The Art of the Personal Project: Chad Holder

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Chad Holder

The same street, the same drive into the studio, the same everyday- everything begins to look the same.  Egypt was a journey of discovery and exploring how I see when I am simply shooting for myself, I call it having fresh eyes. By leaving behind the familiar surroundings of home, to open myself up to new experiences and perspective. In a foreign place, every sight, sound, and texture are novel, and this sense of novelty can awaken the senses. Moreover, the beauty and wonder of new landscapes and natural features can be inspiring and evoke a sense of reverence and gratitude for the world around us.  Making pictures is more than a job- it’s something that feeds my soul.

       

To see more of this project, click here.

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Matt Odom

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Matt Odom

This work explores the love for Bar B Que in the south.  It is often said here down in the south that Along with football, religion, and politics, BBQ is one of the four topics that Southerners will never agree upon”. My hope is that for this photo essay, the viewer will get a small sample of how each BBQ establishment takes on their own personality and  take on providing the southern delicacy of “Bar B Que”.

   

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Christian Tisdale

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Christian Tisdale

Everyone in our industry talks about how photographers need to shoot personal work. We’ve all heard it, and I, like so many busy photographers, always pushed that stuff aside. Why would I shoot unpaid work when I could be shooting paid projects? Then Makers came along and changed all of that.

Makers is a series of images that focuses on the human experience of making – it’s about the patina and scars on experienced tools and experienced hands, finely tuned workshops perfected over thousands of hours of iteration, and individuals that dedicate their lives to creating. Makersis an answer to the numbness of consumerism based in the mass-produced goods that we’ve become so accustomed to.

I’ve always had a burning need to create things, anything – I’m obsessed with the act of making and the attitude it takes to create something from nothing, to create a tiny piece of order from the chaos. I love the spirit of creation, regardless of what the end result is. Which is where Makers was born.

I’ve been actively shooting Makers for nearly 2 years now, and it has completely changed my career. The project has grown from a couple of creative sessions with artisans in my small town, to a significant body of work that has opened doors to the biggest paid projects I’ve ever worked on. It has also shown me this warm and inspiring community of wildly interesting Makers in the Vancouver area and beyond. I’m so thankful for the ways that this project has affected my work and my life.

I hope you enjoy these images as much as I’ve enjoyed making them.

To see more of this project, click here

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Damien Carter

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

 

Today’s featured artist:  Damien Carter

 

No one can forget the images of the senseless and heartless murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and many are also aware that only a few months earlier on Feb 23rd Amaud Arbery was also murdered.

It was Amaud’s murder that was very personal and the genesis of this project. He was chased down and hunted while jogging in a neighborhood in Georgia.

When watching the footage on the news, my son walked in and before I could turn it off, he saw the story and began asking questions.

Besides the expected, “why did they do that to him” he also asked the more jarring, “is that going to happen to you dad”?

I wasn’t even thinking about myself, but I stopped for a minute and struggled to say, “no that wouldn’t be me” to try to reassure him but immediately started thinking – it could have been me.

Any of these murders could have been any of us black men. Across all walks of life, from boys to men we are targeted. And whether we are sleeping, walking, running, driving, putting our hands up, putting our hands behind our backs, or riding our bikes, we are targeted.

The vilification of the victims is an age-old tactic to dehumanize them and to in some ways justify their murders.

But I reject that. I believe that all these unarmed men deserved to live.

So, my objectives with this personal project are simple:

To shine as much light on the issue and to “speak their names” so they aren’t forgotten.

Some of the names will be known but many others most people won’t be familiar with, so we speak their names to honor them and remember them.

And every black man in America realizes: It Could Have Been Me.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Images from the ongoing series: “It Could Have Been Me” By Damien Carter,

(@Dcarterphotography) a portrait and lifestyle photographer out of the Washington DC area.

Note: on the back of each card that had a victim’s name on front, was the news story about the actual killing and the men read those while I captured their raw reactions and emotions.

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Greg Anderson

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

 

Today’s featured artist:  Greg Anderson

 

After attending The International Center of Photography, I assisted several photographers and then went out on my own in 2004. Times got tough in 2008 and I took whatever jobs I could get, happily. I was making a living as a professional photographer, but I was shooting food, catalog jewelry and architecture- not very well by the way. I was uninspired by the direction my career was taking me and it became apparent I needed show clients what I wanted to be hired for.

