Taylor and Shannon, SXSW 2017 – Austin, Texas

I met Taylor and Shannon on the 3rd floor balcony at The Nat Geo Basecamp, overlooking 6th Street. There was a nice casual vibe, with people enjoying the weather. It wasn’t a place for high-powered deal making, rather just people from different backgrounds, sharing stories.

I like the interplay of local folks and the out of towners. Shannon and Taylor live in Austin and we struck up a conversation with a group from South Africa. That’s the fun part of SXSW. Meeting people from around the world.

Making black and white portraits are fun too, not just for me, but also, surprisingly, for the subjects. They are typically attracted to the retro and shiny PEN-F, which most identify as something different — some even think it’s a film camera. Then, when I show them the high contrast monochromes I’m making, they are intrigued. I ended up shooting several of these two, and other combinations with Taylor’s boyfriend, as well as the guests from Africa.

Day two of the SXSW Portrait series.