Announcing a New Project!
“In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.
We’re talking about practice here, not plagiarism - plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work off as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering. It’s like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works...
You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes. ”
I have been listening to a plethora of podcasts, ranging from Tim Ferriss to Lewis Howes to Chase Jarvis. These individuals are phenomenal interviewers and are able to dig into their guests much deeper than a traditional interviewer would be able to. I have also been intrigued by Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York (HONY) project, where he combines these deeper interests and questions with photography.
After looking to these heroes of mine, I have decided to take on a similar project as HONY, and taking inspiration from these artists in terms of the types of questions they ask. Currently, my project may not seem all that different, and there are countless individuals who have the same idea. What I hope to do over time is put my own stamp on it and learn as much as I can about being an artist and being a human, and what stories I can find along the way.
I am still very much a portrait artist, and love creating conceptual, narrative pieces. The issue is there can be many moving parts to those photographs, from coordinating with models to wardrobe to weather... It sometimes is not cheap either, and it is all very time consuming. I feel a project, similar to HONY, will keep my creativity and inspiration flowing between those more elaborate shoots. And, who knows, maybe I will still be able to incorporate those conceptual portraits into this project. This project has only just begun (I have two people I have already talked to and photographed, so look for those posts soon!) and only time will reveal what it will turn into.
I hope you will follow along, and if I have not reached out to you but you want to be a part of this, please let me know! I would love to be able to bring along as many as I can with me on this journey.