Check Out Koltin Sullivan’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Koltin Sullivan.

Hi Koltin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
There was no reason to believe I would end up traveling the country for photography, working for the biggest names in comedy, or working with industry leaders in analog film. It sort of all fell into place as soon as I started following what I thought I was meant to do, and not what I thought was expected for me to follow. I’ve always been deeply conflicted amount whether to commit my time to following analytical business or pursue the uncertain path of creative arts. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to eat if I dove into the arts, but felt as if I really wouldn’t be following my heart if I worked in a 9-5 job. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there right now fighting this feeling. I’m a 32 year old film enthusiast, and currently live in the San Fernando Valley. I went to CSUF and earned a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Cinematic Arts. During my time in college, I found that the largest department was the business department, to be soon applying for the same entry-level career positions, mathematically it made sense that we were competitors, and like a movie, I needed a twist to stand out uniquely.

In college, I was hired on other student productions as a cinematographer, I saved up for three years during high school to buy a video camera, at the time the hot ticket was a Canon XH-A1S, a crane, and a seated dolly system, along with hot lights, sound equipment, and everything in-between. I learned lighting and electric while working on American Film Institute productions from age 18, by the time I was in college I had the vocabulary, tools, and know-how for everyone’s thesis and video projects. Along the way, I met a video assistant who worked with Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Mann, and other big-name directors. I would go to David’s house and he shared fascinating stories of having Anne Hathaway over for dinner, camping with Johnny Depp or witnessing, in-the-flesh, the church performance in There Will Be Blood. All the nuggets of wisdom he shared left a lasting impression, it boiled around to one thing -being around for magic moments, and that’s what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I had to be a cog in the machine for a while to grow legs and a real work ethic. I worked for a microspectrophotometer company from 2016-2019, for three years out of college, you needed a college degree to work there, but the work wasn’t college-level at all. The positions were filled with people who aspired to be mundane, overworked, and redundant. I hung in there to buy equipment, have insurance, have a paycheck, those things. When it was time to make the jump, and it was the most important move of my life, it would serve as the point of no return because once I had a taste of the non-mundane life, I could never go back to an office no matter how secure it was.

I left Glendora, California, and traveled for three months, traveling to 38 states and shooting a new model almost every day. I used Instagram as my main networking tool. I learned to work with every personality and learned to use natural light in every weather condition. I lived out of motels, out of my car, I roughed it. I felt like I had to earn my spot in the world of photography.

In May 2019, I moved to New York, Astoria. I worked for Andrew Dice Clay as a camera operator back in Los Angeles for six months, and the network he was on called GaS Digital Network hired me as their bookkeeper and photographer. I would say comedy is a giant influencer in my work, it was a dear friend while I traveled alone, often absurd views on regular subjects which I viewed as a light in this world. In practice, I believe comedy rooted in quirkiness and creative ideas I often have in photography.

In my travels, I remembered Maine as the safest and nicest place of all time. It’s so clean, and there’s not so many people that they are undervalued like in New York. In November 2019 moved to Biddeford, about 20 minutes south of Portland. I met a modelographer (model and photographer) named Brianna Fern in Maine and her interest in film was one of the reasons why I started to move to analog. I never had met anyone as free and creative as she was, she had amazing warm parents and lived on a farm with a lot of love around. I remember walking into her house and seeing wet plates, tintypes, a large format type of photography then a 35mm camera with an alien lens cap on the table. I was intrigued. As I met more and more artists from Maine, I learned all of them shot analog. I remember falling in love with the aesthetic first, then the lifestyle second. I absolutely loved going out to the fields, or the abandoned places on the East Coast and shooting an old medium in a vintage house, it felt completely right. I learned the whimsical, organic nature traits that my photographs have now from my Maine roots. At the end of 2019, I moved to shooting 6×7 and 35mm seriously. Film is magic, and I could now make my own little magic moments, just as David Presley had done.

