Personal Stories | Parris Whittingham - New York Wedding Photographer

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Reflections on 2010 | A Year of Collaboration

January 2, 2011

“Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Like many visual artists, I spend most of my time working in private. Yet, my work is possible because the remarkable people I collaborate with. Below are 5 highlights from projects we delivered in 2010:

The RLS Project: Mentorship in the Arts
New York City is home to the largest school district in the country. Considering its size, its downright embarrassing and expensive that 41% of our high school students never graduate. Across the country, schooling (both public and private) has become a place that many young people associate with boredom and confinement. For 2010, our studio traveled to Crown Heights, Brooklyn and developed an 8 week photography program for students at The High School for Global Citizenship.

The goal of this collaboration was to engage young people in meaningful conversation about their world. In the process, they learned to use photography as a tool for self-expression and storytelling. The school’s art teacher Caryn Davidson and an NYU business student named Zandra Man were especially supportive in creating a safe space for innovation. Students also attended field trips throughout New York City to meet with leading professionals in creative development, photography and education. The students also curated a photography exhibition that was attended by our families, friends and mentors. Presently, each student is on track to graduate on time and attend college.

Sponsors for this project included: Magnum Photos, Behance, Duggal Visual Solutions, K&M Camera and TED fellow Dr.Kyra Gaunt.

SIDENOTE: Shortly after interning with our studio and completing this project, Zandra decided to leave business school at NYU and pursue a career in education. She is also studying at seminary school to become a nun.

We Launched “From Parris With Love”
From Parris With Love is about celebrating remarkable love stories through photography, film and words. This site features proposal, engagement and wedding photography stories that inspire me. I also share personal inspirations I encounter in art, design and life. The concept and development of this site was made possible by: Melissa Matos, Ekta Kapadia, Jacqueline Iannacone, Nicholas Hudson and Jessica Lehrman. I produced each short film in collaboration with director Matthew Charof and sound designer Michael Leary.

Real Couples and Editorial Wedding Features
This year, I collaborated some extraordinary couples. Many of their engagement, proposal and wedding photography stories were published (features including: Destination i Do magazine, Essence Online and The Brides Cafe). I also photographed a wedding fashion editorial that is featured on The Cotton Bride.

Book Feature
My photography collaboration with Indian designer Archan Nair is featured in Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. The book is currently a Wall Street Journal bestseller and Scott was named one of “The 100 most Creative People in Business in 2010” by Fast Company.

Supporting Leaders in Education and Creative Development
In 2010, our studio continued to provide media sponsorship plus commissioned service to leading agencies in education and creative development including: The Harlem Children’s Zone, Focus Features, TEDxGotham, The 99% Conference, and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

This year I learned that great ideas are rarely conceived or delivered in isolation. Therefore, I’m most thankful for the experiences that allowed me to explore new ways to engage within the community (from New York to New Delhi) and innovate. Developing a sense of humor and light-heartedness truly helps in this process. Happy New Year!

Tags: collaboration, community, creativity, new york engagement photographer, new york wedding photographer, press features, reflections on 2010, wedding dress, wedding dresses, year of collaboration
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Remarkable Love Stories: Chapter 3 – Legacy

September 20, 2010

“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.” - Alex Haley

Behind the Scenes
In the past two years, over five close relatives and friends in my life have passed away. Overcoming this trauma has helped shape my work and commitment to celebrating love stories. Chapter 1 of “Remarkable Love Stories” reflects on my experience as an engagement, proposal and wedding photographer in New York. I explored the quality of engagement and how it fundamentally strengthens our relationships. In Chapter 2, we met on newlyweds Janet and Chip. Through their friendship we can see how the elements of play and friendship shape engagement story. For Chapter 3, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into my personal connection with New York City, photography and legacy.

