Category: Personal Project

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Danielle Tsi

How long have you been shooting?
I have been actively photographing for the past 15 years. Professionally, for the past 6.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Self-taught mostly, apart from the occasional photography workshop and assisting other photographers.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
A friend and I were invited last summer to attend the inaugural Women’s Meat Camp organized by the Belcampo Meat Company, in exchange for coverage on blogs and social media.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
Each time I create work I seek to make it portfolio-worthy, whether for a client or for myself, so there’s no distinction in that regard. I’m a firm believer that there are a multitude of stories out there waiting to be told, I just have to be in the right space (physically and mentally) to capture it and this is how I approach any assignment. In this case, my goal was to tell the story of the first Women’s Meat Camp by conveying the camaraderie and friendships that were forged among 12 women over a weekend of cocktails, butchery and open-fire cooking.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Yes, all the time. Instagram is my preferred medium and I really like that it automatically cross-posts to Facebook and Twitter.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
I wouldn’t say my work has gone viral but my blog has had its successes, most notably when it was nominated for Best Food Photography in Saveur Magazine’s Blog Awards a few years ago. That generated a lot of publicity and some fruitful work opportunities.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Yes, mostly postcards, though I’d love to put together a mini-zine sometime. Perhaps this is the year to do it!

Statement
The Belcampo Women’s Meat Camp was a four-day all-girls’ extravaganza featuring butchery and open-fire cooking of some fine cuts of meat, accompanied by: copious amounts of rosé, cocktails, yoga on the lawn, hands-on sausage-making, farm walks, hair-braiding, story-telling, grilled peaches and hand-churned ice-cream. Founded in 2012, the Belcampo Meat Company oversees the entire process of raising, butchering, processing and selling sustainable and humanely-raised meat on their farmlands at the foot of Mount Shasta, California.

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Born and raised in Singapore, Danielle Tsi uses photography as a means to understand and experience other ways of looking at the world. With food as her muse, she stumbled into the magic that comes with uncovering the stories that lie beyond the delights of the plate. Translating that fascination into her award-winning blog earned her a nomination for Best Food Photography in Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog Awards. Her work has appeared in various media outlets including, The Kitchn, Design*Sponge, and Saveur. Danielle loves Ashtanga yoga, red wine, cooking for friends, espresso and winter’s soft light. She lives in Silicon Valley with her husband, cat and their vegetable garden.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Hollis Bennett

How long have you been shooting?
For myself, about 5 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I went to photo school but the only thing it taught me was that school can’t teach you real world experience.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
I’ve always been a fisherman and love all aspects of it and I have been working on building a body of work around Fly Fishing around the world because honestly, it’s one hell of a way to get outside, travel the world and have a damn blast while making solid images.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
Well, this specific body of work that you see here was just completed in the last month as I was in New Zealand working on these images. Overall, I have been shooting fly fishing for about 3 years now.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
That’s a tough one – some projects are much more self-evident and reveal their failures (or success) quite quickly, and others take a bit more digging to find out. I give all my projects at least 2 or 3 attempts, but if it’s not working past that, I move on. It can be tough to stay focused at times too – I’m like a cat chasing a laser pointer at times…

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
Is it different? I don’t think it should be. Sure, you might be able to take liberties with your ‘personal work’ but in the end, it should all matter and fit in your portfolio somewhere.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
I am a huge Instagram whore. I love the immediacy of it and I (try) to treat it as a rolling, evolving portfolio. I think that it’s great to be able to post something to the masses and add a bit of humor/insight/intrigue to the images via the captions.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
I’ve had images picked up by brands interested in what I’m doing and it has led to some success for sure.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Of course. I can’t think of a time when I haven’t used at least one image from a personal shoot on a promo. I don’t always call it out as such, but again, this goes to ‘brand’ consistency with my work. I want to show people that you are hiring me for a certain look, and a certain aesthetic and that will come across no matter the image or project.

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Hollis Bennett is an award winning photographer based in Nashville Tennessee. Originally from Tennessee, he has lived on 3 coasts (E, W, and Alaska) in the largest cities to the smallest remote communities.

He specializes in real people doing real things. His style carries over from editorial to advertising and back again, and he loves to tell stories, in any manner possible.

A life lived out of doors fishing, hunting, traveling and exploring allows him to relate to these situations and see them from the perspective of someone who has been there and experienced it first hand.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Sasha Nialla

How long have you been shooting?
I have been shooting for 13 years. I’ve been working solely as a photographer for 10 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I’m self-taught. I took one photography class at The New School to learn how to use the camera and one black and white printing class to learn about lighting, shading, how to look at a negative, that the film is just a blueprint…I also read lots of books. And of course, the never-ending class of ‘trial and error.’

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
I am constantly getting involved in projects that bring awareness to different causes and life experiences. With immigration being one of the top issues on people’s minds today, I wanted to create a project that shows immigrants and refugees as people and not as social-political data.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
I contacted New Women New Yorkers with a photo concept. We decided to make it into a photo exhibition to raise awareness about women immigrants in New York City. I photographed this series over 20 days. The exhibition is on Thursday, March 24 from 6-9pm at Centre for Social Innovation, 601 West 26th Street, Fl. 3.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
I jump into projects with both feet. I make all the commitments and agreements before I have even picked up the camera. So I shoot the whole project, usually over the course of a few days, and then walk away from it for a few days. With a clear head I start viewing the images and seeing how it affects me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it’s just great for the people involved but not for my portfolio. That is ok, because a huge part of why I shoot personal projects is the experience with my subjects. I love learning about other people, what makes them tick. To me, if that experience went well, I believe the work went well.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I view them as the same. I shoot personal projects with the intention of it going in my portfolio. I try to present work that I would like to get hired doing. Since I produce, art direct, photograph, and retouch all my personal projects I feel it is a good representation of my style.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Yes, I do post on Facebook and Instagram (@snialla). I’ve gotten assignments and kept contacts this way. I feel it’s a good way to stay in front of people without being annoying. If they want to look at my page, great.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
I’ve yet to have a piece go viral…

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Yes, I almost always print my personal projects for marketing. I made a black and white magazine of portraits I took for Dance Theatre of Harlem. I mailed some out and kept some to leave behind at meetings. It was mentioned on PDN’s Promos We Kept and the series placed in the self-promotion category of the PDN Photo Annual 2015.

