About Me
Im a photographer. Im a recording engineer. Im a free range soul with lofty goals and the will to document the journey. Currently Im working on publishing a book. Therefore, or perhaps, if you prefer, henceforth:
I've got this really rad art project I thought I'd tell you about...
I have been playing around with cameras and lenses in one way or another since probably about the first grade. I'll always thank my dad for letting me play with his old toys... On a road trip returning back to the world from the middle of nowhere, I brewed up this plan to approach a long form photography project that would carry me through a year and keep me in contact with people I don't know; something to keep me out of the comfort zone and on my toes as a photographer for an entire year. Sooooo...
Im trying to photograph 500 people over the course of 12 months. At the end of the project Im going to display one image of everyone I've shot on a website, www.portraits2007.com. So far, its a fully righteous bunch of rad people, so you'll be in good company. Once the website is up, I hope to publish a book, coffee table style, offering a more comprehensive overview of everything I've shot. Im currently planning on exhibiting in Malmo, Sweden and Amsterdam once the project is completed.
I thought it might be easy to shoot 500 people in a year. Why not, right? Im always traveling around, Im really sociable, everyone likes to have their picture taken. Bwahaha, I classically underestimated how challenging this would be. Its been a completely awesome adventure so far, but I need your help :)
Here's how the whole shebang works:
The theme for the project is portraits of strangers photographed during a conversation. We'll meet up in a public place, (for NYC, Union Square seems to be incredibly convenient) and have a quick chat over coffee or hanging around the park for 10 or 20 minutes, over the course of which I'll shoot a roll of film. At the end, you'll sign a release so I can put up your photo on the website, we'll high five and a few weeks later, I'll email you some photos from the shoot that you can use however you'd like.
The vibe is extraordinarily laid back. I work in the movies professionally and this project is my free time away from large production world: its just me and a still camera. Totally low key. I shoot with available light, dont use a flash, dont have a crew of people leering, its a straight up documentary affair. Its a very easy thing to sit for and if you enjoy my style, I think you might just find the photos to be wonderful :)
If we set up an appointment to shoot, Id absolutely LOVE it if you brought a friend, boyfriend or girlfriend with you that might be into being part of the project!
Thus far there are a few celebrities, handful of musicians, some models, but the project is really about capturing an honest side of real people, Im absolutely open to shoot anyone. If you'd like to take part, I want to take your photo, simple as that!
It's an International project so come represent!! So far I've photographed amazing people in NYC (my home town), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Black Rock City, Naples, Amsterdam, Groningen, Malmo and Copenhagen. Planning on being back in Northern Europe in late March 2008.
On the technical side, for those interested, the entire project is %100 film based. I use a rangefinder camera, with a normal lens, shoot black and white film and hand develop everything myself. Most of the cameras and lenses I use are from the early to mid 60's, so the pictures tend to have somewhat of a vintage look to them. Im a big fan of 1960's Life magazine editorial photographers and tend to wear that influence on my sleeve :) Each city and season has its own unique film stock, lens and developer combination so each section of the project will have somewhat of a distinctive fingerprint.
Well, that just about sums it up. Please take a look in my pics, you'll find inside the portraits folder a handful of photos shot in the last few months for this project. They are all candid, all shot under the circumstances described above and a realistic projection of what you can expect to receive from me if we shoot together. If you can see yourself in one of those photos, please send me a message!
Since this is my only profile, I should probably mention that in addition to taking rad photos, I own a recording studio (www.glideonfade.com) and have a wonderful day job as a recording engineer enjoying a fine balancing act producing rock and roll records and engineering production sound in the film industry. My production credits include, in one medium or another:
Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Willy Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Brant Bjork, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Fatso Jetson, Mondo Generator, Queens of the Stoneage, Clutch, Law And Order: SVU, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, 30 Rock, Kidnapped, The Black Donnellys and Saturday Night Live.
