we're trash

How do you get your photos to look like that? 

Incompetence and penny-pinching. A desire to recreate the feel of photos from a set of 1985 Encyclopedia Brittanicas. Cheap lenses, even cheaper lens add-ons. Poor lighting, poor decisions, and naivete. Seriously though: vintage or thrift store lenses, outdated cameras, and RawTherapee, an open-source RAW photo editor which I've learned one YouTube video at a time. 

Why Trashville?

I'm Nashville born and raised. I grew up sweating my ass off at Opryland and prefer Biscuit House to Pancake Pantry. No matter how many city-view condos, tall-and-skinnies, or Whole Foods they build, this is Trashville. Always and forever.

Trashville is beautiful and gross. Amazing people, loads of fun, always hot and sweaty in the summer and depressing as hell in the winter. I'm proud of this place, Trashville is a term of endearment. 

Why all the portraits of homeless people? 

If you see someone wearing a yellow vest holding up a copy of The Contributor, give them $2, take a copy of the paper, and read it. Each issue is filled with laughs, tears, hope, horoscopes, and art. The portraits started when I would buy an issue and ask to take a photo of the vendor. Often, the person selling is proud of the issue they're waving around - either they or a friend have contributed content and want to share it with you. 

Every issue of The Contributor is made by Nashville's homeless. They purchase each copy for $0.25, sell them for $2, and pocket or reinvest the profits. Our homeless neighbors are amazing writers, poets, and artists. Every issue of The Contributor is a showcase of their talents and helps them get a leg-up on finding permanent housing. They're part of Nashville, too. They are not trash.