Artist Statement
Now more than ever, immigration is one of the top issue’s on people’s minds. Women immigrants and refugees constantly face sacrifices and challenges that deserve attention and recognition. Learning unknown customs, speaking a new language and adapting to different cultural norms is extremely hard. Establishing a career in the US workforce as a foreigner is even harder.

Through my photographic series entitled Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York, I want to bring awareness to the fears and strength immigrant women carry each day. The cities they first called home are a huge part of who they are. For this reason, I chose to integrate their hometowns into their portraits. Landscape images of their birthplaces were projected onto their faces, bodies, and background to create highlights and shadows. These projections blended onto the sitter’s features, emphasizing their beauty, their emotion and the marks of their struggles, which are visible in their eyes and expression.

I approach all subjects in the same manner. I spend time getting to know the sitters, I ask them questions and connect with them. Only with their trust, I am able to show their vulnerabilities.

I think that it is important to underscore that although much is being said about immigration, immigrants and refugees are being treated as numbers. These portraits show immigrants and refugees as people and not as social-political data.

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Sasha Nialla was raised in California and spent the last 16 years in New York City. As a photographer for 10 years, she is constantly getting involved in photography projects that bring awareness to different causes and life experiences, including; children with HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Iraq war survivors and many more. All these projects have resulted in supporting vulnerable groups and people, and those not exposed to these situations in their everyday lives. Highlights include multiple billboards in Times Square for Bideawee, standees of breast cancer survivors with NFL players in Kroger supermarkets and on PepsiCo and Gatorade packaging and an exhibition of cancer survivors in the NYU Medical Center art gallery.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Judd Lamphere

How long have you been shooting?
I’ve been shooting professionally for about 12 years now, but my love for photography began in my high school darkroom. I was fortunate enough to have access to a great art program back then. In fact, my high school arts program put many students on the path to professional careers in the arts.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I received a BS in Biomedical Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
It was my best friend’s dog Roxanne. I had known Roxy since, well, since we were all puppies, really. I saw her carry him through some of the hardest times in his life. The relationship was beautiful, and for a time, it felt like it would stay that way forever. As Roxanne got older, her black coat became lined with silver accents, and she mellowed out a lot from the rebellious teenager she used to be. Yet, she retained this kind of pride in herself. She carried herself with a sense of stateliness. But even more than that, was this bond between the two of them, this unconditional love for one another. My friend had to slowly start saying goodbye to his best friend one day at a time. I wanted to help him through this really difficult time, and the only thing I could think to do was take a picture.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
I started showing pictures on my blog almost immediately. Friends started sharing links to my work on social media, and soon I had people lining up to have portraits made of their best friends too.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
That’s a tricky question for me. I find my personal work comes in waves, with moments of cresting productivity followed by troughs. As such, it can take me awhile, maybe even two years, before I’ve explored a body of work to the point where I can tell myself if it’s succeeding or not.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I love when the work is different. Variety is the spice of life, and it keeps me growing professionally and personally. The great thing about personal work is that it’s ok to fail. Real growth emerges from failure.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Typically I will only share a link to my blog on social media, out of various copyright concerns. This is for my professional and personal projects that I’ve edited closely. I’ll use Instagram or Facebook for fun “behind-the-scenes” type shots that I’m not concerned about. I did share a body of work through Reddit/Imgur, but this was a series of vertical landscape panoramas I did, and was just for fun.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
My old dogs project picked up a lot of interest locally and was featured in 7days (Burlington’s go-to free alternative weekly), and a local news story.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
I have actually! I print and mail postcards to small, targeted groups of clients I really want to work with.

What do you want to do with this personal project?
My long-term goal for this project is to assemble a photo book, perhaps through some form of crowdfunding or self-publication. The idea is to have proceeds from the book go into a fund to help support the adoption of senior dogs.

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Judd Lamphere received a BS in Biomedical Photography with concentrations in Photojournalism and Creative Writing from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006. He has since worked as a photo editor, production manager, landscape and editorial photographer in a number of areas including advertising, editorial, travel, nonprofit, government organizations and outdoor adventure.

Judd has worked with a number of periodicals and organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Triathlete Magazine, Boston Globe Magazine and Greenpeace, though his true passion for photography lies in his personal work, ranging from portraits of Old Dogs for charity to his exploratory landscape series Architecture of Energy.

Judd is also a co-founder of Reciprocity Studio, a commercial studio in Burlington, Vermont whose clients include Seventh Generation, Tata Harper Skin Care, Caledonia Spirits and more.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: P2 Photography (Jon Held & Jenna Close)

How long have you been shooting?
Jenna: We are in our 9th year of business.
Jon: The 9th? Already?

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Jenna: I went to the Art Institute of Seattle.
Jon: I am self-taught.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
Jenna: We had been having a period of creative block and were struggling to come up with an idea we could both really get behind. We sat down and made a list of things we were curious about. The common theme was people who were living their lives on their own terms and doing what they loved. We decided to pair that with our interest in hands-on, physical work and feature people who were pursuing offbeat jobs or hobbies. We found our first subject, a recycled-metal sculptor, through a friend, and our next subject, a practitioner of Hikaru Dorodango (shiny dumplings), through the internet.

Jon: For me, the inspiration was purely a marketing decision, a way to showcase our work during a dry spell. And it seemed like it would be a heck of a lot of fun to meet these people.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
Jon: I recall it was about 4 days. But I might be wrong. 2 weeks?

Jenna: We waited until we had one subject completed and another confirmed before the initial release. Now, we present subjects as we complete them. This project is intended to be episodic, so we want to build a following that comes along for the ride as it unfolds.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
Jenna: It depends, but typically I’ll give it a generous amount of time before giving up. I’ve found that often when something isn’t right, struggling with it for a while can lead to a breakthrough.

