Answering questions in the style of Paulie B’s walkie-talkie
Paulie B’s walkie-talkie interviews are usually fast, informal, and street-level, often blending curiosity, humor, and a bit of edge. I thought it might be fun to answer questions in that style here.
Yo, what’s good? Where you from? I am from Italy but I live here in Mexico City.
What camera you shoot today? Oh, this is my Canon 7, a great rangefinder in my opinion. They call it Japanese Leica. I think it can be compared, with due proportions, to the Leica M3. It is a camera released in 1961, it counts with a Russian radioactivelens and it is completely mechanical. I use it with no metering meter.
How long you been doing your thing? Since 2007, but I became a professional photographer when I moved to Mexico, in 2010.
Who inspires you out here? People. Energy. How people fill the public space. The architecture. The sense of the place. Anythingness.
Got any wild stories from the streets? Some confrontations. A man beating me in the chest (and the camera) jst to make a photograph. Oh, sure just 3 weeks ago a crazy man menaced me with a sharp piece of glass just because I refused to give him money.
If you could collab with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Helmut Newton, for sure but…alive…I would say…Richard Kern.
What’s the hardest part about staying real in this game? Making people understand this in a world where social approval seems to be all that matters.
You got a go-to track, move, or line that defines you? Not really a single track or line… more like a mood, a rhythm I follow. It’s that feeling of walking the streets, seeing the unnoticed, capturing it before it disappears. Every shot, every frame, it’s my move—it defines me more than words or beats ever could.
How do you handle hate or criticism? The only way to manage the haters thing is to kiss them. They don’t know how to answer to a kiss. Criticism is great: I learn a lot from constructive criticism.
Who are the photographers that really stick with you, the ones whose work inspires how you shoot and how you look at the streets? Stephen Shore, Luigi Ghirri, both for their way to see (metaphysical and physical at the same time) the urban place. Mary Ellen Mark because I really love her empathetic way to get close to her subjects. Gordon Parks because I believe that the best photographs we make are a polical act.
What’s next for you? Any big moves coming? I am pretending more from my photography. I think my approach is already changed.
Ever thought about quitting? Why or why not? Yes, sometimes I thought this. Because I am a professional photographer and sometimes you don’t earn as you need. And I have always my plan B that is related to cooking. I guess I could have success with gourmet panini here.
What’s your message to the people watching/listening? Make your own thing: trust your instinct or vision. If you need someone opinion find a mentor, but avoid to trust on the internet social dynamic and gurus.
Finish the sentence: I make photography because…I am constantly searching for poetry
This moment on this blog wanted be a celebration of Walkie Talkie Paulie B’s series. Follow him on youtube
