52 Pickups: Portraits of Guitarists and their Guitars at SXSW 2012
Amidst the mayhem that is South By Southwest, I set out on a mission to photograph as many guitarists and their guitars as possible. With my camera and a ring flash in hand, I took portraits of 52 guitarists and their guitar (or guitars in Ben Howard’s case)—placing both side-by-side.
As I conducted my project throughout the week, I realized the importance of photographing the guitarist and guitar separately from each other. Not only did I get to know the guitarist through their portrait, but I was able to get a sense of who they were through looking just at their guitars. A photo of just a guitar not only places a lot of emphasis on the image’s aesthetic, but also provides a sense of the musician’s history with the instrument.
This gallery includes guitarists such as Built To Spill’s Doug Martsch to singer/songwriter Madi Diaz and all were photographed with the same theme in mind.\
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