Jon: With Buck the Cubicle we hit the nail on the head. It was one of those projects that was exactly as I’d imagined from the beginning. Our first subject gave us momentum to plow right ahead without any changes to the overall scope. It just felt right.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
Jon: Those are both expressions of the photographer as artist. So to me there ought to be no difference. I want to be known and hired for doing exactly what I want to do, and the only hope for that is for people to see that particular work. However, when a client gets involved it often becomes collaborative…..

Jenna: Yeah. What Jon said.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Jenna: We regularly use Instagram (p2photography). We also link to blog updates on Facebook and post our videos to Vimeo. And we occasionally use Twitter (@p2photography).

Jon: Tweeting is a skill. I have much to learn.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
Jon: Aaahhhhhhhh…….mmmmmmmmmm……
Jenna: Not yet…

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Jenna: This year we’re releasing 4 printed promos, each featuring a Buck the Cubicle subject. So this project, in printed form, is the primary vehicle for our marketing in 2016 and maybe beyond.

Jon: The first round of booklets went out this month. To stuff, seal and stamp 500 envelopes it takes exactly three and a half episodes of Mad Men.

Buck the Cubicle is an ongoing series featuring people who get out, get dirty and find inspiration in all manner of offbeat occupations.

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Jon and Jenna (P2) are commercial photographers based in Southern California. They work for a variety of clients but have a particular interest in businesses and people who build things. Jon is also a flight instructor and Jenna is Chair of the National Board of ASMP. They can be found at p2photography.net.

Clients include: The Cincinnati Zoo | Curves | Elevator | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | NBC | Perspective | Primus Power | Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners | Rotary International | Sierra Magazine | SolarWorld | Swarovski | T. Rowe Price

P2 is represented by Meredith Bless at Taiga Creative.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Ethan Pines

How long have you been shooting?
About 16 years, if you count the initial three years of classes, which I do.

Are you self-taught or photography-school taught?
Both. In 1999 I took a basic photography class at Santa Monica College out of random interest. I knew nothing about photography, had never set my camera to Manual. But I’d been wanting a change (I went to graduate school for journalism and was working as a writer), and this class and the ensuing ones completely opened my eyes. That sounds cheesy, but I was looking for something that used both the creative and technical sides of the brain, that got you away from the computer and out into the world, and this was it. (Of course now it’s the age of digital photography, and we’re all back on our computers.)

I spent three years in classes at SMC, a great program. But I also consider myself self-taught, because photography is a craft and an industry that wants constant evolution. I’m always working on lighting, composition, concepts, substance, process, technique. I test and experiment and learn. It’s an ongoing process.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
I occasionally take photographic road trips around the Southwest; there’s a simplicity and spontaneity in shooting whatever you find, whatever inspires you, wherever you happen to be. Shooting this kind of non-commercially driven project helps me recharge and reconnect with that first magic of shooting. I didn’t set out to shoot a Tourist America project. This series arose gradually after several road trips. I had a number of images that I felt were strong, and I started wondering if a series was forming, if there was a common thread. I seemed to be drawn to tourist sites, both popular and obscure, beautiful and kitschy. Rather than continuing to shoot randomly, I decided to make it a project. And I booked flights to other areas of the country to deepen the project.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
The first shots, taken before it was officially a project, were done about four years prior to posting it on the website.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
Honestly, there are so many projects I want to shoot, I consider each one carefully before even starting it. Once I do, I approach it like a job: I’m going to make it work. If something’s not working, you figure out why and adjust your approach.

Since shooting for portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
For me, both portfolio and personal shoots come from who I am. But personal projects like this one entail less production and are less commercial. Whether they are fine art, I leave to the viewer. In my case they tend to be straight photography: no compositing or manipulation, very little done in post. (Tourist America is shot entirely on medium-format film.) They might share a sensibility with my commercial work, since it’s virtually impossible to remove the photographer from the images. But they allow me a return to the pure photographic process which drew me to the field in the first place. They also free me from the constraints that can come with jobs — images can be with or without people, shot wherever I like, infused with mood, created with whatever offbeat/awkward elements, etc.

How do I feel about them? They are my babies. Whether or not anyone else cares, I know the nurturing that went into them, and I am proud of them. I feel they’re as worthwhile as projects with more production value. And I believe they help show art directors and potential clients another side of oneself.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Yes, but not nearly as much as commercial work. I have several series that I’d like to get out there more. Commercial work always seems to demand more prompt posting, while it’s fresh. I post to Instagram and Facebook simultaneously.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
I wouldn’t say viral, but the “Lost Boat” shoot I did a couple of years ago got a lot of attention and helped lead to a nice profile in Digital Photo Pro magazine.

Earlier this year I shot a portrait series of finalists at the massive California State Science Fair in downtown Los Angeles, currently on my site as “Dwarf Stars.” Once Wired online picked it up, it spread around. Again, not viral, but, say, slightly contagious.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
“Lost Boat” went out as a direct-mail booklet. “Welcome Aliens” went out as a postcard. I also have two major projects — documentary work shot in Guatemala and Vietnam, still in proofsheet form — that will eventually be part of a printed mini-portfolio to accompany my main book.

Artist statement about the project:
There’s something special about American tourist sites, something unique I’ve found nowhere else. It’s the vintage fonts and infrastructure, the kitsch hand in hand with sincerity, the consumerism hand in hand with earnestness, the excited tourists in sometimes mundane experiences. The sites intend for you to feel a certain way. Once you look behind the scenes and see that the experience is packaged, it actually becomes more earnest and heartfelt, only in a different way than perhaps originally imagined. All these sites are created, maintained and visited by people who care deeply. Based on authentic foundations, they are canned experiences that ultimately become newly authentic experiences in their own right and carry forward a deep national history.

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Ethan Pines is a Los Angeles-based photographer shooting conceptual, humanistic, irreverent images for commercial and editorial clients such as Dolby, Solarcity, Universal Studios, Simply Asia Foods, Forbes and Wired. He grew up on a small ranch at the edge of Los Angeles and now lives in Topanga Canyon with his wife, cat and a host of seasonally changing wildlife.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Ackerman + Gruber (Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber)

Ice Racing in Minnesota.

