Portrait Series II

Having once been a teacher I have come to learn that students can be a little suspicious of what they are learning, wondering why all of the information thrown at them is so important.  Only after completing school (and growing up a bit) do we really start to understand how history, math, science and the arts shape our lives and effect our point of view.

Jared was asked to show how he feels about school.
From his point of view: Suspicious, Curious, Apathetic

Portrait Series I

In the next few weeks I'm going to show a series of portraits I took of high school students.  The photographs show their reactions when asked a question or given a school scenario.  The results show their emotions, telling a lot about who they are and what they think.

-- You're suspicious of what a fellow student has told you.  You don't want to look gullible.
-- You're embarrassed after you found out you have been deceived and can't believe it's happened again.
-- You're angry and want revenge.

Personal Projects

I think what really keeps me going in photography (blood flowing, that type of thing) are personal projects. They are vital in helping me stay fresh and excited about photography. For the past month I have been working on a few - some are being shot as we speak and others are in the works.
I've been working on one of the projects for a while now and thought I would share some of the latest images. I am taking portraits of high school students. It started about ten years ago with my photos of students writing their thoughts on a blackboard. Now it's just the student against a white background - similar to the style of Richard Avedon.
To see more of my personal work click here
Below are some of my favorites.

Feeding the Soul

Since I teach part-time at a private school in Northern Virginia I, at times, have the good fortune of doing something quite unique. The studio art program offers a portfolio class for students who are interested in going to an art school for college. Five students in the program asked me to take their group photo for the poster which would advertise their year-end exhibit. When asked what type of photo, they answered "we are going to dress as ballerinas, just like some of the Degas paintings. We decided to shoot in a forest just off the school's campus. Now, not at all pretending to be as unique as Degas - or as talented - we set out for the forest - five students, one teacher, and me with my camera.

Putting myself in these kind of situations really gets the creative juices flowing.
It's kind of like writing this blog. Not knowing what will come of it, but knowing that the end result will bring about something unique and worth doing. It all feeds the soul - it's my inspiration.

What I really like about these was that it was all done on the spur of the moment.
No real planning, we just picked a spot and went for it. The location was ideal, the light fantastic, the students very cooperative and a lot of laughs - which is key to any photo shoot.