Starting February of 2012, I began a photo project in Erie, Pennsylvania. I would walk around the city and take portraits of the people I happened to come across. At first this was simply a means to further practice portraiture, but after these past few months, it has grown to something much more than portfolio filler. I was meeting new people almost every day. Sometimes they stood for the few seconds I needed to take the photo, but more often than not we ended up having a conversation about, well anything! From small talk to hour long stories of their childhood, these quickly became the best part of my project. I met a woman who overcame a life of alcoholism to become a very successful artist; a man who ran for mayor, only to lose by less than 200 votes. When I went back to edit these photos, each face recalled these incredible stories and the photograph become so much more to me emotionally. I needed to share this with others. I began taking these conversations and quotes and posting them with the individuals portrait on my blog. The response was amazing. My followers loved it.
But it also shocked me. I have lived around all of these people for over a decade and I never bothered to listen. A question arose out of all of this. How many people have never had the opportunity to share their story? How many people will never have the opportunity? Age becomes the biggest factor. I want to take this project to our aging population, before we lose these incredible tales that no one else is taking the time to listen to.
My goals are to continue my process. Take a portrait, add their story, and share in the form of a book, and later a website with recorded audio or possibly video. Spark interest in others to do the same. These plans are ambitious, and I admit they are too large for me to take on at the moment. In order to make this a reality, I am going to devote myself to this full time.