In 2013 when Humble relaunched after a temporary hiatus, I invited Blake Andrews to participate in one of our first online shows on the new platform: “New Directions in Street Photography.” I was drawn to Blake’s ability to both fit within the traditional definitions of the genre (decisive moment, no manipulation, etc) yet break the tropes that have continued to hold much of the genre back. He was (and still is) just a dude capturing the ragged magic of life as it happened. In photo after photo, chance aligns to create strange fictions in every day life. The way a baby’s head cradled in its fathers arms, photographed near a toddler walking by can create and amalgamation of a species. Or how someone’s legs on a body dressed in all black walking down a street, when hit with the right beam of sun, can look like just a pair of legs walking down the street with no body at all. It’s weird, funny and strange with the right amount of snark to keep me looking.

After missing each other multiple times in real life, I got in touch with Blake over email to learn more about what drives him to make pictures.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Blake Andrews