Remember how we were talking about vision last week? Well part of that for a photographer is the personal project. Often times that is what sets you apart from the guy working at the Sears Portrait Studio, or the local newspaper for that matter. As you get older and work more in photography it becomes increasingly difficult to make time for personal work. A while back I decided to turn my personal project, The Europeans, into my full time work. It wasn’t, and still isn’t, easy but for me the idea of taking photographs of something I didn’t want to and at the whim of editors, art directors or other people who often don’t know what a good photo actually is and how hard it is to capture did not appeal to me.
Jazz Hand.
But even I need a break from my “work” such as it is. So I’ve taken on a new personal project while I am in New York this winter. Earlier in the year I was asked to do a review of a jazz show up in Harlem and I interviewed the pianist and band leader Paul Winston before the show. He was an interesting guy and I could tell in the ten minutes I talked to him that I would enjoy spending more time with him.
Hard at work.
And then I heard him play. To say the least I was blown away. Part of the reason I was attracted to him is that his philosophy mirrors my own. He leads a pared down life in his small Manhattan apartment. He spends the vast majority of his time writing and playing his own music and by doing so has become something of a virtuoso, albeit a largely unrecognized one.
Dedication
So while I was in Europe his story stuck in my head and I decided to photograph him more in depth when I returned. Here are the results of a recent shoot. For me the challenge in a project like this, when compared to something like The Europeans, is to show one person’s life in detail and take the time to discover the small things which make his story unique. There’s a lot more to tell but I feel like I’ve gotten a good start…
Relaxing
