Environmental Portraits: Man Created In the Image of God

"I believe, that all men and women are created equal and are equally valuable. Each person is an individual, with hopes, passions, desires, and dreams of a future. Everyone falls into this category, without exception. I wanted to create a photo story that brought forth individuality and empathized with the subjects. I asked each of my subjects to bring with them one object of significance; anything that they had a strong connection to in some way. These are photos that are designed to cast an identifying light on each subject and be read as if you already know this person or someone like them. Understanding what someone has to say is the first step in honoring their intrinsic value as a human being. Value, I believe, that is derived only from our creator and the redemption we all experience through the saving grace of Jesus Christ." - Artist's Statement: Sam Farmer - Fall 2015

     A lot of information can be gleaned from a single image. "A picture is worth a thousand words" is a symbolic statement that only scratches at the surface of what an image can truly represent. Emotions, hopes, accomplishments, struggles, past, present, and future can all be gathered if the images were perfect. My images are far from perfect but what I believe I gathered was a surface level understanding of the complexity of human beings.

These photos were to be reminiscent of portraits made in antebellum America for the purpose of describing oneself. If you type "antebellum calling card" into Google's Image Search you can gather a sense of what I was trying to accomplish. Photographs were intentionally posed and often included clues about what the subjects line of work was or what family legacy they might carry with them. These are the types of photos that are passed on through the generations, carrying with them stories and understanding of who that person was. 

In making these photographs, I chose to call back to that style as for of storytelling. These photos will carry with them a story, and even if the viewer does not know the entire story, the brief glimpse they caught will speak to them in ways that they might understand the unique complexity and human commonality found in what is known that the Image of God. 

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