My 1st Song
“I’m just, tryin’ to stay above water y’know
Just stay busy, stay workin’
Puff told me like, the key to this joint
The key to stayin’, on top of things
Is treat everythin’ like it’s your first project, you know what I’m sayin’?
Like it’s your first day like back when you was an intern
Like, that’s how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry”
The intro to Jay-z’ “My 1st Song” served as the preface for this photo essay. This summer was a time of reflection for me and my photo journey. 3 years ago I discovered my passion for art in this very gym, using my fathers Canon T6i to take photos of the AEBL Summer League. Growing up in Atlanta you were familiar with the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Dream but I like many others share memories of pickup basketball on a 95 degree day. 5v5 play to 21, call your own fouls and shoot for captain. Those were my teenage summers and seeing how effortlessly this passion translated into my career has been a beautiful thing to watch.
I found myself at the beginning of this summer looking for meaning and purpose in my work. I had been blessed with the dilemma of not having time to pursue personal endeavors due to client work but I was left searching for a way to manifest my growing creativity. When the WNBA went on pause for the Olympics I was lucky to have it coincide with the start of AEBL.
Inspired by photographers such as @hisnameiscourtney and @reginaldthomas these photos are a preview of my photo book titled “My 1st Song”. A manifestation of my current perspective while honoring my beginnings as an artist.
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I can’t thank @liz.calls.it.soccer enough for encouraging me on this project and seeing the beauty in my work that I overlook.
