Can We Hang Out With You, Todd Selby?

As if I didn't have enough of a complex about moving back into my childhood room avec les parentals, Todd Selby's gorge-and-a-half photos on http://theselby.com/ of some of the coolest pads around the world make me kind of want to kill myself... either that, or aspire towards becoming filthy rich and/or marry into a titled family who own many an uninhabited castle. Oh wait, that's already my goal... Ok, back to the point! Todd Selby is great and I know that you've all been fans forever just like me, so quizzing him about the East Village, life behind the lens and his new book, The Selby is in Your Place, last week during his personal appearance at Holt Renfrew, was obviously a walk in the park!

How did you get into photographing?

I always travelled to interesting places with my family growing up, and my dad always took pictures, so I started taking pictures. We never went anywhere typical, we went to Berlin when the Berlin Wall was falling, we went to Papua New Guinea, we went to the Amazon. We always did really cool trips!

Who would you photograph if you could from the past and the present? Napoleon Bonaparte in his island prison. Present, I’d like to photograph the Obama first family in the White House, and that includes the First Dogs. I’d also really like to shoot the astronauts on the International Space Station.

In the forward of your book, Lesley Arfin insinuates that your East Village apartment sucks. Do you agree? Lesley Arfin kind of insinuated that, but she also asked me that if I moved out, she wanted first dibs on my apartment. I think she makes fun of it but at the same time she wants in.

What do you like about living in the East Village? I love all the little restaurants and I love that its still got a lot of personality and its not just giant chain stores. It’s a lot of mom and pop spots. Its an interesting place.

Cabs? Subway? Bike? I’m buying a bike but it’s hard for me to choose so I’ve been looking for months now. I’ve had seven bikes in New York and they’ve all got stolen. I like to walk, I walk to shoots as much as I can.

What's your favourite movie? Is it mostly about the scene or the visuals in a movie that would get you? Mod Fuck Explosion by Jon Moritsugu. You’ve got to go check it out. The dialogue, the acting, the visual, the soundtrack - it's my favourite movie so it's got to win on all counts, right?

Can you describe your style without using phrases like boho chic, old Hollywood glamour or anything with a twist? I wouldn’t use anything of those anyways… I guess you would describe it as colourful.