Two portraits — one fun, one serious — of Jeremiah Òjó, a self-described “imposing figure” whose Instagram is @howtallareyou 🙂
I met Jeremiah at PolaCon when he joined a lively conversation I was having with author Christopher Bonanos and artist Rhiannon Adam (plus a guy with his dog in a baby carriage). As it turned out, Jeremiah was quite interested in Rhiannon’s extraordinary “emulsion lift” work, asking several questions that took the conversation into a detailed and fascinating discussion of her artistic process.
Later in the conversation, Jeremiah mentioned he is from Nigeria, which — as anyone who knows me can tell you — is near and dear to my heart, since traveling there for work in 2003–2004. So we chatted about his mother country, how most people misconstrue his last name “Òjó” as Spanish, and the perils of letting your visa expire while visiting Nigeria (even if you were born there). At the end, I pointed out that his outfit (including shoes) was perfectly color-coordinated (olives & tans) with the vintage Polaroid Amigo camera he was styling at PolaCon, as you can see for yourself in the photo below.
Subject: Jeremiah Òjó / @howtallareyou
Location: Worthless Studios, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Camera: Polaroid SLR 680SE (vintage)
Film: Polaroid 600 Color (New, expired 2022)
Photographer: Russ Murray
A short time after our conversation, I noticed Jeremiah preparing to pose for a PolaCon attendee in front of the coppery backdrop I used for two of my previous portraits. Onlookers, including myself, laughed out loud when he suddenly disappeared behind the backdrop, then popped out between two sections, with a look of mock shock-surprise on his face! I captured the moment on iPhone (see below) and then took the main Polaroid portrait of this post. Afterward, he made a more serious pose for me with his vintage Amigo camera…
The second PolaCon NYC 2024 event, sponsored by Polaroid, was held from May 17th — 19th, primarily at Worthless Studios in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. I went on Saturday the 18th and had a great time learning, playing with gear, meeting old friends, making new ones, and shooting a bunch of instant photos!
See you tomorrow…
russ murray 
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