My name is David Talley, and I am a photographer and director form Portland, OR. I believe there is an incredibly deep-rooted problem in the photography industry. When I first started creating images 3 years ago, I saw and felt a lack of community and collaboration through the medium of conceptual photography. Because of this intense desire for community, and without consciously knowing it, I began a mission to correct this problem and change it through the interactions I engaged in with others.
As I developed my craft as a photographer through my 365 project, I encountered an instance of deep emotional turmoil – or, what I thought at the time was deep and emotional, when my first serious girlfriend broke up with me. Hah! I started creating art from the my emotional core of heartbreak, and other photographers on the web took notice – in particular, one guy from rural Indiana. Now, this was at a time when reaching out to other people through the internet wasn’t just uncommon – it was weird. This guy, Ethan, sent me a kind message saying how he noticed I was creating some very dark, emotional art. He gave me his cell number and told me to call or text him if I needed to talk. He ended up not being weird, and I slowly opened up, weighing in to the deep need I had for community and acceptance and a place to discuss the art I was creating from my emotions. We became close friends and resolved to meet up the following summer, just the two of us, to create photos together for a few days on his parents farm in Indiana.
Slowly but surely, other photographers began to open up in this same fashion, following suit of our example, and in a chain reaction, we all became internet-friends. Thus, the number of people meeting up in Indiana the following summer to camp and create art grew from 2 to 30 in just a few short months. The week that we photographers spent together in Indiana in 2012 was a life-altering experience. The community that has developed from that one meetup has spurred people to completely change their lives for the better, to create more art, to spread positivity and love, and to help others when they need it most. I wouldn’t be the same without this core group of people.
In April of 2014, I was involved in an incident in San Francisco where all of my photography gear was stolen from me. The photography community that I had become a part of it supported me through the entire situation, as I went from absolutely nothing, to re-building a business from scratch. I took a train home from San Francisco the day after my gear was stolen, and with only a Moleskine journal and pen in my possession, I built a way for photographers to break free of the darkness of the photography community and build relationships with one another through the medium of conceptual art. Thus Concept Collaboration was born:
Concept Collaboration is the world’s largest photo collaboration and collection of collaborative visual media. It takes the idea of these photo meetups that so deeply changed my life and the lives of others, and applies it to a global scale. It pushes the boundaries of the photographic industry by encouraging collaboration and growth between artists, both like-minded and different. It enables photographers around the world to create by providing a concept at the beginning of each month, and it allows photographer to come together in-person to network and meet each other as they create art. It provides the means for photographers to create their best work, by providing models, props, wardrobe, and sets at the in person event. This project also provides the opportunity for work to be discovered, and art-enabling prizes to be won. More than a collaboration, it is year long shooting challenge to create your absolute best work and grow as a photographer.
It is my vision that through the medium of conceptual photography and the interaction and collaboration of those creating, we can incite change in the world by building and improving not only our art, but our relationships with each other. Learn more about the project on Kickstarter.
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David Talley is an internationally recognized photographer, director, and producer based in Portland, OR. His works exhibits the darkest moment before an explosion of light, a story broken, but changed for the better, and the ability to transform the present problem in to a prospering future. http://www.conceptcollaboration.com
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