Interview with Chuck Shacochis
"The man behind Pecker's photos"

How did you get the job as the photographer behind Pecker?
It's a weird thing. I've known John Waters for about 5 years -- I met him at the photography store where I work. He never knew I was actually a photographer, although I did go to his house once to show him a short film I had made.

When John was ready to film Pecker, he called New York photographer Matt Mahurin. Matt was busy at the time and recommended me since I live in the Baltimore area. John realized that I was the same guy from the camera store, and that's how it all came about.

How did the actual photography work?
After each scene was filmed where Eddie (Furlong) would take a photo, I would come in after they finished the shot and stand where Eddie had stood, and take some photos. I was there just about every day.

You shot while the film was being made? But Pecker's photos are everywhere in the movie, so didn't you have to shoot in advance?
I had a runner take the film and get it developed while we were shooting. Each night I would go to the darkroom in my house and select photos from the contact sheets and make enlargements. Then I'd bring them to the set the next day and show them to John.

Where was the film shot?
Everything was filmed in Hampden area of Baltimore. The funny thing is that I had lived there a while ago and had shot a lot of photos there when I was in school. Shooting in alleys, taking pictures of people I knew, and so on.

What kind of camera does Pecker use, and what did you shoot with?
Pecker uses a beautiful old Canonette, probably from late 60s. It's a rangefinder, very quiet. The camera was completely functional and every once in a while Eddie would load it up with film. As for me, I used an old Nikon 2020 in manual mode.

Were you also the official stills photographer on the set?
Not at all -- Michael Ginsburg was the stills photographer. I was the Pecker photographer.

You said you met John Waters at a camera store. Is that your full-time job?
I still work there, it's a large professional camera store called Service Photo. I also do freelance editorial and illustration photography for local publications like the Baltimore Sun, City Paper, the Washington Post Magazine, and so on.

Do you see yourself shooting on a film set again?
This is such a strange thing -- nobody's done photographs like this on set and then have them incorporated into the film itself. Of course I'd love to see my work for Pecker lead to higher end editorial work.

Have you seen Pecker yet?
No I haven't. I've seen a couple of dailies, that's all. There's a Baltimore premiere on the 16th and I'm going to go to the cast and crew screening the same day if I can make it. Otherwise I'll be at the premiere.