 

In 2012, I saw a local news story about the “National Beard and Mustache Championships” having just taken place down the street from my studio in Las Vegas. I reached out to the producer of the event who invited me to join them for the competition in New Orleans the following year. In late 2013, after months of testing lighting styles in anticipation, I flew down there with an assistant and all of the gear we could carry on the plane. All in, it cost right around $3000 to travel down and do the shoot.

 

The result of the project was a body of work that I loved making and I now had international exposure after the gallery got shared and went viral online to the tune of 1.2 million impressions in the first week and over 2 million in the first month. I immediately sent out a calendar, email promo and then a printed tri-fold promo to capitalize on the attention. Several advertising agencies took notice, and the resulting shoots and global exposure made the initial investment of $3000 money well spent.

 

I just shot the National Beard and Mustache Championships for the 10th year in 2022. Each time I have tried to evolve the project with subtle lighting and background changes to make them feel a little different. I’m planning on shooting an international competition to round out the project before self-publishing a coffee table book, that I’ll then send out to ad agencies as a promotional piece. I have made quite a few friends photographing the world of professional bearding and don’t have any plans of stopping. It’s just too fun.

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Hugh Kretschmer

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Hugh Kretschmer

Working Title: Boxed

This project’s impetus started with watching boardwalk chalk artists create elongated illustrations that, when viewed from a distance, foreshortened to appear three-dimensional, especially when people interacted with them. In my approach, the opposite happens- a 3D collage assemblage that ends up appearing in two dimensions.

I chose an outside corner as the overall shape because I wasn’t quite sure my theory would work. I had to keep it simple. I realized the “box” metaphor when I made my first sketches and thought about what that meant.

To me, a box can either be protection or a prison, depending on the subject. If in the form of protection, an environmental subject comes to mind. If in the form of imprisonment, then social issues seem applicable. So, I chose the latter as my first subject, and my friend, Cash Danielsen, came to mind.

When I approached him initially, I wanted to make sure the metaphor was something he could relate to in his experience as a transgender person. He confirmed that, indeed, it did, and away we went.

What I find so exciting about this project are all the possibilities in the vast array of subject matter and the technical aspects this process demands. It involves a precise workflow that I thrive on as an artist. For the illusion to succeed, all working parts must be duplicated over two capture sessions. Everything is marked, measured, calculated, and recorded throughout the entire project. Only in this way can the process deliver an illusion created in front of the camera. It’s that same outcome I’ve strived for throughout my 32-year-long practice, and I never seem to grow tired of its magic.

~Hugh

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: John Dyer

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  John Dyer

Mariachi-John Dyer

They file in one by one, these kids, carrying their instruments. A young man with his harp, three more with trumpets, two young women with violins. A tenor guitar or vihuela, a large bass guitar or guitarrón. These are mariachi musicians.

They arrange themselves on the stage in two semi-circular lines. Violins and guitars in front, trumpets in back.

Finally, the singer walks in and takes her place in front of the group facing the audience.  She is dressed in a colorful, form-fitting floral, floor-length dress.  Her black shiny hair is pulled back in a bun fixed with colorful ribbons. She carries a large black sombrero trimmed in gold.

These are high school kids from La Grulla, Texas and musically refined beyond their years.

They wear Charro-inspired uniforms. Men in beautifully embroidered pants with rows of buttons down the outside of their legs, a short, waist length jacket also embroidered, a white shirt and colorful silk ties.  The young women wear the same uniform except they wear long fitted skirts that fall to their boot tops.

Mariachi is a Mexican style of music dating from the 18th century. The groups play a variety of musical styles including rancheros, corridas, cumbias, huapangos, boleros, etc.

The music begins. A bolero, a romantic song. The singer is very dramatic and emotional in her delivery.  She holds the microphone with one hand and with the other gestures with outstretched hand to the heavens, then makes a fist and pulls her hand to her heart. Such emotion! She sounds like a mature woman who has loved and lost and loved again. I think to myself: this is a 17-year-old girl!  How did she learn to sing like that? How does she know to make her voice laugh and cry?

These portraits were done at the Mariachi Extravaganza in San Antonio, Texas.  It’s an important yearly contest that has been going on for more than 20 years.