How long have you been shooting?
We have been shooting professionally for 6 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
We went to grad school(Ohio University) for photography, which gave us two years to build a solid foundation to work from. That along with test shoots, commissioned work, and personal projects have all played a huge role in our continued growth.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
Ever since we moved to Minnesota in 2010, we’ve been working on another personal project, Frozen, about the people and places in Northern Minnesota. This project that we are sharing here, Frozen Speed, is another chapter in that body of work. It’s also extremely quirky and we’re suckers for anything quirky so it was basically a no-brainer for us. We stumbled upon it one Saturday afternoon and have shot about 10 races so far.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
We’ve been working on it for the past two years and only now are we starting to present the work.

We’re also still working on it and this winter the focus will be more on the motion side of things along with shooting stills until we aren’t finding any more surprises/gems in our take. This project allowed us to test our drone in extreme conditions so we will continue to we will continue to explore it from above.

Despite living in a social media age of immediacy we work on our personal projects quietly for years without ever sharing them. We love doing this as it gives us time to explore a subject and really formulate not only the project but our aesthetic approach for each project. Along with Frozen Speed, we have been working on two other projects that have yet to see the light of day. We also love this way of working since it’s so relaxed compared to the intense and quick nature of the editorial and commercial shoots we do.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
It really depends on the project. Some projects last a day for us and the magic just isn’t there or it wasn’t what we were hoping for so we are happy with single images and we move on. Often we give a project some time and we realize the fire hasn’t left us and there’s still things we can say with the project so back out we go.

Most of the personal projects we start seem to linger for years and just organically come to a close when we feel like there’s nothing more we can say with our images or the passion dwindles.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
We try to approach both the same. Most of our personal work ends up in our portfolio. We’re strong believers in showing what you love shooting. Obviously commissioned work doesn’t always work out that way and the art direction might call for something else. Despite that, we always try to make an image or two that is us. The great thing about personal work is that it’s “personal” so our head isn’t muddied with thoughts of what the photo editor or art director might be looking for but rather we let our eye and mind explore and find images that speak to us. If all goes well the images hopefully speak to others as well. We have been lucky enough to have some great photo editors and art directors that allow us to go explore too and make it personal and those are the best assignments we can ask for.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Yep we use Tumblr, Instagram – @ackermangruber, Twitter – @ackermangruber and our personal Facebook profiles as outlets for our work.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
Nothing has reached the point of trending, but some of the projects have gained decent traction. One of our personal projects, Trapped, – http://www.ackermangruber.com/trapped seems to catch on in different circles (mental health, prison reform, photo) on the web so it’s been interesting to watch over the years as it gains traction in different parts of the online community and even in traditional print outlets (TIME and Newsweek). We have been invited to speak at numerous national justice reform conventions about the work and it’ll be a solo gallery show later this year because of it all gaining traction online. Another project, Miss, – http://www.ackermangruber.com/miss which documented Miss USA and Miss Universe has also received a decent amount of buzz and awards over the years with the last surge being a feature on Refinery29. The Frozen Speed – http://www.ackermangruber.com/frozenspeed project was recently highlighted on Wired and it led to a handful of emails from others wanting to highlight the work.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
For sure! We do this with most of the personal projects we work on. The last personal project we used in a promo was our Blue Ribbon – http://www.ackermangruber.com/blueribbon project and we sent creatives a 20 page booklet of the work along with a blue ribbon that awarded them first place as a top creative. We received great feedback on the promo and it placed in the self-promo category of the PDN Photo Annual. We were in NYC for meetings this past fall and editors still had it pinned to their wall, which was great to see.

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Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber are a husband and wife photo team. They work as a collaborative team on shoots, sharing roles as director and photographer. The two work seamlessly as a duo to bring one creative vision to all their shoots. They take an authentic approach to their work and specialize in providing images of real people to advertising, corporate and editorial clients. Their work has been described as colorful, genuine, full of life, and soulful. Ultimately they strive to make you feel something with their work.

Their work has been honored by the Communication Arts Photography Annual and Advertising Annual, American Photography, PDN Photo Annual, Review Santa Fe Center Project Competition any many more. Their most recent documentary film won an Emmy and they were named a McKnight Fellow and to PDN’s 30 Photographers to Watch in 2012.

Their work can be viewed at www.ackermangruber.com

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Pete Barrett

How long have you been shooting?
I started shooting on my own in 1995.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I went to school for photography but really learned the business by doing. I assisted for a few years and then did production work for a few years for some pretty high profile shooters. I learned a lot those years and folded that knowledge into what would become a pretty decent photo career.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
The American Worker Project was actually a branch of another project I am working on. You see my wife suggested a few years back how great it would be to get an RV and travel all over the country and I could plan shoots wherever we go. The plan was to set out across the country and see as much as we can see and shoot everywhere we go stopping the journey periodically whenever work calls to hop on a plane and shoot whatever jobs we get, then pick up where we left off… I had lengthy discussions with my rep and others about what types of things I could shoot while on the road. Beyond the obvious subject of shooting in the many great locations we are going to travel to, what stood out more to me were the various interesting people we will meet along the way. I’ve always been interested finding out what people do for a living. Who they are and what they do. When you dig just a little, you find that people have pretty interesting stories and there are a ton of great visual stories to be told.

Well after what seemed like a year of planning we set out on our adventure back in September. So far it has been a whirlwind trip. Out of everything we are shooting The American Worker Project seems to be taking the forefront. The idea really resonates with people and I have a nonstop stream of people who are asking to be involved or are giving me suggestions that point me in the next direction to travel. I have never been busier than we are right now. Between shooting our travels and the people I meet and having to stop and fly out for actual jobs it has been a blur. We had to hit the pause button around the holidays just to make time to actually get caught up on a huge backlog of images that I need to edit, retouch and finish and start putting out there in front of people.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
We are really just getting started as I said before. But we are off to a great start. There is really no end of potential people we can shoot.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
I’ve done personal projects in the past but none that has the legs that this one does. This one is working and shows no sign of stalling out. I could see myself exploring this for at least a year or maybe longer at the pace we are doing and perhaps producing a book and/or even doing some gallery shows with the finished series.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
This project in particular has been very freeing for me. While my normal lifestyle work is very loose and natural it still tends to feel like I have to shoot with a certain idea, subject or end client in mind, which can be somewhat restricting. With this project I have been thinking less about those things and really just concentrating on exploring the person and the environment before me and trying my best to tell their story. I have always found that when you let go and experiment, that is often times when you make some of your best work.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
In addition to showing my work on the normal channels of my sourcebooks, my website and blog, I also share on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Behance and LinkedIn. I’ve also got people working the phones a few times a month just reaching out to clients and trying to guide them to see the work.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
I’ve never had it go viral per se but I have been able to get myself some great press in the past. Less for my personal work but more for some of the higher profile national advertising work we have shot. For this particular project as it seems to resonate with so many people, I’ve hired a publicist to assist me in getting the word out as well so we can hopefully create a more rounded story that will get picked up across social media platforms and get shared over and over.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
I’ve printed small runs and mailed them to targeted clients but never on a large scale like we do with my more commercial work. I will with this one though as we have so much to share. I will most likely do a series of small mini books featuring 4-5 people in each one and send them out every few months but still keep the print runs relatively small and only send out to select clients.

