlds, going into their houses, showing me their work, and sharing a meal.’

On The Road

Being on the road, visiting new places in the US and also other parts of the world such as Denmark, Sweden, and Morocco, meeting people throughout the trips — what are the challenges you encounter when traveling, and what are the most exciting parts when meeting new people, and interacting with them?

I do love traveling, but it is exhausting. It’s important to cultivate downtime when you’re traveling in order to not burn out or overstimulate. Since I am such a visual person, if you are going all day looking at things constantly, I get mentally tired and can’t really experience OR photograph anything and start to sour on the whole trip. In addition to traveling a lot, I can be an extreme homebody, so that’s how I can reset and be excited to get back out into the world. 

When meeting people, I’m genuinely curious about people and their lives, so I ask a lot of questions and connect with people, making them feel at ease (usually). The most exciting parts of meeting new people are getting to see their worlds, going into their houses, showing me their work, and sharing a meal. It’s all engaging to me, even if there aren’t photographs involved. Some of the best experiences I’ve had are when I don’t speak the same language as someone, but we struggle through communication together and gain an appreciation, although it’s miraculous how much communication happens non-verbally. Those sorts of experiences can help you connect with society at large, as long as you’re coming to it with a positive attitude. 

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Upcoming Projects

What theme or narrative are you researching, and what can we expect from you in the upcoming months?  

I’m actually trying to go backward and look at all the work I’ve made in the last decade and figure out how to put it together into something. Not an easy task whatsoever.