Showing posts with label African American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African American. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
My Daddy Always Said
Floating above America with new work in hand. Did I achieve what I hoped to achieve or are the new images more of a promise than a reality? “Stay open”, I often consul others, “Enter into a dialogue with your work. Your pictures will point and tell you which way. Don’t rush them, don’t judge them to soon or to harshly.”
So easy to say, so hard to do, I feel like a preacher with much sin on my hands.
Floating above America after a weekend in the Big Easy. Hot, humid, a lot of hurry up and wait. We had four to five portrait sessions scheduled. We have dreams of a book. We have dreams of the big time, we have dreams of making a difference, and we have dreams of a decent cup of coffee and a cool gin and tonic.
Like most self-funded projects, the type of projects you squeeze into an already crazy life. This project about the love and relationships between African American Fathers and their children has been more talked about than worked on. We have dreams but we also have paying clients.
One of our five fell through before we began; the second canceled ten minutes before we were to meet. But the three that we did hook up with worked out just great, I think.
What is it I want to say? What is it I want to show? Are these three portraits interesting, compelling, visual or even worth viewing? Will my partner, Glenda McKinley English, like them or think that I am just another poser?
New works are like babies; we should not judge them to harshly. We need to sit back, enjoy watching them grow. For our children can teach us even more than we can teach them if we learn to listen well.
So easy to say, so hard to do, I feel like a preacher with much sin on my hands.
Floating above America after a weekend in the Big Easy. Hot, humid, a lot of hurry up and wait. We had four to five portrait sessions scheduled. We have dreams of a book. We have dreams of the big time, we have dreams of making a difference, and we have dreams of a decent cup of coffee and a cool gin and tonic.
Like most self-funded projects, the type of projects you squeeze into an already crazy life. This project about the love and relationships between African American Fathers and their children has been more talked about than worked on. We have dreams but we also have paying clients.
One of our five fell through before we began; the second canceled ten minutes before we were to meet. But the three that we did hook up with worked out just great, I think.
What is it I want to say? What is it I want to show? Are these three portraits interesting, compelling, visual or even worth viewing? Will my partner, Glenda McKinley English, like them or think that I am just another poser?
New works are like babies; we should not judge them to harshly. We need to sit back, enjoy watching them grow. For our children can teach us even more than we can teach them if we learn to listen well.
On The Corner of Lafayette, State of Louisiana....
(to see a complete collection: African American Trail
Two weeks ago, on a rainy and cold December day in Philadelphia, I received a call from Glenda McKinley English of GMC Advertising, asking if I could come to Louisiana for a six-day photo shoot the next week. Since several large productions that we were involved with were entering their holiday break period, my schedule was open and the warm weather and adventure beckoned me.
This assignment was outside of my usual lifestyle productions. With only the help of a wonderful account executive named Randy Reves and two bags of camera gear I set out to create a collection of images for the Louisiana Department of Tourism. Because of the tight schedule I only had one hour in each location to create a story. One hour to discover the visual poem that would describe each locations reason for being. One hour to create a photograph that would beckon somebody off their comfortable sofa and motivate them to drive across Louisiana to discover their past. One hour to create a photograph that in a millisecond captures a viewer’s imagination and calls to them, to take a longer look.
When we arrived at each location the first question I had to ask was what was the significance of this place, why was it on the tour? Next I would have to find a visual way to answer that question. I would explore each location from as many angles as possible in order to find the poetry inside its story. Most of these sites were in buildings that were never designed to be museums. Several sites were in small homes, one was in an auditorium, and another museum was retrofitted into a bank building. These buildings presented a challenge to the curators and to me since they were not designed for visual presentations. The name of the game for me became distillation.
One such fine place was in Donalsville, Louisiana. Here there is a small home that a several retired African American Women have turned into a museum that celebrates their community’s heritage from Africa, to slavery, from reconstruction, to segregation, and on to the civil rights movement. This gem was one of 32 Heritage sites spread over 1,400 miles that we photographed during this photo safari marathon week.
Louisiana is a very flat with lots of water in the southern half. The terrain does not vary that much from mile to mile along the interstates or even along the two lane blacktops that link small town to rural hamlet. I spent a great deal of time trying to find views of 200-year-old buildings without showing the 21’s century paraphernalia that engulfs these historic structures. I have often felt that you could travel to all fifty states and take the same photograph; it would be of the strip mall along the highway. While Louisiana offered its share of 21-century visual blandness it also offered many sites that were unique, historic and beautiful.
After 5 days of driving and carrying equipment around, I woke up with a splitting headache in the middle of the night in New Orleans. I had left my Advil in Randy’s car so I ventured out along Bourbon Street searching for an open store. The street was still buzzing with its middle of the night partiers, drunks, crazies and middle age voyeurs when I saw the guy with the sign that advertised “BIG ASSED BEERS!” next to the guy with the “Cross” and the promise of holy salvation. I knew then that all would be well with this world.
Louisiana is a poor state and since hurricane Katrina many of the sites we visited are struggling with the issue of financing their preservation and restoration. Yet even without finical resources the people who run these historic sites are doing an amazing job of preservation and education. Their dedication was truly the most inspiring aspect of this journey.
