I’ll be honest with you by saying I didn’t have a concept in mind when I shot this. Anyone who really knows me will tell you that I’m analytical, and usually put quite a bit of thought into anything I’m working on and my work is no exception to that. All I can say is this time around I got the photographer’s itch again and needed to scratch it. Luckily my brother, Cj, is fully convinced that he’s a model and is always ready for a session. Even though he was a little weary about not having a fresh hair cut, I told him to throw on a cap and leave the rest to me.
It wasn’t until after retouching these images that I began to notice that something was there - the guy in the photo had a story. I couldn't tell Cj to get into character because I sorta went into this blindly, but after sending the final images over to him, he felt the same way. I mentioned to CJ that the guy in the photographs looked as if he was on a journey. He wasn’t sad and he wasn’t explicitly overjoyed either. It simply looked as if he made a pit stop on the road he was traveling.
Interestingly, I found similarities between the guy in these photos and the character from my “Morning Tea” photo series (click here to view photos). One of those similarities is the need for mediation and self reflection. Its so important to take the necessary time to pause and reflect on where we’ve come from, where we are now, and where we’re headed in the future. After all, everyone is simply passing through this life. Our days are numbered and we’re here for a short period of time. That’s one of the reasons discovering our life’s purpose is so important but I’ll save that for another blog post :)
I believe more than ever before that photographs are to convey some sort of emotion or tell a story. Although I didn’t go into this project with a sure concept or even knew why I wanted to shoot, I believe the story found me. It is my hope that these images speak to you one way or the other even if you don’t get the same revelation that I did. Do enjoy!
-Ray
Talent: Cj Ferguson | Photographed By: RayAndra Nairn | Location: Nassau, Bahamas