Talent

I was thirteen when I borrowed (with out asking) my uncles copy of Glass Houses. It was in 8 track format, and I remember the satisfying firmness with which it slid into the deck. I listened to this album over and over. 52 Street, Piano Man, The Stranger, and Glass Houses were on this 13 year old’s playlist. Billy Joel’s music opened the door to a world of peace and contentment that I had not known.

For the last 6 months or so I have had the opportunity to photograph the bands working with Off The Air Productions owned and operated by Greg Edwards. Not since I was thirteen and hanging out in New Jersey with Bill have I enjoyed music this much. My playlist reads like an Off The Air billing. The musicians are diverse and bring with them tremendous talent. Greg calls the genre Independent, Indie for short. Whether it is dependent or not it certainly speaks to me, and has helped me refine my idea of success with in the music industry and the arts in general.

A pattern has developed within the images produced during the Off The Air events. The best photographs are of the more talented musicians. Stop It! I know some of you are rolling your eyes as if this should be obvious. It is not. Because I am not saying that the more talented are better looking. They are not. I am saying that they are more photogenic. Specifically that they are more photogenic when they are playing their music. The subjects in these photographs were not present until the music started. Their appearance was sudden and purposeful. Sometimes I photograph the musicians loading up afterward. These photographs rarely make it through the first cut. The men and women that make the music are not the same men and women loading the van.

I suggest that the best of these photographs are not of people. They are of talent. The kind of talent that opens up new worlds for a lonely 13 year old.