2014 Image Retrospect — Brandon Werth

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1330 Quincy St NE,

Minneapolis, MN, 55413,

United States

651-249-3339 info@brandonwerth.com

Follow the adventure… @brandonwerth

Quite often I photograph a wedding and it sinks into me, becomes a part of me, sits on the very edge my day to day, even long after the events have given way. I’m not sure if it was the light itself, or the museums texture and tone, the familiarity of the features, or their incredible simplicity in detail, leaving love outlined and oracular, perforated as the proverbial opposites it intended it to be. Whatever the case, I am glad I was there to accompany it. Also, their Ketubah was literally the most beautiful I have ever see .

Finally getting around to posting some more images from my editorial piece for @artfullivingmag this fall making portraits for an article they ran on Scott Seekins. I’m very proud of this body and cannot thank the Artful Living team enough for giving me creative freedom on this piece.
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I talked briefly the last time I posted an image from this shoot about the curious way Scott has become a mysterious narrative in so many creative lives around the city. This shoot was both intimidating for me but also so freeing. What I mean by that is, we see people all the time, and every time we see someone our brains begin a narrative of judgement, both good and bad, but it’s something you almost can’t control. Over the years of seeing Scott I always made stories up in my head or envisioned what he did besides be absolutely everywhere at all times, I even wondered if there were actually twins playing tricks on everyone and the whole color thing was just a silly game. Turns out nothing is real. Turns out, we believe what we want to believe until we seek truth in a meaningful way. I’ve always loved the mysterious nature of his presence and the way he, himself, seemed like a living piece of art. I coneptualized a few versions on paper of how I wanted to execute this duality he presents and a fair amount of it was done in camera which I am very happy about, a few mirrors and a few reflections later and we have these images. Make sure to spin your phone upside down when necessary 😊🔄
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After spending time with Scott I realized just how human he was. And how his trials and unfair stereotypes by other have shaped and swallowed him. Never once did it sway his true nature. And for that I am inspired. I spend so much time hiding in my head and the handful of hours I spent with this man, made me a better one. For that I am ever thankful to be doing what I love and shedding a new skin. Thank you, Scott, for making this city awesome.
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How often do you judge from a distance? Is it even considered hurtful to just think negatively about someone? What are you doing to be aware of your biases, both conscious and unconscious?

I used to walk through this indoor courtyard twice a day during college, it was always flooded with light from the glass ceiling floating above, it’s probably the most bustling part of our indoor skyway system here in Minneapolis, always the best place to people watch. On this wedding day the groom wanted to get a photo in front of the shop where he got his suit, which happens to be in that building, so we swung by this area, it was Sunday morning and the place was a ghost town. Never in my life had I seen it so serene, and the patchwork presented on the floor was both disorienting and just down right awesome. It’s funny how you can overlook something for years and years and then out of nowhere be suddenly surrendered to its shape. 🔲◾️🔲◾️🔲◾️🔲

Hands // Hues.
The ability to sculpt is somewhat surreal to me, turning nothing into something, symmetrically, serendipitously, but who suggests that it was nothing to begin with? A simple shadow sets the suns existence into stone, a sobering succession that sometimes we see the scales in inverse. Love has come to pass in this very way; a songbird shepherding staccato to the sky.

I only posted 50 times in 2018. Why do these arbitrary numbers matter? Not sure. We may never know. Hopefully in a millennia or more some smarter, sentient, something or other will understand our tendencies and addictions to accumulated auto statistical obsessions. I promised myself last year that I wouldn’t write or speak on here unless I had something smart to say. Seems like I actually took that to heart. I am both delighted and disappointed in the destination I have reached but I’m certain that I’ve only achieved what I’ve believed in and I’ve only missed what I’ve convinced myself is stuff worth missing. Seems heavy and it is heavy. So is life. The past few years I’ve felt my empathy take on a new meaning. One that is almost so strong it cripples me. I’m thankful for my ability to feel, to be vulnerable and understand others pain, through layers both physically tangible and others emotionally tangible but I must say I’ve been very anxiety ridden trying to find my voice and place on here. A steadfast balance between truth and inner turmoil. Everything looks different when happiness rests in the palm of your hands, and so I’m taking that metaphorically for now, chalk it up to the calendars christening of past callouses or the mere symbolism of something stagnant now removed, either way, cheers to a new year, I am happy to exist. And that I think is enough. Every moment I shared here last year was real but not honest. Honesty means confronting that which hurts, hoping those who hear the hoarseness in your voice can help you heal and I haven’t been very present for that reciprocation. I hope to change that going forward. I’ve been afraid of being honest because this platform seems all unicorn and rainbow like, but if anything was more pressed into my memory of what it meant to be human in 2018 it was that honesty is always rewarded, no matter what the cost. I’m posting this because my couples give me life. I wouldn’t feel existentially satisfied if it wasn’t for the beautiful lives I get to document and create for. 2018 was my favorite year on record for my wedding/engagement work and I have never felt more perfectly placed in photography and purpose. ✌🏾❤️

Photographed one of my favorite sessions ever last month. Had the weather been anything less than horrid I don’t believe I would’ve been as happy with the images. Being forced indoors opened windows of fascination for me, it makes me think of all the sessions I’ve rescheduled in the past because of cold or inclement weather and how that might have changed the outcome. Major love to these two subaquatic sweethearts right here 👆🏾

Headlong // Hand in Hand

These moments are more than mere instances of new emotional inheritances, they are pieces of what we all feel when words have wandered away from us. When a simple, subtle sign, surmounts to something so much greater than any word could ever conjure to convey, for it is our deepest, love-soaked resonance.
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This affection is not something that I think was planned nor is it shown in this way very often. (When’s the last time your parent kissed you on the shoulder?) It’s reserved for those times that defy our ability to function because we love so heavy. It’s reminiscent of what it’s like to hold a new born or say goodbye to a loved one that’s passing away. The final button, the last piece of lace, one more zip, the eventual end of all the emotional swelling. This is my favorite part of the day, when the dress is adorned, mothers, fathers, friends, adore.

CONTACT

info@brandonwerth.com

651.249.3339

© Brandon Werth Photography 2018