I am going to make a distinction, here, but it is only my distinction, not an academic one. I think there is a fundamental difference between a collection and a project. Collections are a top line, generalized themed grouping. I absolutely subscribe to the value of using collections to help organize your work by theme. Collections can help you understand what kinds of pictures you like to take. They can help you identify your best work. They can help your viewers by giving them context for your work.

A project, on the other hand, is an entirely different endeavor. Projects have the potential to tell stories. They can reflect your degree of creativity. Perhaps most important, I believe a well-conceived project can help you get recognition for your work that you might not otherwise get.

I got to thinking about projects after I listened to an interview with London photographer Christopher Fernandez on a podcast on The Candid Frame. I have to say, Christopher came up with an incredibly original idea for photographing the pandemic in London. It was born of boredom. It was crafted by expanding his particular skill set as a professional photographer. It became a triumph of creativity. He briefly tells his story, Covid-19, on his Instagram gallery, @chrisfernhello. What he did was this: He put a sign in the window of his 4th floor apartment announcing that he was a professional photographer who wanted to take pictures of life during the pandemic. People who lived across the street in apartments agreed to be the subjects. He would talk with them via telephone as a way to get to know them. He would then stage the photo by directing them how to light the scene and how to pose. After all possible photos were taken from his apartment, he went out on the London streets and solicited people who lived in ground floor apartments. He now sells prints from the project. The proceeds benefit the National Health Service.

Street photographers are typically creative people. I think we throw our creativity into the pictures we take. Maybe that should just be step 1 of the process. Perhaps we need to get very focused on a personal project. A project that tells its own story. One way to get started is to look through our collections to see if there is a potential project and then develop it with all of the creativity we can bring to bear.

I relate to the work of members of my community of street photographers in different ways. When I look at the work of one those members, Vanessa Cass, I always see a potential project that would have enormous appeal for me. I wish I could see projects in my own work. I think part of the issue is that her body of work is definitely not “street repeat” for me. I am not using the term street repeat in a pejorative way. It is a fact of life as street photography becomes more common and more location based. It is hard to make an entirely original picture, which is not to say that there is less opportunity for good street photography today. Vanessa’s work, from my perspective, is edgy.

Photo by Vanessa Cass. Used with permission.

She posted the picture above in the Facebook group, Street Photography Vivian Maier Inspired. I looked at it, and I was struck by the the additional information that the shadow on the right provided. As I am want to do, I told her that this would make an excellent start for the project, “Illuminating Shadows”. Mind you, I think Personal Projects have to come from within. This is just an exercise for how it might happen.

I contacted Vanessa and asked her if she had additional pictures where shadows revealed information. She wrote to me, in part, “I’ve been obsessed with shadows for a long time, they tell a story. It’s the backbone of my work.” I think I have gotten that message, even as I look at her individual posts. That is why I see projects for her.

Do I think that you can look back in your archives and find a completed project? Absolutely not. But I think that work you have done can be a jumping off point. Just add a liberal dash of creativity in fully developing the project.

Special thanks to my friend, Vanessa Cass who graciously provided the shadow photos.

Born in Maryland in 1969, Vanessa is an accomplished artist having studied art in college and then extensively with Haitian masters such as Roland Dorcely, Tiga, and Arijac, in Haiti.

After 25 years of practicing several aspects of art, she discovered photography and absolutely fell in love with it. Although she considers herself to be autodidact, she has taken many courses with renowned photographers, notably with street photographer Eric Kim. She specializes in Abstract Street Photography and finds Haiti to be a hotspot and very fertile ground for her craft, as she is fascinated by the human condition, ironies and contradictions and the darker sides of life.

She has won several competitions with her work that showcase Haitian life. She is also very passionate about documenting social causes . Currently studying Curation and Abstract Post Modern Art/ Photography, Vanessa also adores music and cooking and tries to incorporate her love of photography in the two.

You can see Vanessa’s Instagram gallery at @vcass_photography and her Facebook gallery at Vanessa Cass.

Exercise

Have you ever considered working on a project? What does that mean to you?

Dedicated to Street

Personal Projects