Taylor Sperring
A street photographer working in New York City. Press camera, instant and sheet films, flashbulbs — portraits made on the spot, on the sidewalk, for the people in them.
I learned the darkroom under Sean Black at the University of Miami. Started shooting instant and roll film in 2010, when photographer Ian Adam Bull lent me a Mamiya RZ67 with a Polaroid back. FP-100c was eight dollars a pack then; roll film about four. Something about the medium fascinated me, and I’ve kept at it since.
Over the years I standardized around the Crown Graphic. The camera sells itself. I still keep other formats, including digital, but the Graphic is what I use most. A natural extension of my body — the muscle memory, the field of view that matches my eye, the ergonomics that suit me.
In 2014 I met two elder photographers who valued my time and talent: Louis Mendes and Bob Taylor. We worked in public together, sold portraits, shot night life. From Louis, again and again: “Don’t be afraid to ask for the money.” “Take the cameras with you everywhere.”
Photography to me is not just about making money taking a quick snapshot — it’s about communicating with the people around you, and making them feel happy and connected to the world around them.
From my narration in a 16mm film by Olaf Taittinger, 2016
I’ve operated my camera in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Dallas, Miami, and New Orleans. Among the photographers I’ve had the pleasure of making portraits of are Henry Diltz, Mick Rock, Allan Tannenbaum, and Al Freni.
Lately I’ve been frequenting Mac’s Club Deuce in Miami Beach — Miami’s oldest bar — capturing the vintage neon in multi-exposures and making memorable mementos for the patrons and staff.
What I’m capturing is the heat of a flashbulb, a print received in someone’s hand — an intersection of people in a time and a place, without pre-arrangement. The photographs stay with those who paid for them.
An authentic experience is what is important to me.
What still makes my hands shake, after more than a decade, is the moment of revealing a great photo to a subject for the first time.
I met the software developer Tlack at The Corner in Miami in 2017, while I was working. He gave me his own stash of film and a 4x5 Graphic camera that night. I’ve since built and operate the fleet that hosts his projects, this site, and Scanex — my own software for film-to-digital workflows.
“Let it be known that life as we see it today will not be the same in the future, and what we capture and what we share must be documented accurately, and without discrepancies.” From the same narration · 2016