Most of my connections to the artists we feature on WOP are virtual: we connect through Flickr or Twitter or Tumblr and bat emails back and forth. Then we talk on the phone for about an hour and I share the results with you guys…
Troy is different… I know Troy very well… in real life.
Sitting down over Chick-fil-A sandwiches, while my daughter terrorizes the boys in the playland, we talked for a half-hour about projects that we’re working on at LVC, our families and painting his house.
Troy has this off-grain sense of humor that makes me vaguely uncomfortable in public… He doesn’t mind being the center of attention… It totally freaks me out. He’s one of THOSE people who has never met a stranger, while I’m one of those people who learned to never talk to strangers…
After several years and a number of outings with him and our kids, I’m more accustomed to the way he reaches out to everyone he encounters… He’s charming, really… But being in public with Troy is still very similar to the experience of riding on a parade float…
So, I wave helplessly at the passers-by and ask my questions.
I already know quite a bit about Troy… He’s been interested in photography since he was a small child, growing up in Michigan. His first pictures were captured with a MagiMatic camera; images of the outdoors and Canadian geese whose heads were often out of frame. He studied later at the Art Institute of CO and spent a number of years working in a portrait studio before starting his own business about 2 years ago…
I have worked with Troy at LVC as well… He does free portraits for guests at our Night in Bethlehem event and has submitted work for our galleries. He has also done work for 2=1 (a marriage ministry) and CO-AID (a non-profit that does work in India and Haiti).
What I’ve been wanting to share with you guys for a while is Troy’s work with Shiloh House, a foster-care home for boys that have difficult and often troubled backgrounds…
He shared his vision with me more than a year ago:
…To photograph the boys at Shiloh House… To affirm them in who they are by portraying their hearts through imagery and portraiture (that) uses their ideas…
Which is the sort of thing that Troy does with high school seniors and brides-to-be and other characters he meets… His portrait work begins with building a relationship with his clients, finding out what they like and who they are; then going out to locations where they feel comfortable and shooting pictures…
There is a strong sense of collaboration with his clients… Capturing their loves and aspirations and stories is as important to Troy as getting the light and composition right…
Relationship is vital to his work and that personal understanding comes through in the images he captures… His portraits are intimate and compelling…
He has been working with Shiloh House, shooting their events, as a part-time member of their volunteer staff…
It seemed to take forever to get through the paperwork and training. They do background checks and training about interacting with the kids… It was quite a process…
I had the opportunity to be around while Troy was doing a shoot… His outgoing nature is at its best in these situations to draw out his subjects, to make them feel at ease, to be their friend…
No doubt, this is a tremendous experience for boys who come out of poverty, neglect and abuse…
You can see more of Troy’s work on his website: www.TroyRowe.com or become a fan on Facebook.
All of Troy’s images are copyrighted and used by permission.
the expressions Troy captured in the little girl’s and older woman’s face are amazing. so much emotion and character comes through his photographs. thanks for sharing him with us, i’m heading over to his website.