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Pierre Gardinier's Questionnaire
1. What town or city do you live in? Why do you live there instead of anywhere else? Describe your home.
Greatest city in the world! Angoulême! I live on the Lower East Side, now, although I was raised across the river, in Forest Hills. Honestly, it's hard to be a freelance photographer anywhere in the world, but The City is so busy, with so many stories always happening, so much always going on, that you can always be sure to get some pics of what's going on and expect that someone will want to pay for it.
Of course...being more-or-less self-employed doesn't always pay the big bucks. I can pay for food, and usually for bills, but the only furniture in my studio apartment is an ancient mattress on the floor. But that's okay...I spend most of my time out in the city anyway, enjoying the people, not cooped up in my cramped sleeping space.
2. How do you get your money right now? What do you spend it on?
Money, huh? HA! Nice joke.
Seriously, though, I mostly sell photos to the local papers. My biggest client is the Daily Post, but they honestly don't pay all that much more than the independent rags. At times, when things are really sparse, I take on other odd jobs as well; I've delivered pizzas, I've substituted for high school English classes, I've gardened in Central Park (my ancestors would be so proud). Once I even tried to be a warm-up act for the local wrestling club, but that went...poorly.
Most of my money goes to my bills--food, rent, phone--so I don't tend to have much on hand at any given moment.
3. Describe your Ambition. What are you striving for? How far would you go to achieve this? Would you kill for it? How close to death would you come for it?
Look, when I was growing up? Sure, there were rumors of the supernatural, but nobody took it seriously. We never had any proof, right? And now we have proof, proof of vampires, and werewolves, and mutants! Where are they all coming from, and maybe most importantly...why aren't they helping anybody?
Okay, I mean, hear me out: There are over over ten million people in The City, it's the richest place in the world, but like three million people, including yours truly, live below the poverty line. And while crime is way down from the '90s, that doesn't mean it's gone. Organized crime still exists, muggings still occur, petty theft remains, um, rampant, and oh, can we talk for a minute about white collar crime?
That said: Nobody should ever be eager to kill. I certainly don't want to, and I would be extremely skeptical of anyone who does.
How close would I come to death? Listen. I certainly don't want to die. But if it means saving people? If it means getting homeless people into affordable housing, and putting food in their stomachs? If it means innocent people don't have to live in fear? I can't see how my death would help that, but if it could? That would be my obligation.
4. What was the most defining event of your life (before signing The Contract), and how did it change you?
My parents' death, and my adoption. I was still just a little kid, and to have my parents disappear out of nowhere like that? Thank god for my aunt and uncle, though; they took me in, raised me as their own, taught me about justice and perseverance. I still don't know exactly how my parents died...all anyone knows is that they were flying back from Algiers, where they had been for some kind of conference, but the plane went missing. Their bodies were never found.
Sorry, I was saying, it if hadn't been for Benjamin and Meg, I would probably be a very different person today. I owe them everything.
5. Name and briefly describe three people in your life. One must be the person you are closest to.
Oh gosh, honestly there are too many to list! There's my girlfriend Jean, of course, we met in high school, and she's a really talented actress. There's also my friend Enrique, we met when I first came to the Lower East Side. His father runs a company, but Enrique is still pretty down to earth despite that. My cousin Ben moved to Texas a while back, which is crazy when you think about it--trading in The City for a place a hundred miles from the nearest pizza joint? (Okay, I have to admit, sometimes Forest Hills in Braganza can also feel pretty sparse, and I've never actually been to Texas, so maybe it's not as bad as I imagine, but still!)
I already talked about my Aunt Meg and Uncle Benjamin. I guess I could also mention, there's a girl I met at college, Guendalin, we took some classes together, I bumped into her again a couple weeks ago, she's actually working at Enrique's dad's company right now, and I think she and Enrique might be dating? Honestly, the more I've gotten to know her, the more I think she'll be a long-term friend, like Enrique.
6. How was your childhood? Who were your parents? What were they like? Did you attend school? If so, did you fit in? If not, why not?
So, my parents died when I was still little, so I don't remember them very well. I grew up with my Aunt Meg, my Uncle Benjamin, and my cousin Ben, over in Forest Hills, Braganza. I got a teased from time to time about it, but honestly, not very often. Meg and Benjamin were honestly pretty good as parents; coming to my track meets, supporting my love of photography (Benjamin bought me my first SLR camera!), making sure I got exposed to lots of different points of view. They even saved up so I could go to college! So when I graduated from Forest Hills High (Go Rangers!) I got the opportunity to attend Fordham U (Go Rams!), even though they were already setting money aside for Ben (who ended up going to CIT, by the way, he's a smart cookie).
I feel like I got along as well as anybody does in high school? I had my friends, but I wasn't, like, Mr. Popular by any means. It's where I met Jean, though, we started dating in Senior year, took some time off during college (she was too busy at the Institute of Performing Arts--we were literally a five minute walk from each other, but never saw each other), then reconnected after graduation. Mostly, though, I just sort of blended in most of the time. Like most people, I guess?
7. Have you ever been in love? With who? What happened? If not, why not?
Oh for sure. So, listen: My girlfriend, Jean, right? We met in high school, dated in Senior year, then ended up going to college literally a block from each other, but she was always so busy that we ended up "taking some time off" the beginning of the Spring semester in Freshman year.
Man, I never felt so bad as during that time. Like my heart was this, like, sucking black hole, threatening to implode my chest. Lots of people were telling me I just needed to move on, start dating someone new, all that kind of stuff. Enrique even tried to set me up on a few dates, and like...those girls and guys were fine, really they were, and I hope nothing but the best for them. But they weren't Jean, you know?
