12 | when portraits become tributes
existential reflections about the possibilities, magic, and care in portraiture
a talk that inspired this writing: Grief & Praise
This past August, I had the privilege to photograph a set of booth portraits at a local Back-to-school giveaway event in my community. This event has become an annual thing thanks to the late Darin Slate, a local legend and owner of Slate Barbershop, whose impact I still feel the ripples of in my community. The session was interesting because there were so many diverse faces and interactions. I remember loving the broad range of ages I had the privilege of working with.
One older gentleman in blue comes over for a photo after I finish photographing a kid with their new book bag. He was respectful as he approached the stool after signing his name, and he seemed to have a cool demeanor. His name was Derek, but people called him Party Rock. I remember him doing a simple prep and using his rag to wipe his sweat from the summer’s heat. I wondered if he was nervous, but his posture and eye contact quickly dismissed the thought. We first do a shot without his glasses, but I decide I like the glasses because they complement his look. So he puts them back on and poses for the photo.
"3... 2... 1... Click!"
After that, an old friend of his came by so that they could get a photo together. They seemed happy to see one another, reflected in the last image on this page. ‘Til this day, I still don’t know the nature or history of their relationship. A couple of weeks later, I met with a friend who informed me that Derek’s health declined, and he was expressing his thanks for our photo session that day and how he enjoyed it. Shortly after this, I received the news that he passed away, and his family expressed their thanks as that was his last professional photo.
I hope his friend and his family can see the photos one day and look back to that moment that was not long ago with a sense of grief and gratitude. If you have not listened to the three-part talk on Grief & Praise by Martín Prechtel that I listed above, I highly encourage you to do so.
Portraiture has an interesting way of preserving. It is a visual time stamp of a meeting between the photographer and the muse. In that moment, their existence is validated.
There can be a sense of praise in portraiture if done intentionally.
There are possibilities, in the fact that things could go left or right.
You may like the image. Or not. It could reaffirm a feature that you love about yourself. It could show you something about yourself that you’re not ready to sit with. Regardless, you were there.
There’s magic in someone being here one second and gone in the next…
A significant part of the work I’m building on requires learning to embody care in how I treat others during our brief crossings of paths, how I honor them in departure, and what I choose to learn from them when they’re long gone.
Although I did not know him personally outside of our quick interaction in August, I want to thank the late Derek Bennet and his family. I am grateful for the sentimental value I gained over the past few months as this played out before me. This is yet another experience that affirms my commitment to my path and gives me a deeper appreciation for the moments I record and bare witness to through photography.
“Everything, when it dies, you have to grieve the hell out of it, because if you don’t grieve it, then it was never really alive. And that’s what terrifies the hell out of us. If you have two centuries of people who haven’t grieved the things that they loved, when they left, properly, then where does that grief go?”
I hope to continue honoring those I cross paths and kreate portraits that are not purely limited to aesthetics but a testament to their existence. Thank you for reading this :) Before the year ends, I have one more special collaboration to share along with the rest of the Kreative Klass 24’ intros. If you’re new, please consider subscribing. If you’re already on the list and have a few extra coins, consider contributing here.
Until next time…
Be blessed,
K
