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Dan Prince is taking time to photograph people giving 100%. Starting two years ago, he’s photographed paralympians at the top of their game. He knew it would be a project that could cross into athletics, clothing brands, product manufacturing (for prosthetic and body-technology items), and health care, and most importantly, one that honored people working their hardest given their circumstance and inspired others to do the same.
I wanted to shoot something with depth and story, but be able to cross various platforms of interest.
It started from wanting to do a sports project as well as a long term reportage project. His first subject was a paralympian, and since then he’s shot 5 paralympians in the past two years. Dan’s latest shoot was with Great Britain paracanoe member, Robert Oliver, who hopes to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. Robert was involved with sports from a young age, heading towards being a weightlifter at one point, and then football once he got serious in high school. At age 20, a football injury to his right leg had him in and out of 17 failed operations and eventually, in need of a leg amputation. Robert thought his career as an athlete was over until he learned that he could kayak and still take part in a competitive sport as an amputee. Since then, he’s committed himself to being the best.
They all have that compulsion to become the best. 100% describes this perfectly without having to explain it too much. This is what it takes to become the best. The Paralympic athletes have had a very personal journey to get to where they are, and I have a huge respect for that. This can inspire people from all walks of life, and that is what I want to achieve from the project.
For this shoot, Dan approached 17 Sports Management to see if he could connect to athletes through them. 17 Sports Management was eager to get on board with the project, and they will be working with Dan to select more athletes for his 100% series. Getting athletes through sports management makes the shoot process smoother for Dan, as then he can get them during a planned training session or during breaks in their schedule.
The biggest challenge for each shoot continues to be getting the stills in the same time and space as the videos, which Dan feels are an essential part of bringing the project to life. “I feel the short films really bring people to the project, and maybe gain interest from anyone and everyone.”
Right now, Dan has two more 100% projects already in the works, this time with athletes who are not paralympians. Dan says these athletes come from very different areas of sport, and he’s excited to see how the project can expand. He also has several more paralympians who are lining up to be part of the project themselves.
To view more of Dan’s work, visit danprince.co.uk.