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For nearly two decades award winning photographer Pete Barrett has created imagery for a virtual who’s who list of creatives, advertising agencies and clients on a national level. Pete’s work which spans the genres of people, lifestyle and sports lifestyle imagery is portrayed in a way that is timeless and captures real life moments in a way that is very natural and organic.

Growing up in the northeast, Pete was instilled early with a “whatever it takes” type of work ethic and a sharp witted sense of humor. Pete has a tireless, fun & creative energy about him and surrounds himself with like minded people. Regardless of the size of the production, large or small Pete and his crew apply the same meticulous attention to detail, service and creativity. This consistent level of high production value, and creativity that Pete and his team bring to every shoot, has resulted in many happy and loyal clients who repeatedly come back to work with him on many different shoots and campaigns throughout the years.

You can follow Pete and his ongoing travels and projects on his website @
http://www.petebarrett.com/ or on his blog @ http://blog.petebarrett.com/ Follow along on Instagram @PeteBarrettPhoto

http://www.petebarrett.com/Personal-Projects/American-Worker-Project/thumbs

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Russ Quackenbush

How long have you been shooting?
I’ve been shooting professionally for 20 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I have a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston now called Lesley College of Art and Design.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
My wife at the time had a storefront space on Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica, CA. I stopped by one day while she was prepping for a job and noticed a decent amount of interesting people walking by. I learned that some of the people were getting their car washed on one side and walking buy to Starbucks on the other side. I ended up renting a space next to hers for a short period of time. So I set up a backdrop and one light and decided to photograph these people as they were passing by. I offered them 5 dollars to answer 5 questions and then sit for four minutes. Which turned into 5 minutes of total time. The inspiration was that I got to meet all these cool people that I might have never otherwise.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
I only worked on it off and on for about 6 months. Then I moved out of the space and haven’t touched it since.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
That a great question! It’s something I’ve struggled with throughout my career. Not the knowing if I like it part, but the continuation of completion. I tend to get tired of projects that I start and move on. They never end, but just go dormant. I have several projects that I’d like to continue at some point. To answer your question, I guess if I like it enough to hang it on my wall then it’s working for me.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I don’t see the two as being different. I shoot what I like and then it goes into the portfolio. Not all my personal projects are a perfect fit for the portfolio, but I’ll still put them up online for a little while. It’s really important to follow that inspiration your feeling because it will always bring something new to your work. My Wild Kingdom series isn’t in my portfolio, but it’s something I enjoy shooting and now I have some images for my wall.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
I tend to use social media more as a timeline of my personal life than for marketing. Some stuff goes up on Facebook but it’s pretty small in comparison to my personal stuff.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
Not as of yet! Perhaps, this post could be the first to get that ball rolling :-)

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
All the time! That’s the most important thing for any photographer. Show your personal work.

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Russ Quackenbush creates visual images of humanity that reflect the qualities we cherish most in each other. In his portraiture, he gently documents the relics of a subject’s life experiences as they unfold and present themselves in the emotions of their face, the language of their body, and the energy of their being. Russ’ photography gives us license to laugh, play, rejoice, or to mourn. It is through his images that we are led respectfully and thoughtfully into the life of another.

Emotionally charged landscape photography compliments his portraiture work. Russ embraces the powerful energy of place as presented to him in textures, tones, and colors. Through these he creates a complex visual record that conveys the rich history of the site. One gets a clear sense of what has come before and what is destined to be.

It is these same sensibilities that he brings to his work in commercial advertising. Traveling throughout the United States and abroad, Russ is always inspired by new environments and motivated by new challenges. Ultimately, it is his love of photography that is reflected in final result.

Upon starting his business in 1996, he has received a myriad of awards from the Photography and Advertising Annuals of Communication Arts, The Ad Club, and The One Show. Creativity Magazine, Archive, and Photo District News have all featured Russ and his work. It was 2001, that Photo District News distinguished Russ in their “30 Under 30”, presenting him as a young talent worth keeping an eye on. He has certainly lived up to that prediction.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Steve & Anne Truppe

How long have you been shooting?
5 years

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Self-taught

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
We have always been drawn to local businesses that combine good people, beautiful spaces, and delicious food, plus we are huge coffee junkies. Heritage General Store hits all of those high notes for us–it’s a killer coffee shop, they have their own line of bicycles, and it’s run by the sweetest people. We decided to document the energy and character of the environment to bring attention and support to this wonderful establishment.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
This shoot only lasted a few hours, but the idea of it is deeply rooted in our beliefs of supporting local businesses that are doing great things.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
It really depends on how elaborate the idea is and how much production it involves. Sometimes it is only a few hours, sometimes it’s years. There was a shoot we did this year that involved live ducklings which we had to plan for months in advance and then wait for the little peepers to be born! Currently we are working on a personal video project that has taken almost a year to complete, so it really differs. We typically want to take the time to craft a cohesive story and vision for any personal project we work on, but sometimes it is nice to just dive into an environment and document things as they unfold like we did with Heritage General Store.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different? It feels very freeing to shoot personal work, but also challenging. Sometimes we get bogged down by the daily grind, leaving little room for the creative juices to flow, but it is extremely rewarding to see our ideas materialize. We’ve also noticed that showing personal work has attracted prospective clients and ends up shaping and influencing our paid gigs.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Yes

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
Not viral, but we have been featured on some great places: ADC Global, Working Not Working, and The Chicago Tribune.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
We have! What we have found is that our personal work tends to be the thing that connects with people the most. Plus, since they are passion projects, there is an excitement that comes out when we talk about it which can be infectious.

