We want to live in Quentin Belt’s New York

“I walked up to the Olsen twins and I was about to take their picture, and they were not having it,” says New York-based Quentin Belt, dialling in from one of the city’s many parks. ​“I believe it was Mary-Kate. She was like, ​‘Who the fuck do you think you are? Don’t approach me like that.’ It was very funny at the time – all love. One of our mutual friends told her, ​‘Let him do his thing’, and I got the picture. It was a good feeling for me.” This is just one of a slew of stories Quentin has up his sleeve – the result of 15 years spent shooting the city’s nightlife scene and frequenting many IYKYK functions.

His Instagram – which was once under the username @butt.dick.buffy in homage to his first blog, Butt, Dick, Pussy, where he posted pics of nights out with pals like Haley Wollens and Shayne Oliver – is a visual chronicle of the city’s most creative inhabitants, usually on his iPhone. More often than not, Quentin’s lens is aimed at friends: Paloma Elsesser cosying up to her boyfriend, Vaquera’s Patric DiCaprio fresh off the tattoo table, Chloë Sevigny in a Vaquera sailor hat, Evan Mock clutching his skateboard on the street. The usual.

Before Quentin’s journey into photography, he was in the ballroom scene in Culver City, Los Angeles, where he was born. After high school, he worked in retail, often visiting actor friends at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. During a stint at American Apparel in Beverly Hills, Quentin snapped pictures of his colleagues in disco pants and cut-out leotards. Soon enough, the allure of New York was getting harder to ignore. A weekend trip in 2010 soon turned into a three year stretch in the city, where he’s now based full-time. ​“I went out every single night and took pictures of everything I went to. That’s how it all started.”

When you first moved to New York, Ryan McGinley was one of the first photographers to mention loving your blog. What was that like?

It was incredible. He became a mentor of sorts for me. During a Q&A, he was asked who his favourite photographers were, and he mentioned all these greats. Then he was like, ​“And my favourite photo blog is this dude, Quentin Belt.” And then he started casting people to shoot from my blog.

How long did the blog run for?

From 2009 to 2013. I stopped because I was working in retail and at an antique store. I then went back to LA because I was having a bit of a hard time in New York. I was doing a lot of drugs, and my parents were like, ​“You’ve got to bring your ass home.” So I went back and stopped the blog, but then I picked things up again when Instagram took off.

How did a weekend in New York turn into three years?

In LA, I was working at a party called Moustache Mondays, which was a downtown art, gay, fashion party. New York and LA are very different, but there are very similar scenes. When I came to New York, I was immediately going to Ladyfag and GHE20G0TH1K parties, and I knew Raul Lopez and Shayne Oliver from MySpace. I was in all the right places, which is why I wanted to come to the city. I always knew New York was it for me.

There’s a real formula to the way you capture people. It’s candid but gritty. What do you look for in the people you shoot?

It’s a look, it’s a vibe. It sounds like gatekeeping but it’s very IYKYK. I hate saying this, because it makes me sound full of myself, but within a certain world I know everybody. So when they see me on the street, a lot of people [have] come to expect [a photo]. If I ask to take your picture, I want you to take it as a compliment. Regardless of how you feel that day, I see beauty in you, and I want to post what I see in that moment.

Do people ever turn you down?

I’ve taken Alek Wek’s pictures a few times but the first time I saw her, it was a no. I died – I was so heartbroken. But eventually I got a picture of her. She’s awesome.

If you hadn’t moved to New York, would you still be a photographer?

I would definitely still be taking pictures. But I still wouldn’t classify myself as a photographer. I have an eye. I pull up, I do my thing. I book a lot of jobs because they understand my taste and know what I can bring. And I shoot a lot of events. I’m never at an event longer than 20 minutes, because I’m almost 40 years old. I get in, get my pics and dip out.

What are the last 10 pictures in your camera roll?

It was a hot day in Dimes Square, so it’s full of homies.

So when are you publishing a book or exhibiting your work, Quentin?

This is my year of saying yes. People have said for years, ​“I’ll help you put a book together!” but I wasn’t in the healthiest space to put my energy into that. For a long time, I’ve been surviving. Now I’m about to start thriving.