The Art of the Personal Project: Adam Moran

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 new revised 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 Moran

the last 1/4

In March of 2015 I had been traveling non stop for almost 3 months shooting snowboarding and was getting a little burnt out.  No matter how beautiful the scenery I was in, it was all starting to blend after so many years working in the snow sports industry.  I was starting to get the itch to get out and shoot other things but my work schedule at the time had me going non stop. At the time I was living in Venice CA and finally home for a weekend. When I woke up to go walk for a coffee I realized that the LA Marathon was going on, and finishing just up the road from my house.   So I took my coffee, went home and grabbed a small camera bag and my bike and cruised up towards the finish line.  I had no plan, just the itch to get out and shoot something different.  I remember locking my bike up and thinking what am I doing here?, is this wasting time I could be home with my wife after I’d been traveling for weeks on end?  It honestly stressed me out at first, till I started shooting.  With no plan or goal I was able to just keep my eyes wide open and feel out the whole scene.  I only hung out at the last 1/4 mile of the marathon and quickly was taken by the energy of the scene.  People were cheering for everyone coming through, and you could see it lift their spirits as they finally had the end in sight.   What amazed me the most was the age range of people finishing, it truly made me feel I needed to get in better shape as people twice my age were finishing a run 8 times further than I thought I could make it.  As I kept shooting my focus started to narrow and I was drawn to the emotion on people as they were about to finish.  There was such a mix of pain, exhaustion, and elation all at once, with a huge crowd cheering so loud to make sure they made it to the end.  When I shoot action sports it’s common to frame in the whole scene, and this allowed me to depart from that and focus in on the elements I was missing in my normal work, close up emotion.  I’ve always loved the feeling of gritty b/w photos and wanted to keep it that way so the loud colors of running gear and bibs wouldn’t distract from feeling in the shot.  This was one of the first times I shot running and fitness work and it sparked something in me that I keeps me wanting to shoot more and more of it these days.  In the end after being burnt out on work, I came home from the race and spent my first Saturday at home editing photos, feeling inspired again.  So here it is, the last 1/4.

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 new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSease.