San Juan, PuertoRico. Back Bar Hertz Counter, 1988 © Jill Waterman

Interview by Kehan Lai

What’s your take on New Year’s Eve as a cultural festival and a form of ritual? In other words, what it is about New Year’s Eve in a deep level that draws you to do a project of it?

In my project statement, I call New Year’s Eve the holiday of anticipation. It’s the only holiday that is recognized everywhere in the contemporary global environment, even in cultures/countries that also have New Year celebrations on different dates. Of course I had no idea about all this when I started the project in 1983-84. The first year I photographed, I was proceeding on a whim. But I enjoyed it enough to resolve to continue the project every year thereafter. Then in about 1996-97 people started talking about the Millennium, and I knew I was really on to something. Those few years leading up to 2000 were a real boon for me, but it was only after the Millennium that I began to connect with the ingrained rituals and traditions of certain locations and cultures that have added a whole new level of intrigue and depth to the project.

San Francisco, CA. Couple Embracing at Exotic Erotic Ball, 1991© Jill Waterman

What’s the process of selecting a final image, as on your website, to represent a place on New Year’s Eve out of the overall quality of photographs that you took?

I have to confess that my website is sorely in need of an update (which I’m currently working on), and therefore doesn’t represent a recent picture selection. I should also say that my process in selecting pictures from recent years is challenged by the fact that my lived experience of the event is so powerful, I have a hard time initially coming to terms with the photos I’ve made. It is only in hindsight, often after several years have passed, that I’m best able to handle the image selection. One example comes to mind to illustrate this. When I first reviewed my pictures from New Year’s Eve 1991 in San Francisco, I didn’t notice the photo of a couple embracing at the Exotic Erotic Ball. It was only several years later when I discovered that frame, and to this day, it remains one of my most memorable discoveries.

In advance of image selection, one thing I strive for when it comes to my image making process is to capture candid scenes, or as described in my artist statement, “I look for the unraveling of a moment, the gestures found on the periphery of a standard pose.” This has definitely become more challenging as cameras have exploded across the cultural landscape. People are much more aware of being photographed today, and are quick to pose. While my New Year’s coverage includes a fair amount of posed portraits, I often play a waiting game with my subjects once they notice me, to catch them in a more relaxed and authentic pose than a typical grip and grin shot. Distinctions like these definitely factor into my image selection process as well.

Paris, France. Midnight Fireworks Along Champs Elysees, 1984 © Jill Waterman

London, England. British Bobbies Shaving Creme Fight, 1985 © Jill Waterman

Each photograph in this series has a strong narrative and emotional impact on its own. How do you think the photos work together to form another layer of meaning?

Thanks for the compliment! I think there is one particular choice I made early on that contributes greatly to the meaning of the pictures as a whole: the decision to photograph primarily in black and white (and using an analog camera). When I started the project I was a struggling young artist and black and white film was the only thing available to me. But I liked the fact that these images had a somewhat timeless quality, and I decided that shooting in black and white was a way to help minimize differences between the places I’d visit every year, as well as the changes to fashion and trends that would evolve over time. I’ve experimented with shooting a bit of color film over the years, and I do also carry a small digital camera now, which captures scenes in color, but I generally prefer to show the black and white analog work. What I really hope to achieve with these pictures is to convey a feeling of the symbolic nature of this holiday, speaking to a sense of history and metaphoric meaning, rather than presenting a realistic depiction of the contemporary scene.

Tucson, AZ. Masked Man and Disco Dancers. Congress Hotel, 1993 © Jill Waterman

Have you encountered any problems when you’re shooting this project? Could you name one example?

This is a curious question, as I’m not sure whether you’re referring to safety problems when photographing in the types of crowded, quickly changing situations I regularly encounter (often packed with drunken revelers) or logistical problems in planning and carrying out the intensive schedule I organize for my documentation. In all of my years of photographing for this project, I’ve had very few issues with safety, and when I encounter logistical issues, I just resort to plan B. I’ve also had my share of technical problems over the years, since I continue to photograph for this project using an analog camera, fully manual lenses, an old discontinued flash unit, and black & white film. As I mentioned above, for the past several years I’ve also carried a small digital camera as a back up, for when I don’t have time to reload film or when my flash doesn’t recycle fast enough.

Miami Beach, FL. Couple Kissing on Dance Floor at BED, 2002 © Jill Waterman

All that said, there is one recent story that comes to mind. Last year on New Year’s Eve in Cape Town, South Africa, we planned to make a late night visit to Long Street, which is filled with young revelers outside the many bars there. I was working with a local assistant, Thulani, who knew the area well, and after we arrived he expressed great concern about my carrying cameras out in the open and wearing a backpack. I told him that it made no sense for me not to do this since I was there to photograph, and that I felt safer carrying everything with me rather than leaving it behind in a parked car. We set off in a tight threesome (I was also traveling with a friend), and Thulani stuck close behind me to watch my back. It was a very festive environment with people dancing in the streets, and I quickly immersed myself in photographing the action. The crowds got thicker as we walked, and after a few blocks the energy started to feel rather unstable. As we made it through a particularly thick crowd, Thulani pulled me aside to say the conditions were not safe and we had better not continue. He had identified three or four young men who were following us, eyeing my bag and trying to get close enough to grab it. Since they didn’t know Thulani was with me, they had tried to entice him to take the bag, and he was doing the best he could to ignore their requests while shielding me without them knowing it. We promptly ducked into a nearby bar that had a peaceful vibe and was guarded by bouncers, ordering a drink to wait out the situation. I was able to capture some overview shots of the street from a second floor balcony, and then we made a beeline back to the car and called it a night. On the ride back to my hotel, Thulani explained that this situation put him at as much (if not more) risk than me, since local thieves tend to steal by slitting backpacks open with a knife, and it would not be uncommon for them to just turn and stab someone like him who was discovered to be aiding their intended target.

Burlington, VT. Ladies with Confetti Leis, 1992 © Jill Waterman

WCW Questionnaire:

Describe your creative process in one word:

Improvisational.

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

I’ve taught several different types of photography courses, but my favorite way to engage with other photographers is by talking about work in the context of a portfolio review. I’ve served as a portfolio reviewer for many different organizations over the years, and a few years back I taught a semester-long college course in portfolio development, which was really gratifying. Thinking back to these experiences, I’d love to offer this type of dialog during a one-hour session.

What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?

I do most of my reading in the car listening to books on tape, but in terms of a physical book, there are two recent memoirs I read that stand out for very different reasons: Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Lifeby Abigail Thomas and Sally Mann’s Hold Still.

InSafekeeping, noted memoirist Abigail Thomas shares brief vignettes of lived experience that mix poetic description with a visual sensibility that makes things come alive in a way that feels very photographic. Sally Mann’s opus of a memoir is a much more in-depth experience, being at once a candid exploration of her own life and family history, while also probing deeply into her own work and creative process.

What is the most played song in your music library?

This is a tough one, as my taste in music is very diverse and I don’t really have a dedicated music library as such. That said, when I was in Oaxaca for New Year’s Eve a few years back I bought the CD Pecados y Milagros by the Oaxacan singer Lila Downs, and I’ve found myself gravitating to this CD repeatedly ever since. The song Cucurrucucú Paloma is particularly stunning.

How do you take your coffee?

I never drank coffee until I moved to France at 24 and started drinking café crèmes. Today I start most days with a rich cappuccino and some sugar.

You can find more of Jill’s work here. To learn more about the New Year’s Eve Project, check out this short documentary video.