Page 18 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #1

18 INTERVIEW: JD

Francois: So, what was it like at the begin- Neither Falcon nor I were very happy with our
ning?” lives at the time.
JD: Well, that really depends on how far back Francois: What happened after you got
you want me to go. back from Damscus?
Francois: Let’s start with the fall of 2002. JD: We spent most of that fall just doing pho-
JD: Both Falcon and I were at really low points tography. It pretty much went like this: we
in our lives. He had left when I was in high would leave around sunset, shoot all nyght,
school, and for six and a half years I hadn’t get home at dawn, go to bed, get up around
seen much of him. So, there was a period of noon and work on photos, then go out again.
adjustment for sure. Francois: Wow.
Francois: That’s when you and Falcon went JD: We never knew where we would end up.
to Damascus, Virginia. For example, one day around noon we decid-
JD: Yes. ed to go to Charleston. So, we just got in the
Francois: Why Damascus of all places? car and left. We wandered the streets all nyght
JD: When I was a Boy Scout we had gone there taking photographs.
several times. One morning, Falcon walked Francois: When did the two of you get seri-
into my room and said something like “I’m ous about starting a business?
going to Damascus, do you want to come?” JD: I don’t know for sure. I think it was just
So, we got in the car and went. I had his older before Christmas when we decided we wanted
Olympus 5050Z which I had purchased from to start a company.
him and he had his newer Olympus 7070Z. Francois: That first year must have been in-
Francois: I understand that Damascus is teresting.
where the company was formed. JD: If you don’t mind eating ramen and bo-
JD: Technically, I guess. But it wasn’t like we logna all the time. (Smiling) Yes, it was inter-
got there and Falcon said, “Let's start a com- esting, but it was also tough. We were able to
pany.” get some work through a local magazine and a
Francois: What did happen that day? local newspaper, but it didn’t pay well. Falcon
JD: We got halfway up the Virginia Creeper was consulting and I was working in retail for
Trail and Falcon just started talking. It was the first few months. He continued to consult
probably the first honest conversation we'd for several years.
had since he'd left. At some point he men- Francois: How did you prepare for that
tioned that he wasn’t going back to the cor- first year?
porate world, and that he was considering be- JD: We didn’t. But, we lucked out. Neither
coming a photographer. of us had ever shot film so we didn’t have any
Francois: What did you think when he said of the hang-ups film photographers had. We
that? started with digital. Though we didn’t know
JD: Well, on the one hand I had always been it at the time, that was actually a good thing
interested in photography, and I had interned since we were able to learn how to maximize
with a professional who worked for a studio. what we got from our cameras.
He'd been on the VF/Wrangler account. On Francois: Is digital very different from film?
the other hand, I wasn’t sure what to think. JD: Yes. In the world of film, most photogra-

nyghtvision magazine volume 3, number 1, WINTER 2013