To see more of this project, click here

 

 

 

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Adam Pass

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:   Adam Pass

 

“As an artist, I am constantly seeking inspiration for my work. What could be more inspiring than the humble Icelandic hot dog? This legendary street food can be found on nearly every corner in the country. Their abundance and affordability make them a go-to snack for locals and visitors alike.

But beyond the delicious flavor and convenience, I was drawn to the quiet beauty of the experience. An empty late-night stand offers a sense of calm and solitude in the midst of a busy city. From the steaming sausages on the grill and the colorful condiment bars, to the vendor preparing the hotdogs with care, each photograph tells a story of tradition and the simple pleasures of life. Through my photography, I sought to capture the quiet, meditative side of this Icelandic staple.

Whether you prefer yours with ketchup and mustard or the more traditional toppings of sweet brown mustard and crispy fried onions, there is something for everyone to enjoy. If you ever find yourself in Iceland, be sure to grab a hot dog and take a moment to soak in the unique atmosphere and culture of this beautiful country.”

 

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Tyrone Turner

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:   Tyrone Turner

As frigid wind whipped across the ship’s bow, I held the railing with one hand and steadied my camera with the other. In front of me stretched the Bellingshausen Sea, off the coast of Western Antarctica. I was there — my second journey to the region around the southernmost continent — early this year on a five-week voyage as a photographic expert aboard the National Geographic Endurance. A small group of passengers and I stood on the deck together, wrapped up tightly against the below-freezing temperatures, documenting this otherworldly landscape.

Pancakes of sea ice covered the waters as far as the eye could see. A lone emperor penguin tucked its head into its chest of feathers. As we sailed past seals resting on the ice, they raised their heads and promptly slid into the water. This frozen world seemed so different and foreboding — and yet, at the same time, familiar. In a strange way, I felt connected to my subtropical birthplace thousands of miles away — in the coastal regions of southeastern Louisiana.

Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image)A September 2005 aerial photo of a flooded New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina. The storm’s surge of floodwaters burst through levees, flooding 80% of the city and killing more than 1800 people in New Orleans and on the Gulf coast. (Bottom image) Fractured sea ice near the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in November 2017.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) Cracks in sea ice extend from the ship’s bow in the Lemaire Channel of the Antarctic Peninsula in November 2017. (Bottom image) Oil and gas pipeline and exploration canals cut into the marshlands near Larose, La., in November 2006.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) Spyboy Al Polite of the Mardi Gras Indian tribe Fi Yi Yi walks through the streets of downtown New Orleans on Carnival Day, February 2013. (Bottom image) A view of the glaciers and mountains from the Gerlache Strait on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula in February 2022.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) Maurice Phillips walks through marsh grass near his home in Grand Bayou, southeast of New Orleans, in March 2006. The village is only accessible by boat and is increasingly vulnerable to storm surge because of the loss of the surrounding wetlands. (Bottom image) Adelie penguins walk on sea ice near the Fish Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula in February 2022.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) Pete Vujnovich Jr. holds a photo of what was once his grandparents’ home as he stands in that spot in the marshlands near Empire, La., in May 2004. (Bottom image) Icebergs float on the Lemaire Channel waters off the Antarctic Peninsula in January 2022. The increase in sea level rise from glacial runoff has the potential to overwhelm coastal regions around the world.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) A king penguin colony on the South Georgia Island’s in February 2022. Scientists warn that, in the future, warming oceans and commercial fishing could negatively affect the penguins’ food sources. (Bottom image) An aerial photo of thousands of cars flooded by Hurricane Katrina near New Orleans in April 2007.
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
In the top photo (2004), dead oak trees line a highway near Leeville, La. Salt water intrusion from oil and gas canals and subsidence have degraded the area marshlands and contributed to the land loss in coastal Lousiana. In the bottom photo (2022), an iceberg floats in the Bellingshausen Sea in Western Antarctica. Icebergs come from the natural calving at the edges of the ice sheets on the Antarctic continent. However, recent studies have shown that the ice loss from calving is increasing and could cause Òsignificant sea-level rise in the future.Ó
Antarctica/Lousiana Diptych Project
(Top image) A portrait of Everidge Green Jr., 6 years old, in the window of his grandfather’s rebuilt home in New Orleans in August 2014. His older cousin and great grandmother died in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. (Bottom image) The mountains of South Georgia and clouds are reflected in the windows of the National Geographic Endurance in February 2022.

