My name is Justin Thor Simenson. I am a hobby/professional photographer based in Albuquerque, NM. I am starting a photography project that has been just an idea for some time now called the Northern New Mexico Culture Project. For the past six years I have been photographing mostly New Mexico landscapes, but recently I have wanted to capture something with a purpose behind it.

The idea of the project came when I was talking with my father-in-law, a native of northern New Mexico. The stories that he told of his father, brother, and him painted a great picture in my mind. When he put together a DVD of video that his brother had made, the project really started to come together. I could just photograph the people and their stories. Because much of their culture is verbal, I decided to record the interviews that way when people are looking at the faces and landscapes, they can hear the stories behind them.

In my research I have found there have been notable photographic projects of the northern New Mexico culture in the past. Alex Harris is one such photographer that I studied before starting this project. He lived in the El Valle area for many years and captured the landscape and people in both black-and-white and color photographs. In studying his work I find things that I want to use and have thought of new ways that I can create my own style. The one notable difference is the audio recordings that I will take. I feel it is just one more way for people outside of their culture to really feel who these people are.

When the project is complete I hope to have between fifty and one hundred people photographed and interviewed. I plan to put together a show that will be available to schools, community centers, and other public places around New Mexico and maybe around the U.S. The knowledge that I gain from this project will be my biggest gift and I will share it with anyone that wants to hear.