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: Jayme Halbritter
“In 1929, Wally Byam built the world’s first Airstream trailer on a Model T chassis with a tent contraption on top of it. Apparently it didn’t work well in the rain, and his wife wasn’t a fan. He replaced the tent with a teardrop shaped permanent shelter, and the blueprint of the Airstream we know today was born. In 1970, several families who were members of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International were looking for a good place to have rallies, and pooled together their funds and purchased what has become The Minnesota Airstream Park. Today it is a 125-site RV resort situated on 80 acres near St. Cloud, Minnesota. The only catch, is that to be a member, you have own an Airstream-manufactured RV. One of only 11 in the country, The Minnesota Airstream Park is as unique as the trailers themselves.”
When I was looking into doing photo stories for my website, I remembered a friend of mine had told me about this Airstream Park he was a part of, and that he thought it would make for a good photo story. I think I said something like, “Really? There’s an RV park that’s only for Airstreams?” Of course there is! When I was a kid, I can remember driving in my grandpa’s 60 ft. RV heading down to their second home in Texas, and seeing these big silver trailers on the road and talking to my grandpa about how cool they where.
So my friend was able to get me access to the park, and I ended up going out there about a half dozen times over the course of the summer. Each time I went, I ended up walking around the park and randomly going up to people and telling them what I was up to. I think everyone was “warned” that I would be out there doing a photo story, but it still felt like I was doing cold calls, explaining myself, asking if I could capture some photos for my story. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and more than open to being photographed, and proudly showing me their trailers. I had never really been inside an RV park, and there was definitely something unique about it being an Airstream only park. Everyone seemed to be really proud of their little oasis they had created for themselves, and there was such a cool vibe to the place. It was like I had gotten special access to this really cute niche community that, if you didn’t know about, you didn’t know about.
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. Instagram
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.