Thankfully, once Jean and I both graduated, we reconnected, went on our first date in years, and re-bonded over coffee and fries. I know, it's corny as hell, but that's the way it is. Right now, she's living in a shared apartment with a bunch of other actresses and musicians. Honestly, she's had trouble getting parts (The City is full of aspiring actors and actresses, you know?), so her financial situation is even worse than mine, at least for now. If she moved in with me, we'd both starve, and I can't move in with her, because some of her roommates aren't comfortable living with men. I would much rather she have a place where she gets enough to eat, so for now that's the best place for her to live, but I'm hoping that someday I can start making enough money for us to move in together. Fingers crossed, you know?
8. What are your worst fears? Why?
Worst fears? Hmm.
Honestly, I'm kind of scared of a lot.
Uncle Benjamin's health has been a little...not great, lately. He and Aunt Meg try to hide it, but there's something going on there. And Ben is all the way out in Texas these days, which...okay, let's set aside how crazy that is for the moment, what with all of the shootings, and the crazy weather, and the power grid always failing and stuff. He's not around to see how his dad is doing. What if something happens, and he's almost 2,000 miles away?
Jean is working to get parts, and she's working really hard at it, but...as much as I love the City, it does kind of tend to chew people up and spit them out. What if she isn't able to make it work? She's got a lot of debt, if she can't find work, she might not be able to afford to stay in the City. If she has to leave, what do I do? I mean, I don't exactly have much in the way of marketable skills, either. Could we even make it, somewhere else?
The other day, I was in the Financial District, getting photos for a puff piece on corporate greed, and a guy started having, like, a stroke or a seizure or something, right there on the sidewalk. And I didn't know what to do. I just stood there. Thankfully, some doctor was there, visiting her broker I guess, and she went and provided care, but if she hadn't been there? That guy would have died, and it would have been all my fault for not knowing what to do. But like...I can barely afford my rent, how can I be expected to be responsible for anybody else?
This shit keeps me up at night, no cap.
9. What is (are) your most prized possession(s)? What makes it (them) so special?
Too easy. My Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV. This thing is great, it's got everything I could want in a camera. 20 megapixel sensor, 5-axis stabilization, 4.5fps burst shot, and takes every lens I put on it like a champ. It has both an electronic view-finder AND a flip-down display WITH touchscreen capability. It takes USB charging, which means I can throw a battery bank in my bag, and if, by some crazy stroke of bad luck, I run out of battery (not likely! I swear I've fired off over 350+ shots on a single charge, before!), I can charge it up on the go.
Thing is rugged, too! One time, back when I was first getting started and carried my gear in, like, a purple backpack instead of a dedicated messenger bag, I got clipped by a taxi and took a spill. At the time, I only had a single multi-focal lens and a modest telephoto (I think it was like 400mm? Not super good, honestly). Both of the lenses in my bag were trashed. Just completely fucked up. But my E-M10, aside from some slight scuffing, kept working just like new. Like, seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if Olympus knew these things were gonna get dropped and banged up, and was just like, "Hey, ya know what? Let's over-design it, make a real good product, so anyone who buys it will know they can always trust us." I legit have recommended this same model to anyone who asks.
Oh! It also has Bluetooth and wi-fi, no lie. It's nice, if I sell a pic, I can just quick-share it to the editor's PC or drop it into their cloud, right from the camera. No cords needed. Super convenient.
Seriously, this camera is the best.
(Also, my Uncle Benjamin bought it for me, to replace my old Panasonic Lumix, so it's sort of sentimental.)
10. What is the biggest problem in your life right now?
Ultimately, it all comes down to money. Why do I live in (let’s be honest) a dump? I can’t afford anything better. Why do I eat beans, rice, and hotdogs like thirteen times a week? I can’t afford anything else. Why don’t Jean and I live together? We can’t afford to, because I would need a bigger place, and Jean doesn’t make enough money to even combine incomes with me for a one bedroom apartment, and she’s living where she lives because all the girls there pitch in together to afford food. Why do I keep selling the rights to my photos to newspapers, instead of collecting them into a portfolio, maybe doing a book or a gallery or something? Because then I wouldn’t even have enough money to pay for my rent and food, and I would be homeless and starving. Let’s be honest, society is sort of rigged so that in order to get ahead enough to make money, you sort of already need to have money.
If we’re being super honest, it’s the reason I go on Contracts. Like, let’s be real fam, compared to the rest of the team, to O-Natsu and Thistle and Jingle? I’m just some guy. I don’t have cool powers like they do, I can’t transform, or control plants, or change the environment, or throw a kamemeha or produce a shield or anything. And so far, The Production hasn’t given me anything that changes me, so maybe I’m not actually the person the Harbingers are looking for, but sometimes they pay real money, and I need it.
11. Describe a typical morning. How do you get ready to face the world?
What a weirdly mundane question? Alright, bet, but it’s nothing bussin.
So I usually try to wake up early, unless it was a late night the night before. Before dawn, if I can swing it, both because the city is quietly beautiful at dawn, but also because that’s when everyone else tends to start their morning activities. If you want to get good pics of people…okay, let’s back it up.
Everyone has heard, I think, of the golden hour, right? That time right before sunset when the light gets all pretty, and photos turn out better, and everyone looks photogenic, and even an amateur photographer can get just a really good shot?
That’s actually the second golden hour. The first is right after dawn. The light hits from a different direction, but the same angle, so you can get the same sort of great shots, but in ways that other photographers—the ones who sleep in—won’t ever even see. Plus, people are going about their chores, or their commutes, or their rituals at that point in the day, instead of doing whatever they want after work, like they would at sunset. So you can get some real human-interest shots.
So, yeah, I wake up, brush my teeth, throw on some clean clothes, make sure my Olympus Mark IV is charged, and head out into The City to see what there is to see.