In March 2020, COVID came into existence. I was on the phone with my mom, and I weirdly said – I want to move back to Los Angeles and make YouTube videos. I didn’t know why I said this; I didn’t plan on saying it. While driving back to LA, I had horrible stomach pains, bad enough to stop driving, grab a hotel, and cry on the bed for several hours. I thought it was really strange that I had this happen. Back in Los Angeles, I wasn’t able to work due to people I lived with being immunocompromised, also there wasn’t a lot of information at the time that we now have. I still wanted to create, so I looked for a color palette that was unique, I didn’t see the appeal (even after six months) of shooting Portra when everyone else was doing it. It reminded me of my college days -realizing I needed an aesthetic edge. I came across Kodak 250D and 500T, used for motion picture cameras, but have all the same specifications to be used in regular 35mm still cameras. I respooled these stocks and began selling ECN-2 chemistry to Ultrafine Warehouse in Oxnard, CA and in New Zealand – a place where it is more difficult to source these chemicals. I loved being a part of the community, meeting film photographers, and having friends everywhere.

Fast forward to November 2020, I went on a trip to Death Valley, Yellowstone, Montana, Idaho and all the National Parks in Utah for several weeks. I lost 20 lbs, and on the way back I had Del Taco and had those same horrible stomach pains once again. I made it home and began not being able to breathe, it was traumatic, I felt like I was passing kidney stones. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt and would last hours. I was dropped off at the ER and started feeling cold and shaky. My body only let me take tiny, short breaths. I was eventually wheelchaired into the ultrasound room, to which they found tiny stones in my gallbladder. They said I needed emergency surgery, so I quickly rushed into surgery shortly after that. A team of about a dozen doctors and nurses got ready around my gurney. The last thing I remember was asking when I was going under, and I woke up the next day. They later explained that my gallbladder was 7 inches and black with thousands of tiny stones. I am Native American so I believe this was partially due to genetics. They had complications, where I would stay in the hospital a lot longer. When I was free, really all I could do was roll film and make chemistry. I had a blood bag, for weeks, and had to slowly regain all my strength. The photographic supply-making was a lifesaver.

Shortly after, I saw analog film manufacturer CineStill was hiring. I really thought it was a long shot, but I emailed them one day while on a walk and got a message 5 minutes later, the conversation led to an interview the next day, and that night I was hired. I am really proud of my three years of work at CineStill, I had many job titles. This is where I would make the YouTube videos I knew I was going to make back in Maine, and also with the person, Linus, I knew I would work with one day. I was around some of the best minds in analog and was fortunate to be exposed to the industry. In September 2023 I decided to venture out to my own path again, which led to where I am today. I currently shoot Super 8, 16mm, 35mm, and 120 religiously for agencies and brands local to Los Angeles. I also continue to spool my own film and make my own chemistry under the name Analog Abduction, which can be found at www.koltinsullivan.com.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In New York, I was awoken one night by an intruder with a knife. It was about 4 in the morning, and I was fast asleep. Something awoke me, I saw a shadow on the opposite wall from the lamppost outside. He climbed up the fire escape and as he broke open the window I ran into the dark kitchen where he would not see me. I waited to see what he would do, he was armed with a knife around his belt, as soon as he went into another room I ran three flights of stairs with my keys, and as I opened the front door 3 rough looking men surrounded me blurting obscenities and shouting slang, I did not know them. As I backed away toward the street another man came out from behind a car, I knew I had to jolt so I outran them and lost them. In New York, sometimes you have to park a mile away from your apartment. I later learned he came for my roommate, and later learned she was assaulted that night. This is the reason why I eventually moved out of New York and to Maine, what I deemed as safe place. I did not create art for several months after this. Life definitely influences art or hinders you from creating art. I think many of us go through an event that deafens the creative bug. I learned part of the healing is the distance along with understanding the new chapter you’re entering will give you an all-new perspective and you will be creating art with a stronger purpose in due time.

