Artist’s Statement on the Servant Heroes Project

We are surrounded by people who are examples of service to their communities, country and fellow man. For some, it's their chosen career. For others, it was acceptance of service when duty called with no expectation of personal gain. The Servant Heroes project is a photographic attempt to bring recognition of people who may deserve accolades but don't seek it.

I have chosen the wet plate collodion process to present these images for a few key reasons.  The length of time it takes to perform this process allows me to connect with my subjects on a personal level and capture the essence of the sitter, rather than portraying the outside world’s expectation.  The starkness of silver crystals on black glass, along with the limited spectrum of light that collodion is sensitive to, portrays the subjects in a different manner than we are used to viewing people.  And finally, the longevity of the final plate will bring remembrance to these representations of service for many generations of viewers.

This series captures those who are not celebrities because of status or social media, but those who perform service in the background and out of the spotlight.  These portraits intend to shed a bit of light on these individuals while continuing to portray them as an Everyman, representing others who perform similar service to humanity.