Artist Statement
As photographers with backgrounds in architecture, we have always been inspired by what makes a place special. It’s the people, the details, the process, the design, and the environment that brings that story to life for us. With documenting Heritage General Store, we were given free reign by them to do what we needed to do, even allowing us to jump behind the bar with the barista. Diving right in like that helps us to create authentic imagery that gets to the heart of what a place is all about.

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Steve + Anne Truppe are a Chicago-based husband and wife photography and video team who strive to evoke emotion and authenticity in all of their work.

While studying architectural design at the same college, they quickly discovered how well their creative visions meshed, but decided to pursue a joint passion in photography instead. Together they established TRU STUDIO, shooting side by side on commercial and advertising projects.

Steve and Anne love to travel and explore new places while sipping delicious coffees. Every Friday Steve and Anne make homemade pizza, which they have dubbed ‘Pizza Friday!’

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Michael Spain-Smith

How long have you been shooting?
17 years – 1998 marked the opening of my first studio in Philadelphia.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Photography schooled – yet primarily, and especially, self-taught.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
Principally? My insatiable sweet tooth! Specifically? This love of fresh, local honey that I have acquired from my travels around the world. For this project, I really just wanted to learn. Honey-harvesting, much like a vineyard produces wine, is a year long commitment. Nurturing the bee’s environment by planting selected floral varieties close to the hive and annually introducing a new queen is only some of many variables that factor into the equation for a successful season’s harvest – a dedicated and laborious process that stands only to be appreciated. And in my mind – photographed. My rep, Kim Knight, and I are big proponents of sustainable foods and farming. When I shared with her this opportunity to shoot a honey harvest, we knew it had the potential to bring awareness to a larger platform – the serious impacts on Honey Bee health that threaten an estimated one-third of all food and beverages that are made possible by pollination.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
One day of shooting. However, roughly one year of patience and planning for that late fall “day of harvest”.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
It could be an immediate shoot planned on the fly or years in the making. In fact, some of my best work was never planned at all – merely just the result of me deciding to pack my camera! I think the important thing to highlight here is that I’m always shooting and always exploring light. It’s what keeps my skills fresh, my eye challenged and my work relevant.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I approach all assignments or portfolio shoots the same. Before reaching for my camera, I take some time to get inspired; to find something I can connect with – sometimes it’s the lighting, sometimes it’s a mood – but I find a connection. Reflecting on some of my best work, this critical component of my creative process has been ever-present. For me, shooting is a lifestyle – a passion. Yet, as a business, the goal of my personal work is to reflect my ability to fully understand the essence of a brand by illustrating its elements, details and emotion in a way that guarantees a captive audience.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Absolutely! I post regularly and share many visuals that may have been a moment from a national campaign or part of a series of a personal work. I feel it essential to your brand as an artist to take the time to post work that reflects your individual personality, vision, color palate and style.

One of the elements that is, now, a large part of requests for advertising work is: creating a gallery of custom visuals for the brands social media content. What better way to show your style and understanding a brand’s pulse than with a personal series of something you have captured naturally?

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
It has! Shooting celebrity pastry chef, Johnny Iuzzini’s, recent cookbook project Sugar Rush images have gone viral from a single posting many times. It’s really fascinating to see the trajectory of social media making a global footprint in seconds to audiences across the globe. Social media is powerful tool that should be respected yet utilized.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
All the time. Virtually all of my personal work is used for marketing to either reach new, potential clients or touch base on past relationships. I shoot a personal project at least once a month and, if traveling, always plan for a day of creative time to shoot local elements or people in an environment not always accessible to me.

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MSS is a seasoned photographer, worldwide traveler and motorcycle racer who loves speed and adrenaline but often enjoys a long road trip as a favorite place to concept and unwind.

Following his passion as an advertising and lifestyle photographer, he is known to capture authentic moments often told with a luxury lifestyle feel in a story-telling and stylized way.

Classic and pure, consistent and deliberate whether in-studio or on remote locations, Michael is a veteran collaborator and patient problem solver that make him a memorable photographer to work with.

To MSS, it’s all about capturing and enjoying the smooth ride.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects. A personal project is the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director/photo editor or graphic designer. This column features the personal projects of photographers who use the database for their marketing with Yodelist. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com.

Today’s featured photographer is: Dana Hursey

How long have you been shooting?
I have been shooting since I was a teenager, but professionally 27 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I attended Art Center College of Design and studied both Photography and Film (BFA Photography)

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
The 14 Days Project is the brainchild of David William Gibbons. It was meant to be a melding of film and photography coming together in a documentary format revealing the commonality and shared humanity of people regardless of age, ethnicity, locality, or economics. David had just completed the “14 Days in America” production when we met and the visuals revolved around a central location where the filming and still photography were taking place against a simple white seamless. In seeing the rough cuts of the “America” project I expressed my support to David about the project and its themes, and encouraged him to use me as a resource if I could be of any assistance moving forward. Almost immediately David started to prepare for the next production, 14 Days in Great Britain. Through several subsequent discussions it seemed like a natural fit for me to join the team. However rather than following the staid formula of photography on white I proposed “going out into the surrounding areas and photographing people in their environment. “