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Ian Spanier

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Ian Spanier

MoTo

Two days before a quarantine order was issued (March 2020) I had begun my latest personal project. The concept was a series of portraits of motorcycle riders, chosen partially for the bike they rode, but more on the individual. Whenever I embark on a personal project, I do so in part to always have a project going on in the background to my normal commercial work, and secondly to find a new challenge for myself. Usually, this is in the form of creating a new form of lighting or in approaching shoots differently. I find this to be a great means of growing as a photographer and adding techniques to my arsenal of lighting options for my assignment work.

In my last body of work, Right Next Door, I chose to approach all my portraits with minimal lighting, and instead of my normal heavily technical approach for lighting, I chose to simply “bang” a light into a wall or ceiling to light my subjects. For MoTo, I wanted to shoot with a much deeper depth of field for my portraits, specifically an aperture of f20 in opposition to my normal comfort range of f8 and wider. This would of course mean the need for MORE lighting. To add to the challenge, I wanted to create this look in my home entryway and living room. This presented a series of challenges for space, obstacles and length and height limitations. What I did not realize, was how this shoot would shape how I would work for the rest of the pandemic.

Then the quarantine was ordered.

Like most, I had no idea what would be next, how long we would be quarantined, and what the next step would be. More so, how would be career be affected? An opportunity to take a free Covid Compliance Officer Training Course was offered by ASMP, so I decided to take the course. I had no plans to be an officer, but this would give me a better understanding of things to come.

Five weeks past, and I was churning out the results of my first shoot, and absolutely loving the results…but I was stuck. I really wanted to continue, but Hollywood was literally shut down. How could I continue to shoot when everything was shut down? Well, I now had some tools…I knew what a “safe” shoot looked like, and a way to turn my living room into a white studio. As was already my practice, I shoot with a CamRanger 2, a fantastic camera accessory that allows for a jpg to be wirelessly sent to an iPad, iPhone or computer. This allows for my clients on set to see images in near real time, and in this case, my subject to see from the recommended six-foot distance while we are working. I am not one to ever really sit still, so with the belief that I could work safely with my newly gained knowledge, I began to seek out more subjects. Some subjects I knew, either from previous shoots whom I knew were riders, or some pervious connections of mine who I just noticed they were motorcycle owners. From there, I used the likely/unlikely source of Instagram to do so. By searching through images of motorcycles, then whittling down to Los Angeles, I was able to make connections with more riders. I simply reached out, and asked, sharing my images along the way. With images, I was able to easily explain my concept. Sure, there was skeptical responses from some, Coronavirus or not, but it always helps to have images to back up the request. Slowly, I was able to add subject two, three, four, and so on. One unplanned benefit arose, which was this manner of shooting, combined with the knowledge of a newly appointed Compliance Officer, I began to reach out to clients, and let them know I was ready and willing to work, and how.

My next subject was found through a conversation with a model agent I regularly spoke with. She had wanted to connect me with one of her models, who just happened to ride a bike. I explained my new process and how we could safely do a shoot and check off another subject. Add to that, this inspired the same agent to suggest me to a contact of hers who needed a clothing catalogue photographed but was stuck how with the limitation of the now lengthy quarantine. I presented the process and BOOM, assignment! Now I truly had a means to keep working, despite the limitations. My new client stayed in Arizona, comfortably in her living room, watching my shoot on ZOOM, with the ability to talk to both me and the carefully scheduled models (who were separated by 30 min windows so I could clean/sanitize in-between), and see my images in real time thanks to CamRanger 2’s ability to be on a dual WIFI band from my home while ZOOM was also running.

From here, I kept rolling, seeking out subjects from IG as well as recommendations from my subjects, and on and on. Finally, my hope was to round out the project with a Motorcycle Club…easier said than done. Nearly six months later, after many rejections ranging from “we have members who are photographers, so we wouldn’t want to have any conflicts,” to simple “we are not interested” responses, I finally found a willing club. I sensed the reluctance of Venice Vintage Moto Club president Dayne Ashbaugh, but I persisted, and he ultimately agreed to help. It took a couple months, but finally we had a plan to photograph fourteen members, all in one morning, this included members, as well as probate members along with their bikes. Now, as I mentioned, the idea was more about the riders than the bikes, but per Dayne’s request, the guys would love to be shot with their bikes. Worth it for sure, as the vintage bikes are quite special.  Unlike my home location, we chose to shoot outside, which presents many other challenges, but as I always say, I call them challenges, not problems for a reason, because challenges are meant to be solved, and I love a challenge.

