JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

JOE LEAVENWORTH: Coffee and pancakes.

JC: Are there any emerging artists influencing your practice at the moment?

JL: I look to my fellow Dreamboats daily. 

JC: What is your current body of work all about?

JL: I am currently editing film from a recent trip west with my father in search of a 1948 Dodge pick-up truck. We flew to San Francisco and drove east, across the southwest and southern United States. The photographs initially felt haphazard but the more time I spend looking, the more I see a portrait of my father. The work is as much a record of our experience as it is a fleeting glimpse of the American landscape in 2010.

JC: Where do you see the Dreamboat Collective in 5 years time?

JL: We will likely be giving Magnum a run for their money. Great question … I’m not too good at picturing the future. I am confident the boats will continue to push each other to evolve individually and collectively, some of us moving in directions beyond photography. I see everyone exhibiting and publishing consistently and hopefully in a place to fully devote ourselves to our work. We recently inducted Jake Stangel and I think we will continue to expand but remain tight-knit. We will be doing great, humble things.

JC: In your eyes what does the future of photography look like?

JL: To quote Bryan Schutmaat: Zzzzzzz. I hope Kodak is still making film. 

JC: What initially drew you to photography?

JL: I was initially drawn to photography my sophomore year of high school when I decided to check out the after school photography club. I gradually began to ditch soccer practice to hang out in the janitors closet learning the basics of black and white photography. I was swept away by the darkroom process and the club advisor became a great friend and mentor. I immediately responded to the medium and knew I found something exciting after we put a guitar through a car windshield in order to make interesting photographs.

JC: Have you got some exciting things happening in 2011?

JL: I intend to publish a small edition book of Late Night Boys and I started painting again … I’m considering graduate studies and I’d like to travel … thinking London, Paris and certainly the American road. My number one goal is to devote more time to making things.

JC: Any pearls of wisdom to recent photography graduates?

JL: Pearls of wisdom … self-discipline and time-management are important. Moving forward is really about obsession. Even if you only have 5 minutes a day to work. Continue to pursue what you’re passionate about and share your work with friends and peers. Ask questions. Start something collectively!

JC: Other thoughts?

JL: Next Stop Venus.