For some time I used to do sets called “Fresh Faces.” They were a random assortment of the most recent pictures I’d taken. Sometimes I was really good about posting them regularly and other times months would go by. Last September I think that exercise began to morph into what I now call the “Daily Dozen.” Rather than just looking at recent photos I began to create sets of images that had something in common: hair color, type of smile, etc. Some sets have certainly proved to be easier than others but all of them give me an opportunity to look at my photographs with a fresh perspective and I value that a lot.
Today’s set is the 100th since I started my theme-based approach. Perhaps ironically, I’ve decided to throw the theme out the window and choose random photographs. I’ve done this for a two reasons:
The first is that someone whose opinion I trust and value told me I really had to stop posting these sets. When I asked why I was told I was just rehashing my work and that the same faces were showing up again and again. I don’t agree with this but could see that some people were showing up more often than others and there were lots of photos that had never been used at all. So one idea was to select photos that I haven’t been able to easily categorize in the past.
The second is to look at faces without trying to judge or categorize them at all. While I like the structure the “Daily Dozen” approach forces on me I also sometimes like the freedom to work outside its rules. It can also be hard sometimes to think of new themes. (As always, if anyone has any ideas please let me know!).
To create this set I have only used my most recent set, 1000faces 3, and have tried not to apply any thinking of judgement at all. Totally random. I hope you’ll enjoy them and provide feedback on other sets or approaches you’d like to see in the future.
I love this woman’s curly red hair and how it works with her red pepper necklace and the red and orange bokeh behind her head.
This is one of my favorite recent photos. What I like about it most (and which you can see in this cropped version) is how straight and wonderful her posture is. It’s also a case of someone who looked very different in person and in a photograph. She looked great in both but in very different ways.
This woman wasn’t sure what to do with her glasses and treated them like a prop in some ways. I really like how she looks.
This is Molly Bingham. A photographer who’s work is centered on war and conflict. I saw her speak at MIT’s Futures of Entertainment conference in the Fall. She was so impressive and inspiring.
This is a woman I photographed at ad:tech in New York in the Fall. What I like about this picture is the contrast between her pale skin and the red behind her.
I take a lot of photographs at MIT. This woman was speaking at the 2011 Emerging Technology Conference. I wish I could tell you what she was talking about but I can’t. In the moment though it was really interesting.
This is Emily Bazelon speaking at Yale last Spring. I do think she’s very nice looking but what I like about her photograph is that it’s an example of the energy some people can share through their faces. She face was so animated that it was quite captivating and very fun to watch.
This woman approached me at Penn Station, asking for money. (I gave her a few bucks.)
I took this the first time I went out with my T2i. I’d received it the day before as a Christmas gift from my wife. We went out to Cock and Bull in Sarasota and had a great time. There was a fire pit in the back yard and a bunch of people were out there having fun.
I met this woman at Joslin Mane’s MegaTweetup2. Her name is Nicole Keane. Her company was (and I hope still is) F.Rock and she makes bags – mostly for men and mostly for laptops and other technology. They’re made from remnants and were really fantastic.
I met this woman after an MIT Communications Forum event. She and her husband are both retired and live in Cambridge and make it a habit to attend as many events at the various universities as possible. They were both really interesting.
A couple of years ago my father had surgery (he’s fine now) in Philadelphia. While I was there I had dinner with a friend. There was a medical conference in the city at the time and a big group of attendees was sitting near us. They were mostly from Europe and were having a great time. This woman was in that group. I really like her eyebrows.
Over The River 