Meet Noah Weininger

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

Hi Noah, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I love telling stories. That’s first and foremost what I try to do with my photography. Just as all things are greater than the sum of their parts, storytelling binds photos together, and makes them more beautiful and impactful as a series than any one photo could be on its own, which is true for all art. But outside of practicality, I think storytelling is very important to who we are as people. They give us our sense of identity, of value, of morality. And yet, as important as stories are to us, I don’t think enough people appreciate them for what they are, or how they can be used to connect and inform us, which in such a divisive political climate as this one, may be more important now than ever before. So if I do get to decide what my legacy would be, I hope that one day I get to be remembered as a great storyteller. Not only as someone who captured beautiful pictures, but who also told the important and definitive stories behind them. Stories that highlight our differences, but also remind us of the similarities we all share as fellow humans.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My love for photography comes from a love of adventure, and of people. I think everyone has an interesting story to tell, and it’s always been my dream to document those stories. In particular, I like focusing on culture, or how differently people can live across the world. That’s always been a particular fascination for me, which has been evident ever since I was little. I think I first started reading National Geographic when I was nine years old. And that’s eventually where I want to end up, working for a publication like National Geographic that gets to explore the world, and document all of the unique people and cultures that occupy it.

As for me, my story is very much one of struggle and hardship. I had always wanted to be a photographer, but I wasn’t able to afford a camera until I was nineteen and already out of high school. That year, though, I was fortunate enough to travel extensively. I went on a road trip through the American West, and even traveled through Southeast Asia for a few months. I took photos constantly while I was doing this, and was able to scrounge together a portfolio, which I used to apply to a fantastic art school in Brooklyn. My parents, however, refused to help support my way through college, nor did they create a college fund for me earlier. They didn’t feel the need to tell me either of these things until I had already been accepted, and was nearly ready to move into my dorm. I was able to get them to begrudgingly agree to split the cost of my first year between the three of us, but after that I was on my own.

I had a great first year, but after that I couldn’t afford to keep attending school. I applied to some other cheaper colleges, but in the end I couldn’t afford to support myself alone, anywhere. So after my first year, I went back to Ohio to live with other family. I tried my hand at working freelance. I had the skill for it, that much was certain. Even though by that point, I had only been practicing photography for around two years, I was already among the best of my peers in college. I asked one of my professors if he thought it was a good idea, and he agreed that if I had no better options, I indeed had the skill to make it without a college degree. It didn’t go as planned, though. I was living in a very rural community. I didn’t have the money to go to a bigger city, or to afford expensive equipment, and so the work I got was sparse and very low paying. It was usually headshots, graduation photos, maybe the occasional wedding. I could barely support myself, and I also wanted to be taking photographs in a much higher capacity. My true passion is photojournalism, and I felt that while I was stuck in Ohio, I was just wasting my time and talent.

Almost two years ago now, I had a family member move out here to Denver, and he offered me an incredible deal on rent. So I immediately followed after him, moving out here last June, trying to finally pursue that dream career as a photographer I have always wanted. That’s how I got to where I am, and if I’m being honest, I’m still chasing that dream. Moving out to Denver has made a lot of things better, but so far I haven’t had any overnight successes. I’m still waiting on those.

I wish I could say that by going through all of this difficulty, I’ve learned unique insights
into life or my career. But the truth is I haven’t. Maybe one day, after I’m far beyond these problems, I’ll be able to look back and understand all of the things I learned along the way, but until then, it’s hard to see the progress you’ve made while you’re still in the eye of the storm. I do have one piece of advice though, to offer to artists that may be struggling with the same issues: the important thing is to find a way to keep your dream alive. That’s the most important thing, and it’s never easy. Sometimes, it’s near impossible. But you don’t really have any alternative. The road to success as an artist is often long and very difficult, but the ones who succeed are the ones who travel to the end of that road. If you value your art, and you value your own personal satisfaction, it’s a road that you need to keep on walking until the very end.

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.
Well, Denver is a very exciting city, so there’s no way we could run out of things to do. I have never lived in an urban city that has such a strong connection to the outdoors before. You can be downtown in the morning, enjoying a cup of coffee, and then by noon you’re on top of a fourteen thousand foot tall mountain. There aren’t many places you can live and be able to do exactly that. I love the outdoors, and so we would definitely spend a lot of time exploring the nature around Denver. But while Colorado has some of the most gorgeous natural beauty I have ever seen, I also love art and culture, and I think that I’d want to split our time evenly between the two. If I were to list all of the places in or near Denver that I think are worth visiting, I could write an entire essay, so for now I’ll just list some of my favorite places within the city that would definitely make the itinerary

Denver Art Museum
York Street Botanic Gardens
The Gothic Theater
Mutiny Information Cafe
Union Station and the Cooper Lounge
Capitol Hill Books
Sie Film Center

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
That’s a tough one. There are a lot of people in my life who have helped me become the person I am today. But I’d have to say that my New York friends deserve the shoutout. I met them during my first year as an undergraduate, studying in Brooklyn, but to this day I still keep in touch with a lot of them, and they’re the strongest support network I have ever had. They helped me so much when I was struggling with art classes, of which I had never taken before, and without them I might have failed my first year. On top of that, they have just been the most supportive and encouraging friends I have ever had, especially in dealing with life difficulties. I miss them terribly, and think about them often. But I also want to give a special shoutout to my favorite professor during my time there as well, Peter Kayafas, who is not only an incredible photographer in New York, but an even better teacher. He constantly inspired me, and still continues to do so, to go above and beyond what I think I’m capable of. During my second semester of college, I had a series of terrible professors and experiences that made me question my decision to stick with photography, and without his advice, I might have quit altogether. I have a lot to thank him for.

Website: https://noahweininger.squarespace.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amishpunk/