PHOTOGRAPHER
IVAN MCCLELLAN | 8 SECS

Entre Indígenas- Who is Ivan McClellan?
Ivan- First and foremost I’m a father and a husband. I am a photographer and designer, I approach both disciplines from a place of curiosity and interest in understanding people, and what makes them tick.
I love learning other people’s stories and documenting them with my camera.
E- How and when did the love for photography come about?
I- When I lived in Kansas City for a brief time after leaving New York, my neighbor may or may not have been in the CIA, and taught me a ton about photography. He had a bunch of old cameras and let me borrow one to take on a trip to Istanbul with my then girlfriend at the time.
While there, experiencing a new city and new culture with so much life and color, I became hooked.
E- Why a tribute to the American Cowboy?
I- What’s more American than a cowboy?
The cowboy is an architype of our time, and I think it’s important to remember that cowboys are from all races and walks of life. The cowboy is as diverse as the country we live in.
E- What do you like to convey with your photos?
I- We are here. Soft, gentle, nurturing, happy, land owners, animal caretakers, eco warriors, we are here.
E- Whose work has influenced you most?
I- Gordon Parks
E- Which of all your photos is your favorite (attach)
I- Photo of Jazmen Marie, Miss Black Arizona USA in 2018

E- Where and how would you like to see yourself 10 years from
now?
I- I hope to be doing long term photo projects documenting Black culture and my relationship with it for the rest of my life. So much of what I do now.
My largest goals for the next decade though would be having published multiple photo books.
E- What is the most rewarding part of being a photographer for you?
I- Constantly being reminded that we are all connected.
My camera has taken me all over the country and whether I’m talking with a bull rider in Texas, or a black farmer in Oregon, we all have shared experiences and stories.
No one is alone on this journey called life.

E- Your best quality and your worst defect:
I- Best quality: I have had enough experiences in my life that I can find something to relate to with anyone I meet.
Worst defect: I don’t believe in time, so I’m late to pretty much everything.
E- Describe yourself in three words:
I- Ruby + Ishmael’s dad.
E- A success and a failure.
I- Success: Sometimes I take photos that are in focus.
Failure: Sometimes I miss the shot entirely and it haunts me forever.
RECOMMENDATIONS
– A phrase: “The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.” – Gordon Parks
– A film: Bull, starring Rob Morgan
– A song: Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell
– A drink: Rose lemonade
– A city: Houston, Tx.
WHAT DOES IVAN PREFER?
- Ten years in a coma / Ten years in jail
- City life / Country life
- Talking to animals / Talking to the dead
- A good book / A good movie
- Only being able to whisper / Only being able to scream
- Lifetime free wifi / Lifetime free coffee
- Singing in public / Dancing in public
- To only eat salty / To only eat sweet
- Waking up in a desert / In a boat in the middle of the Ocean
- Knowing what you will die of / Knowing what day you will
- Something organized / Something improvised
- Music concert / Theater play
- Visiting the past / Visiting the future
- Being unable to see / Being unable to hear
- Reality / Fiction
- Never leaving your city / Not being able to return
- Continuing with your life / Restarting your life
- Being submissive / Being dominant