About this Film
For this short film, you meet my Grandmother and my mother. Both women are tremendous influences on my appreciation of art and history. Listening to my grandmother describe her earliest experiences of New York helped me to touch that moment in time. I could not imagine Grand Central Station as she described it (windows blackened during World War II to avoid bombing) until we produced this film. Seeing her “revisit” the darkroom where my Great-Grandfather taught himself the craft of photography was also a surprise. These are stories from over 70 years ago. Moments in history that live in her memory and will fade with her passing if they are not documented. I’d never heard these stories about my Grandmother’s childhood until we interviewed her for this film. She simply doesn’t talk about it…

Producers Commentary
When my mother said, “what you capture in a picture has a story behind it, there’s movement, there’s something that goes on that you may or may not necessarily see but it’s just as important as what’s on that image!” I was blown away. The truth is, I rarely talk about the feelings I experience as a wedding photographer with my family. I often share the stories of the couples I’m working with and their adventures together. Sometimes I wonder if they understand me or why I am so passionate about this work. This mother’s clearly articulated words outline my focus as an engagement, proposal and wedding photographer in a single sentence. This experience especially touched me.

Losing a friend or a relative often strikes at our core and makes us question re-examine the world around. In these times of loss, we are presented with the unique opportunity to more clearly appreciate how fortunate we are. My personal regret for the relatives and friends who are no longer with me is that I did not appreciate the power of documenting their stories in life. Chapter 3, allowed me to connect with my family legacy of storytelling and photography. Sadly, my Grandmother suffered a stroke just weeks after this interview and is now recovering. Thankfully, this film will remain in my family as a testament to her story and legacy.

Director: Mathew Charof
Sound Designer: Michael Leary
Producer: Parris Whittingham

Tags: bryant park, grand central station, grand central terminal, new york, new york wedding film, new york wedding films, NY, NYC, wedding film
Posted in Film Stories, Personal Stories | 6 Comments »

50 Years from now…

August 13, 2010

“Love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it” - Maya Angelou

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY – This past Fall, Dr.Kyra Gaunt and I shared a music/photography project with the attendees at TED x East. The day was especially fruitful because I had the opportunity to learn from people with a passion for self-exploration and social engagement. Suzi Welch was the first presenter to share at the event and she spoke about doing your “life’s work”. Towards the end of her presentation, Suzi asked each of us to consider the following: “Fifty years from now, what would make you so happy it would bring tears of joy to your eyes?”

I already experience so much pleasure and joy as a wedding photographer; documenting remarkable love stories and the people who make them possible. I already cry tears of joy because I feel really fortunate and grateful for this life. What more would make me happier 50 years from now? Then it hit me….

I know men in their 20′s, 30′s, 40′s and 50′s who have undeniable joie de vivre. Then sometime before 70, they seem to lose it (some of us lose it way before 70). I didn’t know any man in his 70′s that was still engaged with and passionate about living…until I met Bill Woodson. Bill is witty, engaging, world-traveled, well-read, compassionate, punctual and computer savvy (he responds to emails faster than most people I know). Over the course of several months (and several meals), we have become good friends.

In May, Bill celebrated his 80th birthday at Terrace in the Sky. For me, these images document the quality of engagement, passion and support that exist throughout Bill’s life. In the background, you can see him presenting a slideshow complete with photos from his childhood, world travels and brief career as a model (he’s like The Most Interesting Man in the World). Below are more images from the evening…

Overall, this experience reminded me of the old expression: “we are defined by the company we keep”. The people we choose to date, marry, work for, work with, serve (yes your clients too) are all reflections of who we are. How does the company you keep reflect the person you are becoming 50 years from now?

P.S. This story is dedicated to one of Bill’s close friends Denise Jefferson (Above left in the photo). Denise was the director of The Ailey School. She passed away about two months after this photo was taken. Her legacy as a dance educator and ambassador for the arts will continue to thrive in the students, friends and family that became her life.

Tags: Bill Woodson, Denise Jefferson, Kyra Gaunt, Suzi Welch, TED
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