Shooting in the back of Dayne’s high end window company, the morning was spent mostly in the shade of the building, but I came prepared for sun with some 4×4 black floppy flags and thankfully, as it is LA, some of the guys were in the business, so they happily (and thankfully) lent a hand playing grip as well as shoot some great behind the scenes pics.

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Emily Hawkes

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Emily Hawkes

 

For this personal project, I collaborated with prop stylist/crafter Andrea Greco to conceptualize a retro-themed shoot for the holidays. We were inspired by a cover from a Patti Page Christmas album and started with the intention of recreating the cover with our spin. Our goal was to create something retro-inspired, but with a modern edge. From there, we thought about what other scenes might happen in this world and brought on food stylist Erika Joyce to create a fantastic 70s-era dinner party spread. We wove elements from our own childhood holiday memories through the scenes, as well as the poppy colors and vintage style I tend to gravitate towards in my work.

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Jonathan Beller

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Jonathan Beller

There are a lot of misunderstandings around so-called “fringe” hobbies. Fans of all sorts are seen as strange, odd outsiders. In the Airsoft sport there are assumptions made that since the participants dress in camouflage and play tactical roles, they are themselves para-military gun nuts. I have not found that to be true.

The photos in my personal project Instagram.com/Airsoft portraits focus on costume, but more importantly, who is inside the costume. So often we see that the human is so unlike the stereotypical muscle dude of an actual neo-patriot today. The fun of the play is in the social interactions of these often young, somewhat nerdy all-gender players. You can’t imagine any of them storming the White House. This is a social hobby for them, a way to connect.

The individuality of each player is highlighted by their choice of gear. Some of the outfits have inspired the phrase: “Gucci Gear”, because high-end expression of personality is part of the role play. Part of the appeal of airsoft is also the location. Airsoft venues tend to be places most don’t have access to, like abandoned properties and buildings. As a fan of repurposed places, the fringes of society’s places intrigue me. There the faces look out toward my camera, and we see that they are relatable. Just people, and that we can know them, and they are like anyone else.

My personal interest is in what makes us similar, and how we express our individuality simultaneously through visual expression. So, whether they’re wearing simple camo or a full ghillie suit, real people always emerge.

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Cheryl Clegg

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

 

Today’s featured artist:  Cheryl Clegg

The Endangered Lobstermen

On September 8, 2022, the non-profit, Monterey Bay Aquarium put American lobster on its seafood watch “red list,” telling all to avoid buying lobster.  The reason was not because lobster is over fished, it is because of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.  There are 350 endangered North Atlantic Right Whales left and the non-profit believes less lobstering will save more Right Whales. The claim is that the whales are constantly getting entangled in fishing gear.  As a long time, Maine visitor for over 30 years, I know the fishermen have changed gear in order to protect the Right Whale. They have not only changed the type of rope but have put in weak links for the whale to break through. The last time there was an entanglement of a Right Whale attributed to Maine fishing gear was 2004, 18 years ago.  Immediately following the “red list” announcement of lobster, businesses such as, Hello Fresh & Blue Apron, eliminated lobster as one of their offerings.

In my new series, “The Endangered Lobstermen” I am putting the human faces that are at risk of losing their livelihood and their way of life. It is not just one person in the family who fishes, it is the entire family whose livelihood revolves around the lobster industry.

Lobstering is a family business. If you are part of a lobster fishing family, most likely your parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents were also lobstermen. You started out on the boat in some cases as an infant sleeping in a crate, with Mom & Dad pulling their traps.  As you got older you were up before the sun with your mother, father, grandparent or Aunt & Uncle, filling the bait bags as the traps were hauled.  You learned how to fish responsibly, not keeping any lobster that wasn’t mature enough, and you notched the females, so the population would thrive.  You took the apprenticeship classes in high school and got your junior lobster fishing license to continue the family tradition.  You saved your earnings from your catch & bought your first boat, traps and worked the 9 years to get your full license. The early mornings continued as you started your family, and the cycle began again.

There are close to 5000 commercially licensed lobster fishermen & 1085 licensed student lobster fishermen in the state of Maine who are facing new regulations that will threaten their livelihood.  The impending new regulations are asking for a 90% risk reduction to the 350 endangered Right Whales that are left.  The lobstermen and supporting businesses are facing an uncertain future and the whole state of Maine will be impacted.

