Meet Josh Chaney | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Chaney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I would say I first made the decision that I needed to live an artistic/creative life overall, whether that overlaps with career or not. These past few years the overlap has ebbed and flowed quite a bit, but I have learned that I cannot feel fulfilled if I am not making room for art in my life. This is what has driven me to pursue an artistic career. I feel so much more in touch with myself and the world around me when I have space in my life to dedicate to creative projects. My main goal with my career is to nurture this passion.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am still incredibly early on in my creative life, but I have come a long way from where I started. In terms of photography, my past is filled with small self-published photo zines. I started out by making a zine of photos around my neighborhood taken at night. I printed a magazine through an on-demand printer service, then cut up that magazine into smaller strips to be assembled into a pocket sized zine. Ever since, I’ve been really interested in hand-made small edition zines and have had a lot of fun doing them. I would call my project “Nuclear Family” the peak of this stage of my creative life. It was published in the same manner, but the project itself is much more developed, emotive, and intentional than any of my past projects. “Nuclear Family” is about the relationship between my family and Port Penn, Delaware where my grandpa lived. I shot all of the photos for it during my last summer visit to the area before my grandpa passed.

That project felt like a big stepping stone for me, as I am now transitioning into the world of photo books. I’ve been working on a monograph called “Sassafras Ridge” since early 2020. My goal is to have it published as a book. “Sassafras Ridge” is a project about the Appalachian foothills of Ohio and the impact the region had on me growing up. It’s somewhere in between a love letter to the place, a reflection on my youth, and an exploration of how people connect to the landscape. The whole process of this project has been incredibly challenging and rewarding. I really have to fight against my imposter syndrome urges and take the work more seriously than ever before. It’s been really special to dedicate myself to one project over time and really see it through to the end.

I still have a lot of steps to take before “Sassafras Ridge” is published and out in the world, but the biggest lessons I’ve already learned are about patience and believing in yourself. There are many days where I pour effort into this project driving around southern Ohio aimlessly and feel as if I am running in circles accomplishing nothing. These days make it easy to fall into self doubt. Being patient though has proven time and time again to make space for magic to happen. As long as you keep showing up and putting time in, those special photos and leaps of progress will happen eventually.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Columbus, Ohio is the future. We are starting our mornings at Upper Cup coffee on Parsons Ave. We are getting lunch at Cornerstone Deli & Cafe in Clintonville (why does a deli/sandwhich spot secretly have the best asian food in the city?). We are going to Comune for the most incredible dinner of our lives. Think vegan mushroom ragu pappardelle and a glass of malbec. We are going to Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace for a late night treat to top it all off. Maybe tomorrow we’ll walk around Glen Echo then hit Blocks Bagels for breakfast.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to Matt Day. I’ve been watching his photo projects and his youtube channel develop into something really unique over the past few years. I started watching him when I was a teenager in high school, and he was one of my initial inspirations to get into photography. Since then, his transition into a unique career of photography videos, self publications, and other related ventures has served as a great example of how to carve out your own path in the art world. I feel this is especially important being based in Ohio. It is easy to get caught up in self-doubt and imposter syndrome in the art world, but Matt is a great role model and reminder to get past that. So shoutout Matt Day!

Website: joshchaneyphoto.com

Instagram: @joshchaney9