Meet Garrit Speiss | Film Maker and Processor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Garrit Speiss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Garrit, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
My end goal is never stop traveling. If I can pair shooting motion picture film with this pursuit I’d be a happy man! Not the typical tourist hotspot travel but rather the places very few see. Whether it be because it’s hard to get to, it’s mundane, or it’s extremely dangerous. I’d like to be able to tell those stories.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is 100% analog film. I sold my digital camera 7 years ago and never turned back. This is surely not always the cheaper way to shoot however, by processing much of my work by hand it helps me lessen the blow. I’m proud of that. Even if many folks my age don’t notice or even know what film is or how long it can take to produce these images. I take pride in myself for it! I’m most excited to open up a motion picture processing lab this Summer with Nicholas Coyle.

Professionally? I’ve never done any professional work. Never been paid. I can’t speak on this much yet but hopefully soon. I want the world to know more about what I stand for and I want it to feel my love for all. I hope my work speaks for itself when it comes to the pride I take in it, as well as the. quality of my process. I also hope through my art I can convey the emotions of the collective!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite spots wouldn’t be in the city at all! If I had a week, I’d go to The Great Land of Alaska. Short flight to Anchorage, then the train to Fairbanks.

Ideally it would be right in the middle of Spring there. Most of the meals would be prepared by us and the places we’d go see are endless. Denali National Park is massive. I have my pilots license so I’d charter us a seaplane out there for the week and lake hop! It’s the last frontier out there. Even more so today with human expansion in the Anthropocene of our age.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Dave Freely of Key Camera Service! Without Dave’s camera technician expertise I wouldn’t have been able to shoot some of my work! I look forward to learning more from him. I’d also like to thank Nicholas Coyle. Without him I wouldn’t be able to digitize my work and share it with others. He’s been instrumental in my recent journey.

Website: www.garritspeiss.store

Instagram: @Garritspeiss

Facebook: @Garritspeiss

Youtube: @Garritspeiss

Other: TikTok: @Garritspeiss

Image Credits
Taylor Elwood (both portraits)