“I moved to Stonington at 16 as an emancipated adult. This small fishing town has given me opportunities in my life that I never thought I would have. When I found out I was going to be a father, this town helped me to overcome addiction of prescription pain killers. Lobster fishing has given me the opportunity to provide for myself, my two children, my stepson and it has allowed me to become a foster parent to my nephew.
Without the lobster industry there are no other options for me to provide for my family in the community o the surrounding communities.
-Justin Betts
Has been around lobstering his entire life, has been active on the water for 11 years.
1st generation fisherman
“My dad won’t be able to work and do something he loves. This is something I would’ve thought about doing in my future. I’ve always enjoyed it and wanted to do it, I’ve never been forced to get on a boat.”
-Davyn George Betts
“This directly impacts us in all aspects of our business. We catch our product, process our product, pack our products to ship and serve our products. This is not only our livelihood it is a lifestyle passed on from each generation. This is our way of life. Not a day has passed in my life that hasn’t had lobster in it. Some of my children, the next generation may not have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams someday fishing they way they have been taught to do. This is in their blood.”
-Chris Chipman
Lobster fisherman for 45 years
Got his fishing license when he was 3 years old
“Having our product, “lobster” red listed has persuaded a few businesses to stop buying our lobster. This has lowered the price and the supply is down. In all of my years fishing, this has to be the hardest due to the rising cost of fuel and bait being the most expensive it has ever been. That limits what we have money for: food, home heating fuel and various other amenities- all of this because of the whales.”
-Tomi Colson
5th generation lobstermen
25 years fishing.
“The red list means less consumers buying lobster because they think we cause harm to right whales. This therefore lowers prices, dealers are not able to get rid of the product and this could potentially shut us down for good, not to mention the low price of lobster and the rising prices of bait, diesel, traps, rope etc. This if pushed forward with all of the cards against us, it could be the end of lobstering.”
– Adam Colson
– 5th generation lobstermen
– 33 years fishing
“This is our life. How we support ourselves and many others- sternman & family, co-op workers, trap makers, boat builders, car salesman bait dealers, etc, The list goes on…..”
-Bruce Crowley
5th generation fishermen
Fishing 60 years
Pictured here are 5th, 6th & 7th generation lobster fishermen
“The “red List” promotes the idea that fishermen are doing something wrong. It doesn’t acknowledge that we are the most sustainable fishery in the U.S. The “red list” means less people buying lobster and more people spreading false information”
-Leigh Farnsworth
1st generation lobster fishing woman
Fishing 26 years
“I don’t know what I would do without lobstering. I’ve invested my life into lobstering. It’s more than a job to me,it’s my heritage. It’s in my blood from my father and grandfathers before me. We are defined by the lobster industry.”
-Billy Bob Faulkingham
5th generation fisherman, fishing 40 years.
“I have been around the industry my whole life and fishing since I was 11 years old. I have known my whole life I have wanted to be a fisherman (woman). It is not only how I support myself and my son, it is our way of life. It is all I have every known. Now it is all I know how to do, and all I will ever do. What they are trying to do will impact ours and so many lives with devastating affects. With everything that is happening, the future of fishing is really worriesome for me and my son.”
Cassie Floyd
5th generation fisherman
“I have complied with all of the regulations by NOAA (whale safe rope, weak links & color marking rope). Being red listed is a real disheartening and a stressful situation. We are being penalized for doing an excellent job of all that we have been forced to do (for the right whale). If this 90% reduction in gear goes through, it will be impossible for me and all fishermen to support our families. Lobster fishing is all I have known, all of my life, it’s a way of life that my family loves and enjoys. Zero deaths or entanglements in 20 years should speak for itself but it doesn’t seem to.”
-Charles Kelley
58 years a lobstermen
4th generation fishermen
Pictured:
4th, 5th generation fishermen

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Jennifer MacNeill

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Jennifer MacNeill

As an animal lover and cat owner with a strong curiosity about people who are very passionate their pets, it was only natural that I found myself wanting to photograph cat shows. I’ll never forget walking through the doors at my first show. So many people racing around with their felines to get to their class on time. So many crates decorated with ribbons and custom curtains. All the different breeds that I’ve rarely seen in person – giant Maine Coons, velvety Havana Browns, cats with curls like the Devon Rex, pampered Persians calmly accepting their show grooming. The people who own these cats were just as interesting. Always happy to tell you about their favorite breed and share why they love them. They often travel from many states away and spend thousands of dollars to show their animals with hopes of a few small ribbons and more importantly, bragging rights.

