Tracy 8/8/21 Tracy 8/8/21

SEA - DCA - PHL

Headed back east last week for a family reunion and memorial for my Pops. DC and Philly to be exact. Spent two days in DC and hung with my brother and got to see a few friends. Saturday morning my brother and I took the Amtrak at zero dark hundred for Philly. In Philly, we walked and walked, and walked, and walked.

I don’t have much of an appetite for travel these days given the pandemic, especially now with the Delta variant running rampant. Decided to roll the dice. The Philly cheesesteak alone was worth it, plus I got to see family I haven’t seen in over 30 years or so.

A few snaps.

Tracy 7/18/19 Tracy 7/18/19

Hustler

His hustle, I’ve always admired it. His creativity, always envied it. His style, always peeped it.

Chris Clayton aka Chris Cardi in NE Washington, D.C.

My younger brother continues to live on his own terms. One thing is certain, us Clayton men are stubborn. But please don’t mistake the stubbornness for arrogance, ya see the arrogance is in the DNA. In all seriousness my brother Chris has always lived a creative life, he’s actually the first “creative” I’ve ever known. Growing up I’d watch him make his own board games, fashion his own clothing, always heads down in his sketchbook, always creating.

Takes balls to leave a comfortable corporate gig to follow your creative pursuits. I wish I had that courage. Oh and I wish I had that hustle, that creativity, that style.

As his company motto says: Live Fresh. Die spoiled.

Stay hustlin’ young man.

Now enough about him, back to me. This is my blog so get that spotlight back on ya boy, moi, me. More and more I’m enjoying making photos like this. Little photo essays, snippets of of my life. I used to love walking the streets for hours chasing that “decisive moment.” Side note, check out Daniel Milnor’s piece on street photography. My photography has evolved and Milnor’s piece put into focus what I’ve been struggling with.

Nowadays I just let the photos come to me, organically. Perhaps one day I’ll get off my ass and pursue a long term photo project. But right now all my photos are personal and I’m enjoying this document your days approach. That approach is taking my camera everywhere and let come what may.

Tracy 6/7/19 Tracy 6/7/19

Focus on the Story 2019

Every year I try to attend a workshop or dedicate a few consecutive days exclusively to photography. Last week, I was in Washington, DC where I attended Focus on the Story . All I can say is wow. I left the conference inspired just wanting to make stories with my camera, especially around my family.

Ruddy Roye onstage dropping knowledge with Ibarionex Perello.

What I really enjoyed about this conference was just like it’s name “Focus on the Story” did just that…focused on the story. There was no talk of gear, f-stops or megapixels, just photo makers talking about storytelling. What attracted me to this conference was the diversity of speakers, check ‘em out. If you’d let history tell it, only middle aged white dudes picked up the camera. It was so refreshing to hear diverse perspectives on what motivated these photographers to chose what stories to tell and how.

Patrick Brown discussing his project “No Place on Earth,” documenting the plight of the Rohingya.

The highlights for me were Ruddy Roye and Gulnara Samoilova both sharing deeply personal stories about how the camera became a companion rather then just a tool. As a fairly new father myself they really resonated with me because Ruddy spoke about the importance of being a father to his two boys and Gulnara talked about how she suffered a miscarriage days after 9/11 when she fell after running from the towers as they were coming down…camera in hand. Both were deeply moving talks where my eyes welled up more than once as their photos were projected on screen and the passion of their voices offering a narrative as if they were in a confessional. Thank you Ruddy and Gulnara for sharing. These two talks alone were worth the price of admission in my book.

Lucian Perkins formerly of the Washington Post discussing his favorite photo series over the years and how technology is changing visual story

It was surreal to see Ibarionex Perello moderating panels and sitting in the audience. I’ve been listening to his podcast The Candid Frame forever. I love his thoughtful analysis on photography and he really has a passion for education.

Ibarionex Perello moderates a panel on Mental Health - Behind and in front of the camera. Panelist included Ruddy Roye, Sheila Pree Bright and Michael McCoy.

Will I be attending Focus on the Story next year? Ya’ damn right, it’s already on my calendar.

Stay shootin’

Three days worth of notes for a lifetime of inspiration.

“Stay shootin’ | Shoot for self. ”