Sherman Ave Interviews: Justin Barbin

If you’ve been to a Northwestern sorority’s formal (ANY sorority), or if you’ve just creepily stalked pictures from any given formal, then you definitely know the name Justin Barbin.  A photographer/entrepreneur/all-around awesome dude, Barbin graduated from Northwestern in 2011, and, after moving back to his hometown of Houston, began to dabble in his longtime hobby of photography.  Flash forward to 3 years later, and Barbin is one of the best-known names at Northwestern – not only for his skills as a photographer, but for his personality, his style, and having a name that is eerily similar to that of Justin Bieber.  Barbin was nice enough to take time out of his very busy schedule to sit down with Sherman Ave travesties Ross Packingham, Prince Giblets, and Felicity Jenkins, and allowed them to ask him a few questions about himself, his passion, and a lot of stupid shit.  Mostly just stupid shit.  Ross Packingham: So we’ll start with a few questions about your background– Justin Barbin: Like ethnicity, or…? Packingham: That isn’t what we had in mind. Felicity Jenkins: But feel free to answer that as well. Packingham: So from my understanding, you just popped out of your mother’s womb with a Nikon DSLR in hand. Barbin: Canon. Packingham: That’s embarrassing, I didn’t do my research. And there are so many pictures online with the camera. Anyway, is that why she hated you? Barbin: She hated me more because I was a painful birth. Packingham: Because of the camera.  It’s larger than the baby. Barbin: Exactly, have you seen the lenses that come with the camera? This one alone adds six or seven pounds to my body. So like 10 pounds, plus me, I was 6 pounds and 4 oz. Packingham: That’s a 16 lb baby. That’s like a bowling ball. Prince Giblets: So you came in like a bowling ball? Packingham: I hoped we’d wait at least a little bit longer for the Miley references. Giblets: Nope. Barbin: It’s never too early! Felicity: We’ve got a quota to fill. Giblets: So would you say that you get paid for each event on like a per-profile pic basis?  Or is there some other metric? Barbin: [laughs] I wish!…Although I give pretty good rates compared to other businesses I work with. I do give discounts to sororities and student shows. But maybe a few years down the line, I could do–how much do you think I’d make, if it were per profile picture? Giblets: I’m speaking as an econ major, so I know what I’m talking about, and you could probably make, by my estimate, at least 20 million dollars. Barbin: For one formal? Giblets: Sure. Packingham:  How old were you when you realized photographing drunk people was your calling? Barbin: I was probably 15. Felicity: So everyone I’ve talked to about you has said you’re an incredibly, incredibly nice person. I don’t buy it. I think they’re all lying and you’re actually a total doucher. So can you tell us the worst thing you’ve ever done? And keep in mind that the header to this interview will contain your answer to this question. Barbin: Oh my god. Well I ripped my mom open, so that was a pretty terrible thing to do. Packingham: With a camera. Felicity: I would never do that to my mom. Packingham: There aren’t that many jokes I can make off the top of my head about matricide. Sadly. [silence] Packingham: Where did you grow up? Barbin: I grew up in the Philippines and Houston, Texas. Packingham: Houston, Texas. Wow, I’m sorry, we can talk about something else. Did you like Houston? Barbin: Um, it was good for what I needed it to be. I mean, I was there for middle school and high school— Packingham: So a place? Barbin: A roof over my head, there was oxygen, that was great. And I’m glad I’m here in Chicago now though. Packingham: How long did you live in the Philippines? Barbin: Five years. The first five years of my life. Packingham: Nice.  Do you go back? Barbin: I haven’t been in probably two decades. Packingham: Is it nice? Barbin: Parts of it. The beaches. Felicity: Nicer than Houston? Barbin: Yeah, there’s a lot of trash. And then the oil spill, it hit Houston. We’re 45 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. Packingham: Yeah that’s no fun. But BP has awesome Olympics commercials now, so it’s better. Barbin: They make you cry, right? Packingham: Nope. Well, just a little bit. Felicity: So I understand you went to Northwestern.  Is there a reason you didn’t at least choose a school that breaks the US News and World Report Top 10? Or did you just really want to live in Boston? Barbin: Actually, UChicago was my number one school for like two years out of high school, and then I visited, and then I realized that it’s not the place for me. I mean, I wanted to be in Chicago, so my brother told me to apply to Northwestern, and coming from Texas, we don’t really know a lot about Northwestern. So I just sent in my application probably 45 minutes before I went out to a New Year’s party. No joke. I was like scrambling, trying to finish the final question, sent it in the email and then I rushed for New Year’s. And I came here, I was in Chicago for a week when I visited Northwestern first and then UChicago, and I just loved the people. I read a lot of signs, like spiritually. I’m that kind of person–and there were just a lot of signs pointing to Northwestern. There were so many nice people towards me and it was just really good energy around you. Packingham: Were the UChicago signs just like, pointing you away from UChicago? Felicity: “Do not enter.” Barbin: “You’re gonna die there.” Packingham: A more serious question: Pretty much everyone at Northwestern gives up on following their dreams and studies Econ instead. You […]