"What is Obama the President of?"

What?! Obama is the President of the United States!

"Of America?"

What?! Yeah... of America!

"Hmmm. I suppose I haven't really gotten out a lot lately. I didn't know they had another one of those things."

An election?

"Yeah, an election."

Dude. So, who do you think would win?

"Oh, the rapping contest thing? Hmmm. Well, that's kinda tricky.

Why?

Well, what's rapping?
Sella Fonte is a staff photographer for Stoodio 32.

He Bio Sheet claims that he's attended a handful of the USA's finest photography schools, including, the Rhode Island School of Design, the San Francisco Art Institute and the Chicago Art Institute.

"Yeah, I attended all three of those schools." Shares Sella, pouring me a glass of fine Belgian beer at one of his favorite watering holes, "Well, actually I only attended their expo tables at a college fair. But honestly, if I'd applied, been excepted and actually attended, I'm certain I'd have been at the top of my class."

This comes as a surprise to me and seeing as how his resume boasts a collection of other prestigious accolades and accomplishments, I dig deeper, asking about his recent show in San Francisco, at MoMA.

"Oh yeah, that show was a massive hit!" He replies, "I sold every single piece. Some of them were really expensive, too. My Momma really knows how to put an event together."

Your momma?
Seeing as how our interview has shed quite a bit of light on some otherwise significant claims, I'm very curious to ask Sella why he lists residences in Paris, Egypt and Antarctica.

"Oh yeah. I live in all three of those places. My favorite place to park the van is on Paris Blvd. But, the cops have been pushing me off that street lately. So, I've been parking behind the Food Giant, in front of the Egypt Bar and Grill. But, that place can get really loud at night. So, I've been sleeping outside, on benches, and it's been really cold of late... kinda like Antarctica."

Sella claims to have been shooting photos since he was two years old. His Bio Sheet lists his first four words chronologically, as "Give," "Me," "The," and "Camera."

Noticing his lack of work here at Stoodio 32, I ask why he's shot so little with us, considering he's been shooting for so long.

"Honestly, I think I must have a speech impediment, or something. Because no one has ever actually given me the camera. Infact, despite being my momma's favorite photographer, I don't even own a camera."

Considering this, I ask about his one, notable photo-shoot with Stoodio 32, the "Dan Harm" shoot. Sella replies, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally used a camera for that shoot, it had a flash and everything. It was totally awesome!"

Confused, I excuse myself from the conversation and call Dan Harm. Dan connects the dots, "My shoot with Sella? Yeah, it was pretty cool. But, apparently he left his camera at his place in Paris, or maybe it was Antarctica... Anyway, I loaned him my camera. And y'know what, I don't think I've ever worked with a photographer who seemed so well trained and honest with his work."
After spending the better part of any evening with Sella, I get the feeling he has no idea "Why." Regardless, I ask him the question and for the first time in our conversation, his answer feels genuine.

"Why am I a world renowned photographer?" As he begins, he takes a long sip from his Belgian beverage, "Well, I suppose it's because I simply love photographs. Photos just sit there and tell you a story. They don't lay you off when the economy sucks, they don't leave you when your van breaks down and they never ever yell at you just because they found out you've been telling them something other than the truth. At the end of the day, I trust my photos to have my back."