Ben Estes Interviews Photographer Mary Manning

Ravelin Magazine features an interview with photographer Mary Manning, conducted by poet, artist, and Song Cave co-publisher Ben Estes. It sounds like poetry:

Ben Estes: The body of your work is of course composed of beautiful and stunning individual photographs, but when I try to imagine a Mary Manning photograph I sometimes have a hard time actually picturing anything at all. Instead I imagine a kind of weather, or a deep breath. And that’s certainly not to say that I feel any of your individual images are generic in any way (I’ve often dreamt of having the VW bug photograph from your show at Cleopatra’s hanging in my home), but it’s almost as if in the end what is being pictured is not even what I’m attracted to. I’m drawn to your sensibility, your attention. The one moment that stretched itself out just long enough for you to notice it. So, to try to make a question out of this, I guess I’d love to hear about when or why you take the camera out of your pocket when you do? Is there something that can be namable that you notice?

Mary Manning: I don’t know if there is some kind of specific way to call it, or name what it is, that moment of decision. Whatever it is, I try to think of it less and less, or try to let it be unnamable in a way. There was a time when my flow was really strong with picture taking during the years of carrying a digital camera everywhere and just looking everywhere and paying attention so so much. Not having certain limits with cost of film and processing, and being able to look at the results right away and adjust the frame and the use of a zoom built in. I took hundreds of photos every day. And so much of that just became LOG. Pre-Instagram. I’ll come back to that maybe. When I slowly went back to shooting film around 2011/12 and tried to adjust to other limits, I suddenly became more aware of a decision to take a photo or not. But also it became a game of trust in my eyes. Like, I see something here and I’m going to take one picture of it, and I think it will come out just like I saw it. I guess I try not to tie my mind down too much in the moment of deciding. Trying not to question. So my habits changed in the last 5 or so years. Now I’m just more aware of inner flow. Like how I’m feeling affects whether I’m even paying attention or able to connect with the desire to record something. All this applies for shooting film. Then the phone camera and trying to figure out what role that really plays. Not sure if role is even the right way to call it. In general, a certain feeling about the phone, somewhat pained and unsettled maybe.

Find the full interview at Ravelin Magazine.