Michael Itkoff
Born 1981 in Philadelphia, Michael Itkoff is a photographer and a Founding Editor of Daylight Magazine. His photographs have been exhibited around the world and are included in public and private collections throughout the United States. Itkoff has been a recipient of the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism (2006), a Creative Artists Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Arts Council (2007), and a Puffin Foundation Grant (2008). Itkoff’s monograph ‘Street Portraits’ will be published in Spring 2009 by Charta Books.
He earned a BA in Photography from Sarah Lawrence College.
The Bad Boys, Derby Boys, and All Banged Up are demolition derby teams from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. During the summer months members of the group work on junked cars with the intention of entering them into competition.
Derbys consist of one or more ‘heats’ where cars or trucks ram into each other until only one is able to move. An ambulance and fire truck is always on hand to evacuate injured participants and control any fires that may break out.
The demolition derby combines the love of cars with the love of destruction. Although this tradition may become threatened by dwindling oil supplies, in the mean time, the sound of revving engines and crunching metal will continue to emanate from rural America.
FJORD: How do you feel the Internet has affected the way you work? Have you changed the style of work you do or the way you present your work based on the way the Internet has changed how photography functions?
MICHAEL: The internet has allowed me to remain connected and productive while traveling in the middle of nowhere. Its potential for communication is virtually limitless. The idea of always being in touch and/or having a comprehensive body of knowledge nearby may have affected my ideas about photography’s expressive capabilities but beyond that, the internet has not changed my process, style, or belief in the functions of the medium itself.
F: How do you gain inspiration for your work? Where do you look for ideas?
M: One of my favorite aspects of photography is its ability to portray reality, however skewed or subjective that might be. I take great pleasure in finding inspiration from within my life. A good conversation or a seemingly aimless walk through the woods can catalyze an entire body of work, if one is open to the possibilities.
F: What are some of your favorite websites?
dayightmagazine.org
lightstalkers.org
exposurecompensation.com
willsteacy.blogspot.com
luminous-lint.com
F: Do you have any suggestion to help out new and emerging photographers gain exposure? How did you first start to promote yourself and your work?
M: The most important thing is to focus on the sustained creation of quality work, everything else will follow.
F: Where do you see your work going in the next year and the future in general?
M: At the moment I am focused on promoting my forthcoming book ‘Street Portraits’ (Charta Books, January 2009) and working on three simultaneous bodies of work ‘Wrecked’, ‘Between Two Lakes’ and ‘Panama’. In addition a new issue of Daylight Magazine will be out in the fall. Photography is my life and I will go wherever it leads me…