[funky music]
For photographer Josh Arter,
art can seem two-dimensional.
- Josh Arter: When I go out to take photos,
it's over my lunch break at work.
So, I have, like, you know, 45 minutes to an hour
to walk as far as I can
in the radius of where I'm at.
- Angela: But that doesn't bother Josh.
In fact, that's kind of what he's going for.
- I put forth an extra effort, no matter where I am
to always constantly be looking and seeing, you know,
is there something that looks interesting?
Is there something composition-wise
that could be really striking?
- Angela: So striking that he's taking his photography game
to the next level.
- I used to wear headphones
and, like, listen to music or podcasts or something.
But now I don't because, you know, nine times outta ten,
somebody's gonna be like, you know,
"Hey, excuse me, what is that?"
[laughs]
[8-bit gaming music]
- Angela: Picture this:
a handheld gaming console
with its very own digital camera.
Today, it might not sound that cool.
But in the 90s, the idea was pretty radical.
- Josh: Nintendo knew what they were doing because the bulb,
the housing for the lens, can actually spin 180 degrees.
So, you could take selfies, so...
They were way ahead of their time. [chuckles]
- Angela: The image quality, not so much.
- I've had a couple people
who have described the quality of the image
as digital dirt,
which I thought was pretty cool.
It's essentially four colors.
It's white, light gray, dark gray, and black.
And that's it.
Sometimes it's like, you know, I take a picture.
I'm like, "Oh, that's gonna look great."
And then, when I get home and finally dump it off my Game Boy,
it's like, "I don't even know what I'm looking at."
[laughs]
- Angela: But that doesn't mean it's 'game over.'
Sometimes, you just need to find the right combo.
- Josh: Due to the limitations,
there are certain times where it's like, you know,
this photo would look really great,
but I have to come back to shoot it
because the sun's at the wrong angle and all of that.
It's definitely a camera that isn't so easy
just to rip off a bunch of shots and be done.
[8-bit gaming music]
- Angela: He bought the camera
with one goal in mind;
To capture and showcase the city of Milwaukee
bit by bit.
- Josh: There's a lot to experience in the city.
And then, in turn, you know,
with my camera, there's a lot to capture.
- Angela: So much so
that he created an Instagram account to share his work.
- You know, when I first started doing it,
people didn't really get it.
They were like, you know,
"A. I didn't even realize that Nintendo made a camera.
"B. Like, okay?
kind of a really niche audience for that."
People have really started to come around.
It's kind of the nostalgic feelings that surround Game Boys
and video games.
- Angela: Uploading hundreds of pictures,
displaying some of his favorite landmarks in Milwaukee.
- Josh: The art museum is really great.
The Hoan Bridge is really great to shoot because
it's such stark lines and you can get really good contrast.
And too, it might sound crazy, but even along the Hoan Bridge
with the riverfront, there are these rails.
And so, when the sun pours through them,
it casts really strong shadows,
and you can get some really, really cool photos of that, as well.
- Angela: For Josh, his art not only takes you
for a spin around Milwaukee,
it also allows him to take a moment
and pause
and think back to a different time...
- Josh: They're like, "Oh, my God, is that a video game?
"Oh, my God, I had one of those.
It's so cool."
- Angela: ...where everything felt pixel perfect.
- Josh: It really does evoke those memories of childhood.
Whether it's Christmas morning and you rip open
a Super Nintendo or a Game Boy or something,
and just thinking like, "Wow, oh my God!
"Oh, I wanna get this game,
or this game, or this game."
For me, like I said, it is-- it's just thinking back to
all my favorite games that I've played growing up.
It's kind of fun to take a step back in the future
and say like, "This is what it used to be." [laughs]
[inspirational music]