ARTIST STATEMENT

For the last 45 years, I have worked as a photojournalist and as a motion picture still photographer on some critically acclaimed and, some say, important films. My photographic hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, once said:

 “Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes."

To his great honor, I have always tried to capture “the decisive moment” with my photographs. Whether it is the dramatic point of a scene on a movie set or the essence and sparkle of an individual in a photojournalistic portrait or an event, I look to capture a defining moment “in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes.”  I hope this turns an otherwise ordinary snapshot into something a bit more meaningful. If I’m lucky, some of my images might be meaningful enough to serve as historical documents. And, if I am really lucky, perhaps some of my work will evoke the emotions of those few who would consider my photographs as art. I am a working-class guy by nature, but have always felt like an artist at heart.  And, like anyone bestowed with certain skills, I have always tried to work at the top of my game and have strived to deliver a good body of work, with interesting subjects, portrayed in interesting photographs, grabbing a split second in time, and turning it into a great physical and emotional joy.

--Brian Hamill