Jason (JaDo)
by Peek Physique
Eliminating distractions isn't just a goal in Tom from Peek Physique's work, it is a must. Tom lost his hearing slowly has he was growing up and distractions only took away from the focus.
'You will see evidence of this in my work, with many images containing only what is needed to convey a message.'
I was struck by how vivid Tom's shots were. In this series featuring 22 year old JaDo, the colors and detail in the walls of graffiti were shot with as much focus as the model standing within them.
'I work in journalism and take subjects as they come. I don't try to change models, I try to photograph them to make them look their best.'
Tom says that in his first year as a student at Rochester Institute of Technology, they were not allowed to crop their shots. pictures. 'I learned to frame each image in the viewfinder and eliminate "noise" before clicking the shutter.'
I have a member of my family who is blind and when with them, I instinctively think of my surroundings in terms of how he will maneuver with it. Knowing Tom is deaf, I began to view his work though a differnt lense and instantly felt the 'quiet'. Even with the exterior shots and the 'busy' surroundings some things just got clearer.
The first image from Peek Physique that I saw was the shot below. There was something quite powerful in the shot, a feeling of disappointment, expressed by the shot and the model even with JaDo's face in profile. It was if something, maybe the loss of the big game, or maybe something more personal more intimate had just occurred that brought about immediate regret.
You can see more of the work of Peek Physique HERE: