Commercial and portrait photographer John Mireles is based in San Diego, but he is on a mission to visit all 50 states for his Neighbors portrait project.

When Photo Projects Are Personal

“Neighbors” is a personal project, grown out of the need to stay creatively engaged in photography as well as to prevent burn out in the industry. But it isn't John Mireles' first long term photography project.

A few years ago he drove from southern California all the way to North Dakota, to discover and photograph oil workers in the Bakken oil fields. At the culmination of that project, Mireles published a book called The Bakken.

It's impressive work, no doubt, but I imagine they weren't easy to produce. Persuasion, charm, efficiency and professionalism perhaps were all factors in aiding John's efforts on that trip. And he is feeling that itch to get on the road again.

This time, he started photographing his neighbors in San Diego. He wants to continue setting up studios in different locations across the US, to photograph even more people; giving them a face and a voice to express themselves.

Take for example this striking portrait of Chuco that John created at Chicano Park Day in San Diego.

Mireles writes about Chuco in his blog:

The gang life lost its importance however, once he began to raise a family. His wife and kids – he has four now – became the focus of his life and he took to it with all the seriousness with which he formerly administered his gang life.

The portrait is one of many Mireles has created. But he doesn't stop there. He prints them and then displays them on his fence for the whole world to see.

Neighbors began as a series of portraits taken on the streets of a lower income community in San Diego. Instead of focusing on attention grabbing characters, I chose as my subjects the everyday people who constitute the backbone of the community. Afterwards, I displayed these tightly cropped portraits at 4 feet by 6 feet in a prominent location available for all to see.

Check out this short documentary about John creating these large portraits:

Again, pretty impressive. All of this as you can imagine takes a fair share of financial resources. This is where he needs our help. He has set up a fundraising campaign that will help him finance this new project. Having seen his previous accomplishments and what he is able to produce, I have no doubt that the “Neighbors” project when completed will become a historical document as this country goes through massive changes in its demographics.

The Interview

A few weeks back, John and I got together to chat about “Neighbors” and how he plans to pursue it. Give this interview a listen:

For those who do support this project, John is offering a signed magazine that will most definitely become a collector's item.

Other Neighbors

Support The Neighbors Project

If you have scrolled down this far, you know that John Mireles is creative and resourceful. As an artist who engages so successfully with his community, John needs our timely support to continue and complete “Neighbors”.

Can I count on you to support him? Click this link to make your donation, however big or small, now.

Beryl Ayn Young has just written her first children's book called “Phoebe The Photographer: Gets A Camera“.

When Beryl Ayn was 20 weeks into her first pregnancy, she lost the baby. Though she had initially planned to photograph her daughter, Beryl Ayn instead leaned on photography as a way to rediscover herself. She began a blog and started sharing her work. Soon she gained a following with other moms who sought her out for their own healing process.

As a teacher, Beryl Ayn embraced technology and taught as a school teacher. She now teaches moms the in's and outs of photography through her courses on her site.

Her experiences have helped her find the real reason moms take up photography and that is to have deeper connections with their children.

By writing Phoebe The Photographer: Gets A Camera, Beryl Ayn hopes to inspire a love of photography in children early on in their development and give moms who also pursue photography a clear path to connecting with their little ones.

The book's message, about empowerment and resilience for girls and women, is rooted in the idea that we don't always get what we want. It took her nearly three years to find an illustrator and when that business connection failed her, she set the project aside only to take it up a few months later.

I spoke with Beryl Ayn about the process of writing this book. Here is our short conversation:

Some of the other challenges Beryl Ayn faced were finding the right language to use, defining the length of the book and figuring out the book's target audience.

Beryl Ayn has curated a recent blog post on her site called “41 Experts And Creatives Reveal Their 3 Best Tips To Make Photography Fun For Kids“. I was honored to be asked to contribute to this project. Read what I had to say on the topic!

If you have kids who are between the ages of 3 and 8, this would make for a perfect gift to them. So, buy the book right now.

Why Stories?

If you lived in the US between 1985 and 1987, you probably watched a show on the NBC television network called Amazing Stories.

While the 45-episode series explored fantasy, horror and science-fiction, as a 15-year old boy, I was hooked. I wasn't the only one, though. I recall that series being the subject of many discussions at school between friends who were also watching it with me.

Why?

Well told stories, whether it was your grandma or a Steven Spielberg production (which Amazing Stories was), have a way of capturing people's imagination, delivering a message with impact and motivating or inspiring action.

But narrating stories is a skill that doesn't come easy. Much less an epic story, I have struggled all my life to tell a joke without swallowing the punchline. So, if telling stories is powerful and it can captivate audiences near and far, online and off-line, how does one embrace the process of storytelling that it becomes second nature?

Storytelling Is Sacred

Enter Patrick Moreau of Muse Storytelling. He staunchly believes he has the process figured out. His company Stillmotion routinely wins awards, including five Emmy's, for documentaries the company has produced for its clients.

When it comes to storytelling from the heart, we believe you can learn more from a well-informed friend than you can from the finest academic institutions. We bring this personal approach to our storytelling processes, books, online courses, intensive workshops, filmmaking consultation, mentorships, and speaking events in the world at large.

Patrick Moreau is quite literally, obsessed with story. He believes that story is unparalleled in it’s ability to bring people together. And so he spends his days telling stories through his filmmaking at Stillmotion and helping others be empowered by story through their Muse Storytelling process.

He believes that we must “guide the heart, but move the heart” – that we need to connect emotionally if we want to change the behavior or perspective of our audience. It’s a philosophy that’s been presented to global business leaders at the United Nations in 2014 as well as at TedX (see below).

He’s worked for some big brands, directed several documentaries, won some Emmy’s, but more than any of that, he’s a real dude that loves the craft of filmmaking and how it’s a skeleton key to unlock so much wonder in this world.

Read – What science can teach us about being a truly happy creative?
Read – The importance of storytelling over statistics.
Read – What makes for a great Super Bowl ad?

The Interview

I had a wonderful opportunity to speak with Patrick about Muse Storytelling and his work at Stillmotion:

Examples of Stillmotion's Work

Click on the photographs below to get a glimpse of the work Patrick and his team at Stilmotion have produced in the past.

Patrick Moreau at TedX

Do you still need to be convinced about storytelling? Here is a TedX talk that Patrick gave just last year:

Tools To Build Stories – Register For Storybuilder

So, how does one construct a story? If you are a filmmaker or a photographer, you have a lot of factors to consider and keeping track of them all is challenging.

Patrick Moreau and his team are on the cusp of releasing a tool to help you build your stories. It's called Storybuilder and it launches on May 23rd. Register for the launch and receive 3 months to give the new tool a whirl for free.