human beings a 4x6in photo ar gallery
michael mckinney

when I was younger I would wait for people to leave a scene to take a photograph. I would wait for everyone to be gone to take that perfect shot. as I grew in my work, I realized that I was drawn to people. singers, creatives, artists, and causal, random shots. I hated the posed, planned photograph. as my style grew I settled in on natural light, candid, documentary, street, journalist work. as my career continued I focused on events, dance, and weddings, they all included people. my work started to tell the stores of others, they were photographs of humans. this project is human beings. this is work that is exclusively of people. the work, jobs, lives of human beings

this started as a monthly instagram personal project where I wanted to post pictures of only people for the month of august. each caption was the title of the photography, and the definition of the word. I wanted the image to represent the title of a person, vocation, or activity that a human being does. when I completed the month I had the idea to include a physical element. I wanted a silent gallery with no titles, words, or descriptions. I wanted the viewer to experience the human in the environment that they were capture in. then if the viewer wanted to explore further they could look at the photo with an ar app and see the title of the image and a date and location where the photograph was taken. I've enjoyed the use of technology and art, and with such a small image you have to really look at it, with an ar version you can still experience the event of being in the gallery, but can focus on the image in more of a personal space with your phone.

please scan the QR code below to download the HR Reveal app for iOS. this will allow you to enjoy an ar version of my work with the title and location of the photographs. I want to thank HP Reveal for making an easy to use ar app for bring your ideas to life.

instructions ​
use app to discover ar photograph with title and location data. tap on photo to make full screen, double tap to remove full screen. scan room for more ar information

I wanted to create a photo project that would keep me busy over a certain amount of time so that I was forced to create something. Most often I would go out and just shoot photos with no purpose in mind. Other times I would go out to shoot a very specific event, and I knew what I was looking for. This took me back to a time of learning, purposely going out with intent to make a creative project without knowing exactly what I was looking for.

These series of photographs were shot during the month of January in Reston Town Center. They combine early morning, midday, and evening shots all shot with a prime 85mm lens at f1.8. The title 30 were how many photographs are in the series. I initially set out to shoot specifically during lunch breaks, only better early morning and evening shots were needed to round out the story.
They're all edited in Lightroom on my iPad Pro. Because of the nature of the f1.8 lens I wanted to add a very high grain and drastic high contrast.

For my first attempt at a personal photo series in about 15 years I'm excited how this turned out, and I look forward to doing more creative projects to keep me going in downtimes between other creative works.
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#Nikon #NikonNoFilter #85mm #f1point8 #RTC #DMV #StreetPhotography #DocumentaryPhotography #Photography #Journalism #NPPA #lightroommobile

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, Ephesians 2:14

I had fun exploring DC tonight! No matter what your affiliation, tomorrow will be a historic day. It was weird to see the street venders, the few people who were walking around. The quiet nature of such a large environment with no people around was eerie.

The Tiny Desk Contest Is Back!:
http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/12/13/505308842/the-tiny-desk-contest-is-back

I love watching people I know live their art. It was nice to see these guys in a video for the NPR Tiny Desk Contest- follow the link above. I loved hearing Black Masala play at Sehkraft Brewing back in October.

I have a few new projects lined up to keep myself busy and creative going into 2017. I want to photograph more street portraits, use polaroids and mix them with digital elements, and try to stay with a fixed prime and one location. I think they'll be "location" based themed projects to start the year... 

A new home, a new state, a new job, a new wife, life is amazing! Finding out my place and being creative while supportive is the journey this year.

I have a few projects in my mind to keep myself creative going into the new year. This blog being one of them, it'll include more photography and leadership with making a difference and affecting others in life!