As we noted a couple of days ago, Free Portrait Vancouver is going down this Saturday at Main & Hastings, and it’s so damn awesome that we thought we’d have a chat with the guy who got it off the ground four year ago. Meet local photographer Jonathan Cruz…

Three things about Strathcona that make you want to live there? So many things to love about Strathcona! It’s a true community, the best in the country I bet. Close to downtown but far enough to be completely away from it. Spray Park across the street!

When did you know you were actually an honest-to-goodness professional photographer? When I could buy all the gear I wanted with money from shooting (mostly second-hand) and finally quit my day job.

Your photographer role models? The European shooters. Love the low-tech approach and their ability to capture a feeling.

Your favourite sound? “Pitta pitta, yeah!” My 20-month-old son Miguel says that these days. We don’t know what it means, but he does!

Describe your favourite photograph: A portrait I took of my grandmother while she sat near the door in her kitchen. The light hitting her face was perfect. She wouldn’t move for me when I asked, so I had to get the shot by sitting under the kitchen table. She gave me about 10 frames before she threatened to throw something at me.

Some photographers are really drawn to nature, others to skylines or architecture. You are drawn to people. What makes photographing people your thing? It’s my favourite subject by far. I love getting the eyes and catching those moments of what it is that makes us all lovely. Even for something as time-sensitive as a model’s portfolio. The fashion gets dated fast, but they treasure the photos because they captured a personal moment.

How do you help shy people become comfortable with being in front of a camera? Talk to them. Befriend them. Shoot fast and catch their expressions between their moments of being self-conscious.

Your first memory? Morning breakfast with my mom and grandparents. My grandma cooling her coffee by pouring it back and forth between two glasses.

The band that made you love music? The Beatles.

The best way to die? With little regret.

What initially gave you the idea to create Free Portrait Vancouver? Back in ’09, photographer Jeremy Cowart came up with an idea: on a designated day in December, anyone with a camera could go out and photograph someone less fortunate and give them a print, with no strings attached. I loved it! Back then I had lived in Gastown for almost five years, experiencing the problems with the local street people and residents first-hand. We all knew that ‘they’ have been around longer that most of us and the buzz in the neighbourhood was that we had to be more proactive and figure out what could be done to support the community. My own theory was that some of these folks feel like they don’t deserve anything better. Because of that, I wanted to bring Jeremy Cowart’s movement to the neighbourhood, but on a bigger scale by doing professional portraits for them in my studio. An opportunity to give back some dignity and self-worth. I quickly faced a few challenges. First, I realized I didn’t have enough space to do this. Second, I learned that the locals hate being photographed. A few weeks prior, I had been introduced to the Carnegie Centre and learned that the city had converted it into a community centre for the Downtown Eastside. The locals refer to it as the “living room of the DTES.” We wondered if we could use the Carnegie as our home base for the event. My assistant Annalissa and I set up a meeting with their committee and got voted in to do our event in their gym, on the condition that we shoot their Santa picture day scheduled that afternoon. The rest is history! Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, we handed out almost 400 framed black & white 8x10s at our first event. This year, the plan is to have 10 photo stations, 5-10 makeup stations, and give out more than 1,000 photos. Free Portrait Vancouver is now an annual event held specifically for the “living room’s” folks.

What is something you think our readers would be surprised to learn about the DTES? It’s one of the poorest postal codes in the country, and we are all responsible for it.

What inspires you? My camera! I’m that pain-in-the-butt guy with the camera all the time. I don’t get much complaining when/if my subjects see the pics, though. In general, when I see interesting people, I just want to shoot them!

Default drink/cocktail of choice? Blue Buck by Phillips. Scotch can be swell.

The Vancouverite that you admire most and why? Too many to mention. I really like Mike, the Gastown fellow who carries the football everywhere. When he’s not stretching, he’s cleaning the streets, picking up what people drop on the sidewalks day in and day out. He never asks for anything – amazing guy, that Mike. I definitely want to give him a black & white print of himself one day.

Your favourite smells? Fresh baked burek. Coffee in the morning. The potpourri of pine trees combined with the yellow-flowered shrubs at the top of the hill in Porto Venere. Fantastic!

Your least favourite smells? There’s a funky stench outside right now coming from a processing plant or something? Sometimes you can smell it all over downtown. What is that?

The strangest talent that you possess? I can do this weird floppy thing with my right-hand ring finger. Like a limp appendage. I used to be able to flip my eyelids. I grossed myself out trying so I stopped.

The different career path that you could have gone on? Environmentalist/ecologist.

Your three favourite films? The Incredibles, The Party, and anything Almodovar.

Television show that you could tolerate re-runs of? The Simpsons.

What’s the thing that you eat that is bad for you that you will never stop eating? Sea salt and malt vinegar chips!

The most difficult portrait/subject you’ve ever shot? Back when my studio was on Hastings (by the Kootenay Loop,) I was asked by my neighbour at Amnesty International to take a Polaroid of a woman to show the scars on her back from being whipped and tortured. I set up the camera, positioned it, and tested it so that all she had to do was go to the spot where she could stand. I met her and only saw her, fully dressed. But the thought of what she had gone through has never left me.

Were you unhappy with the results in the end? Why? No, I chose to do it because I knew it would help her to be safe.

The most awe-inspiring person you have ever photographed? My mom.

What photograph are you the most proud of? I have a whole wallet full!

The talent that you wish you possessed? To play the trumpet!

What is the game that you’re best at? At times I can be on fire at Scrabble. Other times, not so much.

What is the one animal that scares you the most? Dogs. I was bit by one in the butt when I was a kid. I was told that if they look threatening, never run. I ran as fast as I could, but not fast enough. Scarred for life.

If you had a motto, what would it be? What matters most is what we do with the time we have.

Your go-to, no-frills place for dinner in Vancouver? Golden Garden at Main & Pender. I love pho!

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you? Back to Vancouver. It’s my favourite part of any trip. I love it here.

Where did you grow up? I’m still growing!

How did you learn to be a photographer? Back in Calgary, hanging out with my brother Alex and our buddies with nothing to do on a Sunday night.

Your favourite word? Deogracias. My dad’s name.

Your least favourite word? Me.

Your favourite curse word? Too many to pinpoint just one. Does dungflungit count? [ed.note: it does now]

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