Curtis Joe Walker is based in the Las Vegas Arts District, at Photo Bang Bang. He has been interested in instant photography forever. As digital has supplanted the immediate gratification of Instant film, his use of chemical based technologies of the past add a tangibility and authenticity to his photography. The satisfaction of a table full of instant film shots is contrasted against the dread of sitting at a computer to edit hundreds of digital images. The computer has become an encumbrance, as the wet lab once was, in the process of photography. Introducing unwanted frustration and failure points into the craft can be extremely de-motivational. Instant film either works or it fails, with the knowledge of that being evident in the palm of one's hand within moments. Prints can be scanned, and archived alongside the unstable and difficult to maintain digital archives. Polaroids will still work, as images, for a very long time, with no special tools except for eyeballs.
As a workflow, he will often shoot digital, and then recreate the best images from that shoot on film. Lately, his use of the Lomo Splitzer attachment in conjunction with a Lomo Instant Wide camera has led to the creation amazingly surreal multi-exposure instant photos.
In addition to his personal work, Curtis also works commercially for editorial, advertising, architecture, lighting, modeling, acting, writing and more. His studio, Photo Bang Bang, is available for rent for your photo and video projects.
Curtis' passion for photography is driven by the power of the image, the challenge of finding new ways to inspire creativity, a practical application of mathematics and the unlimited freedom of expression offered by the medium and by the US Constitution.
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