Sincerely,
Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com
This assignment was outside of my usual lifestyle productions. With only the help of a wonderful account executive named Randy Reves and two bags of camera gear I set out to create a collection of images for the Louisiana Department of Tourism. Because of the tight schedule I only had one hour in each location to create a story. One hour to discover the visual poem that would describe each locations reason for being. One hour to create a photograph that would beckon somebody off their comfortable sofa and motivate them to drive across Louisiana to discover their past. One hour to create a photograph that in a millisecond captures a viewer’s imagination and calls to them, to take a longer look.
When we arrived at each location the first question I had to ask was what was the significance of this place, why was it on the tour? Next I would have to find a visual way to answer that question. I would explore each location from as many angles as possible in order to find the poetry inside its story. Most of these sites were in buildings that were never designed to be museums. Several sites were in small homes, one was in an auditorium, and another museum was retrofitted into a bank building. These buildings presented a challenge to the curators and to me since they were not designed for visual presentations. The name of the game for me became distillation.
One such fine place was in Donalsville, Louisiana. Here there is a small home that a several retired African American Women have turned into a museum that celebrates their community’s heritage from Africa, to slavery, from reconstruction, to segregation, and on to the civil rights movement. This gem was one of 32 Heritage sites spread over 1,400 miles that we photographed during this photo safari marathon week.
Louisiana is a very flat with lots of water in the southern half. The terrain does not vary that much from mile to mile along the interstates or even along the two lane blacktops that link small town to rural hamlet. I spent a great deal of time trying to find views of 200-year-old buildings without showing the 21’s century paraphernalia that engulfs these historic structures. I have often felt that you could travel to all fifty states and take the same photograph; it would be of the strip mall along the highway. While Louisiana offered its share of 21-century visual blandness it also offered many sites that were unique, historic and beautiful.
After 5 days of driving and carrying equipment around, I woke up with a splitting headache in the middle of the night in New Orleans. I had left my Advil in Randy’s car so I ventured out along Bourbon Street searching for an open store. The street was still buzzing with its middle of the night partiers, drunks, crazies and middle age voyeurs when I saw the guy with the sign that advertised “BIG ASSED BEERS!” next to the guy with the “Cross” and the promise of holy salvation. I knew then that all would be well with this world.
Louisiana is a poor state and since hurricane Katrina many of the sites we visited are struggling with the issue of financing their preservation and restoration. Yet even without finical resources the people who run these historic sites are doing an amazing job of preservation and education. Their dedication was truly the most inspiring aspect of this journey.
Sincerely,
Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com
One Sunday Morning
(to see the compete collection: One Sunday Morning
It was a warm summertime Sunday morning. I found myself in the pews of the First African Baptist Church. This church was founded in Philadelphia, during the year 1809 with its present building dating from 1906. I was there to photograph the service for an exhibition that was going to open in just seven days at the African American Museum of Philadelphia. This was not a lot of lead-time.
Though I had seen many depictions of Black Baptist services in film and on TV. This was my first live experience of an evangelical nature. I was excited to be there. Most of my work is advertising with a few feature editorial projects mixed in. Most of the time I am working with models and a crew, most of the time I am working from a layout and a script. This particular Sunday it was my camera, a couple of lenses and a desire to capture the essence of an unfamiliar service without getting in the way.
Being open to opportunities for creativity has been one of the strategies that has kept my eye fresh and has helped me grow as a photographer. Not all opportunities come from advertising work. Occasionally visual opportunities arise from an unexpected phone call from someone with no real budget. It may be a passion for a project that is infectious or a cause that is just that will convince me to take on the work. Often these unusual projects force me to work a bit differently than my normal routine, often these projects also force me to think and to see differently. Often, this new way of working will add to my repertoire of creative skill. This project was no different.
I hope you enjoy these new images.
Sincerely,
Zave Smith
Though I had seen many depictions of Black Baptist services in film and on TV. This was my first live experience of an evangelical nature. I was excited to be there. Most of my work is advertising with a few feature editorial projects mixed in. Most of the time I am working with models and a crew, most of the time I am working from a layout and a script. This particular Sunday it was my camera, a couple of lenses and a desire to capture the essence of an unfamiliar service without getting in the way.
Being open to opportunities for creativity has been one of the strategies that has kept my eye fresh and has helped me grow as a photographer. Not all opportunities come from advertising work. Occasionally visual opportunities arise from an unexpected phone call from someone with no real budget. It may be a passion for a project that is infectious or a cause that is just that will convince me to take on the work. Often these unusual projects force me to work a bit differently than my normal routine, often these projects also force me to think and to see differently. Often, this new way of working will add to my repertoire of creative skill. This project was no different.
I hope you enjoy these new images.
Sincerely,
Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com
A sincere thanks to Craig Johnson of Talisman Interactive for inviting me to participate in this project and to Reverend Griffith and the Congregation of The First African Baptist Church for welcoming me into their Sunday Morning Service.
A sincere thanks to Craig Johnson of Talisman Interactive for inviting me to participate in this project and to Reverend Griffith and the Congregation of The First African Baptist Church for welcoming me into their Sunday Morning Service.
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