Self-Portrait

In many ways, photography was a bit of a surprise to me. I had only been mildly interested in it until 1975, when a vocational testing service’s top recommendation was photojournalism. (It seems I have an aptitude in audio pitch discrimination that photographers share.) Soon afterwards I bought my first camera and found a new and lifelong friend.

Over the next few years I immersed myself in courses at Nashville State Community College and completed a series on the people of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee, among other projects.

In 1985, following stints in advertising in Chicago, stock brokerage in Memphis and Nashville, and Film School at USC in Los Angeles, I followed a lifelong dream I had never dared speak of and started a college and club touring rock band, Mel and the Party Hats.  In the beginning, I couldn't sing especially, but I had a wonderful voice teacher in Rene Grant-Williams, whose encouragement and instruction were among the greatest gifts of my life. Over 500,000 people have seen the band, which still plays today.

In 2000, I went to Nepal following a series of life-changing events and took my camera along with me to bring back memories of that most exotic land halfway around the world. I hadn't taken a picture in years. Again, to my surprise, I was able to communicate the excitement and awe that accompanied me throughout my stay there, and wound up having three shows and selling many prints from my three-month study and meditation.

In 2005 I finally followed the recommendation from 30 years before and began a career as a shooter in earnest. As his major influences, I count Man Ray, Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Sam Taylor-Wood, Marilyn Minter, and Jack Spencer, among others. I also want to thank Jamie Stream for opening my eyes to the grand art world that exists today.

Along with giving me the memories which my images provide and taking me down the exciting and mysterious path into the unknown that every shoot provides, photography provides me a great balance to my own performance inclinations.  I enjoy making others my "focus."

I  like to think of my camera as another set of eyes. I hope I can make a difference with my work.

And that you will be surprised.

Hunter Armistead