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How important is it for photographers to shoot personal work? Well, I think different answers come from different photographers, but Minneapolis-based commercial, advertising, editorial, and portrait photographer David Bowman will have a testimonial of success that may or may not alter your thoughts.
Minnesota hosts the 2nd largest state fair in the US by total attendance–the largest by daily attendance. One out of the 1,693,533 in attendance during the 2008 festivities was David (and his 4×5 camera, if that counts), capturing all of the colors and motion. The year before, he took shots of his kids that later sold as stock for an ad campaign. This time around, he gave it some extra effort and five years later, the photos are still receiving exposure and positive feedback.
David showed the images to the editors at TIME, which immediately led to an assignment of Mall of America landscapes. He went on to become the official Minnesota State Fair photographer for a year, followed by winning first place in the IPA Awards in 2011 and National Geographic Magazine selecting one of the images to be the opening spread in the January 2013 125th Anniversary Edition. Popular Photography, Minnesota Monthly, and Quest have all featured spreads of the work in their publications. Discussions about re-licensing the photos along with gallery prints through commercial art dealers have also been made with various outlets.
As for that first question, David’s opinion about taking on projects of your own is quite clear:
Jobs are great, they pay the bills. But they don’t define who I am as an artist. Personal work, on the other hand, is why I am a photographer. I shoot jobs so that I can afford to make personal work.
In the commercial world, the lifespan of a photograph is hard to prolong and they’re easily disposable, but these state fair photos have taken on a life of their own. Just when David thinks the work has run its course, it catches a new set of eyes and the excitement starts all over again–much like a Tilt-A-Whirl at a crowded summer carnival.