David Griffith, photographer
Interview by Doug Aikenhead • Photos by David Griffith

The following interview took place by way of e-mail exchanges between David M. Griffith (DMG) and Doug Aikenhead (DA), December 6-8, 2005.

DA: What led you into photography in the first place? As you got more involved with photography, what motivated you to make the photographs that you did? Do the same things motivate you today?

DMG: At first a constant curiosity that seemed almost genetic in its naturalness and its insistence. Then, the fact that I got results. I remember as a 5 year old, having an argument with my father over the use of his Kodak Pocket Folding Camera. I insisted at that point that I could use it. I was overruled, but the concept persisted, as though I was born to photograph. Nothing else has been as creatively rewarding.

DA: Over the thirty-plus years that you've been photographing, you've made many thousands of photographs, and printed many hundreds. From those, you have exhibited many images in the past. From all your work, you've selected 42 for this viewing. What are your criteria for determining which images are good - good enough to print? Good enough to exhibit? Good enough to end up in this 42-image selection?

DMG: My aesthetic standards would be: is the work interesting to look at, is it done with craftsmanship of some sort, does it reveal new pleasures upon repeated viewings over time? Besides being up to my aesthetic standards, which have evolved, but remain somewhat constant: does the image surprise me? Do I still find it interesting? Does it have some sense of being original? This selection, like everything I've ever shown, came from these criteria, and very much from the gut. There are 2 images that I view as tributes, one to my idols, one to my family.

Interview continues...
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