The project itself is a bit grueling and for me was emotionally draining. The concept is to traverse the entire country in 14 days. And that is exactly what we did. We started in the Isles’ of Northern Scotland and hit 14 cities, in 14 days (including Ireland) We would arrive on location and start setting up around 6 am. We would shoot all day (with a quick break for lunch as each individual found a moment) and wrap around 6 pm. We would then grab dinner and then drive (or in the case of Ireland – fly) to the next city. Get a few hours of sleep and then do it all again.
We started with a crew of about 24 (film & 2 still crews) but about half way through there was a group of 7 that walked off the production. (Drama!) The rest of the crew picked up the slack and we finished our tour in London. Personally I shot portraits of more than 600 people over the 14 days. This was a pivotal project in my career as it completely took me out of my comfort zone and pushed me beyond exhaustion. When I got back to the states I was convinced that I never wanted to do anything of that sort again. It took me nearly three months before I could truly sit down and look at the images objectively. And by the time 6 months had passed I could not wait to do it again! The people of Great Britain were SO generous. In requesting to photograph people spontaneously in the moment, out of over 600+ people my recollection is that less than 5 people said “No Thank You”! (AND they all signed model releases!!) I know it helped that we were part of “a Production” that had been publicized widely before our arrival, but still most were unaware of the project when we made our request.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
So the whole project was shot in 14 days. We started showing it about 6 months later. The imagery appeared in the 90 minute documentary and it was also shown in exhibitions in both the US and UK.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
For me, if something is not working immediately I move on… Thankfully on this project I had objective voices weighing in. This was SO outside my wheelhouse I felt like I was not getting ANYTHING, but David and others on the crew were overwhelming voices of reason and encouraged me to just continue what I was doing.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I am not sure I DO feel that it is different.. for me.. Anymore no matter what I shoot, if I am passionate about it, it somehow makes it into my portfolio.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Not as a complete package.. more of “an image here, or an image there”

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
Not Yet.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Yes, I do use personal work to connect with clients especially if they have reacted to it previously, while seeing it in my portfolio for instance.

The 14 Days Documentary Project is a collaboration of photography and film with the goal of unifying people through our commonality and shared humanity. Dana Hursey’s role in the project, Environmental Portrait Photographer, brought an additional layer to the “Great Britain” production, where he shot over 600 environmental portraits over 14 days.

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Dana Hursey is an award winning Los Angeles based Commercial Advertising Photographer and Southern California Native. Having graduated from Art Center College of Design, Dana’s broad-based knowledge has offered him the opportunity to shoot for a wide range of clients. Be it lifestyle, still life, or quirky conceptual images, he is able to imbue a sense of vibrancy, cleanliness, and humor. His work has been exhibited both here and abroad and his years of experience have afforded him the privilege of serving on boards of several organizations. Dana also recently completed a compilation cookbook featuring portraits and recipes from35 of L.A.’s top chefs. You can find more of Dana’s work at hursey.com.

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 in the belief that marketing should be brand driven and not by specialty.  Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Craig Pulsifer

How long have you been shooting?
I was shooting for fun back in the 70’s when it was a fad to frame an Instamatic diagonally. That migrated to 35mm and 6×7 for a time, but dad said I’d starve as a poet so I went into forest engineering. By 1999, I could see what industrial forestry was doing to watersheds and decided I’d rather starve. I’ve been shooting full time ever since.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I’m mostly self-taught through books, manuals, mentorships, workshops and a steady diet of trial and error. But I admire those who have taken time away from shooting to learn how to do it well.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) smashed into the central islands of the Philippines on November 8, 2013 and the news was really hitting home for us. My father-in-law (Tatay) has relatives in Palo, just outside of Tacloban near Cebu, and he wanted to get help-money in. He specifically intended it to go to a nephew Ryan, who was missing; so we made some calls and volunteered to help out where we could.

My wife, who has worked as a nurse, flew with me to Bohol where relief efforts were still underway for victims of a 7.2 earthquake that had hit the area 3-weeks earlier. While there, we got wind of a medical mission flying into Tacloban, a town that Typhoon Yolanda had all-but-flattened; so, we set out to find my wife’s cousin by chasing a separate story with the working title, “Saving Ryan Privately”, a story that has yet to be told properly.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
We’ve always had a big heart for S.E. Asia and have been doing photo-walkabouts to the Philippines for over 10 years. In 2013, when Typhoon Yolanda struck, organizers of our “Kids at Risk” project* (see footnote) wanted to contribute to an Emergency Disaster Relief Fund for Yolanda survivors. That fit nicely with other interests we had on the ground and it offered a chance to show donors and participants what those funds looked like in action.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
Hmm… tough question. For me, a humanitarian story ‘works’ when it motivates others to get tangibly involved in the story – and that certainly happened with the Yolanda Gap Relief story. But I admit, without the metrics of opt-ins and dollars earned, boxes delivered and bellies filled, it’s pretty tough to quantify the success of most personal projects.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
My personal work is very different than the commercial portfolio work, and that can be frustrating – like that Ian Hunter album “You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic”. But the bottom line is that most creative challenges get me stoked – whether it’s a humanitarian cause or selling a bar of soap – because in the end, it’s the commercial work that frees me up to tackle personal projects.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Sure, all the time.

If so, has the work ever gone viral and possibly with great press?
The humanitarian work hasn’t gone viral, but I’m more interested in qualified engagement than the number of views there.

On lighter stuff, I’ve seen some interesting metrics. There was a DIY blog post called “How to fix a stuck filter” with a hammer and hacksaw that F-Stoppers and PetaPixel picked up on. And there was a gear-related video for Lowepro called Watertight that hit 50,000 views, but both were a long way from viral.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
Yes. Last year I collaborated with consultants Pedro & Jackie to print a tri-fold photo essay called Ukraine: Postcards from the Motherland. It was passed around at PDN PhotoPlus Expo last year and received some great feedback but no concrete work. That was probably the wrong venue for something as documentary/editorial as that. I’ve still got a few hundred kicking around if you want one.

Artist Statement: Creative talent is the most valuable currency an artist possesses. How better to spend it than on projects that bless others and hopefully feed the greater good of us all.

*Footnote: In 2010, my wife launched a small fundraising program called “Kids at Risk” in Salmon Arm, BC to educate her friends about the pressing needs of Filipino street kids and get solid help over to trustworthy feeding and educational programs in the Philippines. More on that, here: World of Good [length 4:45]

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Commercial lifestyle and portrait photographer, Craig Pulsifer thrives on that line between personal and product assignment work. He draws inspiration from Gully Jimson, Bruno Gerussi, Larry Towell, and some of today’s top news shooters who work to master the craft of fine-art storytelling.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Amy Mikler

How long have you been shooting?
Full time since 2007

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Hobby, then school, then assisting, then topped off with a lot of self-prescribed “assignments.”