The humidity in Tennessee and Georgia during the summer was intense and was unable to sleep in these conditions which led to sleepless and upsetting nights by myself. Air conditioning, and even just laying down on a bed is a luxury that we take for granted. I had a stalker in Tennessee that spooked me to the bone. In my early work much of it was working on location in abandoned mental institutions in Massachusetts (Westborough State Hospital), or abandoned schools in Pennsylvania, it had a darker spirit to it, maybe these events led into my outlook and art at the time.

I was once on a shoot in the mountains and heard an echo of a giant splash. It made sense at the time because I was shooting in a river. I went to my car and my back windows were smashed and my tires were slashed. I had to hitchhike 45 minutes back down to town since service was lost. The damage was losing thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment which was quite a setback. I now know the importance of State Farm Personal Articles policies. Be aware of your surroundings and absolutely grab insurance for your gear, you will thank yourself if the moment ever arises, the blow to the soul is already difficult enough.

These are a few of the events I feel comfortable listing that have either played a part in directing the type of work I have done or caused challenges to actually deter art from being produced. The world is not always fair, the bad comes with the good, but these types of hardships build character and wisdom for a traveling artist.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a creative portrait photographer that uses analog to paint with light and capture unique moments. I also offer photographic chemistry and re-spooling of motion picture film as a service to the community on the side. I try to keep my work as raw and pure as possible, seeking locations that have a certain magic to them and the essence of the model rooted in nature. I enjoy making moments that are based in abstract and derivative concepts. I say each concept stems from being lulled into reverie while fluttering with the spirit of a bygone era, searching for raw energy and craftfulness. Not many artists cut down 65mm IMAX emulsion, re-spool it onto 120 paper, and mix their own ECN-2 developer formula. It’s important to know how to process because then you can adjust your shooting style to tailor a look. It feels wonderful to have control of the full creative process, it leaves a rare and authentic fingerprint. I’m most happy that I found a way to include my all my interests in a single medium. I worked at a music shop for a decade and play guitar, music influences images in my mind, comedy influences improvisation while on a shoot, and forces approaching the world uniquely to find your own voice. I feel like I’m able to take those and apply it to photography.

The intermixing of art and business is also a character trait I’m happy to have. The tools I used to find a voice are the products I sell. They are special and I stand by those.

Purely using ECN-2 type film and processing sets me apart from others. I can roll, shoot, develop and scan on the same day. I can see my mistakes if my metering was off, I don’t have a lab to cover up what I need to fix. It’s a learning tool and makes you respect the process more and approach it more thoughtfully once you understand how much time goes into it. It also allows Super 8 or 16mm to have a cohesive style with your 35mm and 120 work since it’s the same film and chemistry.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I have no idea how AI is going to develop in the next 5-10 years. That’s always in the back of my mind. I hope more businesses see the appeal in shooting analog, but it would be a tough efficiency sell since most clients want to see an extremely quick turnaround time. If more creatives fall in love with the process and advocate for it, then I trust it can happen. College-aged people are carrying around point-and-shoots for the ‘low-fi’ look and that’s a great start. I continue to see more labs pop up. I live in The Valley and see those drive-thru tobacco stands that where once 1hr Photo stops, it would be amazing to see those 1hr’s come back one day. Aesthetically, I see the Y2K style being paraded around now. It’s difficult to see ahead since the consensus of style comes collectively.

Pricing:

• $9.95/ 250D or 500T 35mm Roll
• $18.95/1L of Film Processing Chemistry

Contact Info:

• Website: https://koltinsullivan.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koltinsullivan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@koltinsullivan/videos

Image Credits
Image 1 – @calireiki, @kirstinelizabethh Image 2 – Kodak 500T 35mm (rolls I sell) Image 3 – @isabella_brenza Image 4 – @thesydneymartin Image 5 – @arianna.rivas Image 6 – @slays.sara Image 7 – @morgancours, @savananataliaa Image 8 – Salton Sea