These shows were everything I expected and more. While I will probably never have a cat with a fancy pedigree, as I prefer to give stray cats a safe home, I think we need to have people out there who are preserving these rare breeds of felines.

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Jonathan May

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Jonathan May

End of the Line is a personal stills project I’ve wanted to shoot in Moscow since 2013 when I lived there for two years.

I was living in the center close to the Red Square and didn’t really travel too far outside of my neighborhood. With over 17 million people living there I felt I didn’t really get a good sense of how a large percentage of the locals lived.

My plan was to travel to the end of every metro line and spend a night there to document the surrounding area in winter. Always looking over my shoulder, there was a constant sense of unease as the neighborhoods were a lot rougher than what I was used to. Battling temperatures of -20c with the sun setting at 4pm, I roamed for around 5 hours, or until I couldn’t use my fingers anymore.

What made this project more special is the fact that I have finally worked with Cinestill 800t, a film stock I’ve always wanted to use for its cinematic and moody aesthetic, combined with my Pentax 67II.

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Anjelica Jardiel

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Anjelica Jardiel

THE THINGS WE DO TO EACH OTHER is an ongoing portrait series about intimate relationships of all kinds (romantic couples, best friends, siblings, parents and their children), the effect we have on each others’ lives and love as action. New York City-based photographer Anjelica Jardiel started this project in May 2021, as a response to the pandemic, craving physical closeness, and realizing how important her close relationships are.

The process begins with a recorded interview that often inspires individuals to reveal and express things that perhaps they have never said to each other before. Some consider it to be kind of a therapy session. Then, they collaborate on poses that help describe their unique dynamic.

More can be viewed here: www.anjelicajardielstudio.com

Anjelica Jardiel is a Filipina-American Buddhist, photographer, scuba diver, avid traveler and dog mom, striving to live a dynamic life for her Mama, Papa and Ancestors. Her interest in documenting human connection may stem from being an only child and twin-less twin.

She is working to make photography more accessible through her public art exhibition series called ANYONE / ANYWHERE (www.anyoneanywhere.org), which currently has a partnership with Brooklyn Public Library.

Anjelica is available for commissions, assignments, and studio portrait bookings to turn your beloved relationships into art.

  

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Amira Karaoud

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:   Amira Karaoud

In Hassani culture, women play the most important role in the family.  Hassani women hold high positions of power and authority not only within their family, but also in their community and nation.  Hassani women have played an essential role in building community in the refugee camps in Southwest Algeria to which they fled during the Western Sahara War in 1976.

The Hasani women took an active part in distributing the cheap antibiotic to the refugees in the camp.

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

The Art of the Personal Project: Grady Mitchell

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Grady Mitchell

“In 2017 I worked on a documentary crew covering niche wrestling cultures around the world (we’re talking WWE-style professional wrestling, not the kinds of competitive wrestling you see in the Olympics). One of our episodes focused on Catch Fétiche, loosely translated as “Voodoo Wrestlers,” a unique subculture in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As the name suggests, these wrestlers, or Féticheurs, employ magic in their matches in addition to the standard arsenal of wrestling moves. They use spells, sorcerous powders, and talismans to hypnotize, paralyze, and generally bamboozle opponents. With blaring brass bands, plenty of fire, and a few pints of animal blood, each match is a spectacle.

The wrestlers are usually unpaid, and the matches are free events. Besides the fear and/or adoration of the crowd, the performers use the stage time to advertise the potency of their magical offerings in the hope that, later on, some of the spectators will seek out their services. That might look like soliciting a love potion, divining the future, or removing a curse.

Each event begins with a parade through the neighborhood, centered on the fighters and a brass band, that amasses a crowd as it goes. Despite the inclusion of magic, many of the wrestlers are accomplished athletes and run training academies in various neighborhoods for other wrestlers and local youth.

It’s thought that professional wrestling first arrived in Congo with Belgian soldiers. However, it got there, in the time since it’s combined with local customs and mysticism to create something entirely unique, fascinating, and entertaining.”

 

To see more of this project, click here

Instagram

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.