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
The first time I went to East Africa I struggled upon my return to articulate the vast differences in a typical East African’s neighborhood structure and daily routines. Happy for an excuse to return, I set about finding a willing child I could document: someone old enough to articulate some dreams, but young enough to have that open innocence and time that is helpful to a documentary project. I didn’t want a starving kid, nor an atypical wealthy child either for my One Child One Week project. I was fortunate to find Masengesho Julien, a sweet 12 year old girl in Gisenyi, Rwanda.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
Because of the nature of travel time and costs to Africa, the project was a one week shoot from start to finish. I did sit on the images for a while, but did eventually add it to my site. Simply out of love for them. That said, I don’t know how anyone couldn’t come back from Africa with beautiful images, it is a place full of lovely light and gorgeous people. 
After I shot the project my hope was to repeat the process in another country, but I haven’t pulled that off yet. I’m eyeing Guatemala though.…

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if it is working?
I just started a new one, so I will let you know! The One Child One Week | Rwanda project was born of such love and curiosity that it seemed weird not to share it. The newest one is a little more challenging: one day, one old TLR, one roll of 120 film, and one final grid showcasing all the images after processing.

Since shooting for your portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I still strive to achieve images that people will want to look at, but love the freedom and challenge of chasing ideas that aren’t constrained by advertising goals or editorial copy. That said, I go in knowing that the images may never be seen by anyone but me. If I feel it fits in with other work and won’t completely confuse the viewer, I might mix images into my website. But my latest personal project is just to challenge myself to slowly see the scene around me and to treasure each push of the button.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
Not really.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
No. I printed a One Child One Week booklet of the little girl so I could send it to her, and gave it to a couple curious friends.

ARTIST STATEMENT
One Child | One Week | Rwanda was born out of equal parts love of the beauty to be captured in Africa, and a desire to show and share what day to day life looks like for a typical East African city child. What do the homes look like? How is the classroom environment? What do daily chores entail? Life in Rwanda is both beautiful and hard, and hopefully these photos capture a little bit of both.

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Amy Mikler is a lifestyle & kid photographer based in Austin, TX. Her journey to photography began with a Christmas present from her grandparents at age 9, and initially resulted in creating scenarios for the neighborhood kids to model in. For some reason she did not consider her beloved hobby when considering majors, but after spending most of her disposable income on photography throughout her twenties, she decided she either needed to find a cheaper hobby or go back to school for photography. Thankfully the latter worked out. She shoots for a variety of commercial and editorial clients, and deeply appreciates them allowing her to use her “hobby” to make a living.

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects because they are the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director, photo editor, or graphic designer. This new column, “The Art of the Personal Project” will feature the personal projects of photographers using the Yodelist marketing database. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com. Projects are discovered online and submissions are not accepted.

Today’s featured photographer is: Jonathan Hanson

How long have you been shooting?
I started taking pictures about 10 years ago.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I’m mostly self taught aside from a few darkroom classes and workshops.

With this particular project, what was your inspiration to shoot it?
I was in a bar in Baltimore and saw a young man walk in who reminded me of model/actress Grace Jones. I was intrigued and began questioning the way we see femininity and masculinity. After our portrait session, I posted some of the images to my blog and I received emails from readers wanting to know his sex. The reader responses encouraged me to continue to question current gender classification and to continue the work.

How many years have you been shooting this project before you decided to present it?
I’ve been working on it on and off for the last year. As soon as I had enough images that I thought showed the viewer my voice and vision, I posted it to my website. Its a work in progress so as it develops, I’m presenting it to various outlets for publication.

How long do you spend on a personal project before deciding if its working?
Its tough to say because I think its relative to the project. With this project, I new I was on to something after the first portrait session.

Since shooting for you portfolio is different from personal work, how do you feel when the work is different?
I look at shooting for my portfolio and personal work as the same thing. My goal is to shot what I love and make a living from doing it.

Have you ever posted your personal work on social media venues such as Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook?
I post a fair amount to Facebook and Instagram. In January, the project was published in The Washington Post Magazine as a six page feature and they shared it across their social network which helped it gain some traction.

Have you printed your personal projects for your marketing to reach potential clients?
I mostly use personal work for self promotion because I think it reveals a little about me and shows off my style a bit.

“Androgynous” is a portrait series focusing on people with a single sex who have a combination of both masculinity an femininity in their physical appearance. The subjects are a mix of people who identify with different sexual orientations and genders, breaking assumptions based on current prescribed gender roles. Through the series, I hope to challenge current gender classification and question the way they see current cultural gender frameworks and beauty. Through the series I propose male and female dualities are interconnected and complementary forces instead of opposing, thus creating a fluid spectrum of gender and sexuality where the whole is greater than the parts.

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Jonathan is a Los Angeles based editorial and commercial photographer with roots on the East Coast. Culture, people, music and color inspire much of his work. He received dual degrees in Creative Writing and Journalism from Drake University before setting out on his photographic career. He credits early street photography for seducing him into being a photographer. Jonathan’s work has been recognized by ASMP Best of 2014, The Magenta Foundation, PDN, NPPA, The International Color Awards and the Eddie Adams Workshop.

Clients include – Adidas – Adobe – Bank of America – Billboard Magazine -DeWalt – Discovery Channel – Der Spiegel – Ebony Magazine – EssenceMagazine – Fortune Magazine – Inc. Magazine – Johns Hopkins – Miller Lite -NPR – Men’s Health Magazine – Sports Illustrated – The Advocate – The Guardian -The Huffington Post Magazine – The London Times – The New York Times – The Observer – The Smithsonian Magazine – The Wall Street Journal -USA Today – Verizon website: jhansonphoto.com

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 has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information believing that marketing should be driven by a brand and not specialty. Follow her on twitter at SuzanneSease.

As a former Art Producer, I have always been drawn to personal projects. A personal project is the sole vision of the photographer and not an extension of an art director/photo editor or graphic designer. This column features the personal projects of photographers who use the database for their marketing with Yodelist. You can read their blog at http://yodelist.wordpress.com