I think I view self-portraits differently than many photographers. Some photographers use them to portray ideas about themselves or display their own emotions; and while I have done that before, that is not my normal approach. Usually, I use myself as a model to portray a concept rather than viewing it as an actual photograph of myself. I think of myself as a “vessel” for my concepts rather than the focus of the photograph. All of these pieces are personal work and mark the accomplishment of another yearly project; something I am proud to say I have been able to do twice to this point in my career.
Santa was a special case, in this series. I have been friends with the model for a couple years and he really embodies the whole persona of Santa. He has kids come up to him in the grocery store all of the time and he is quite a good sport in playing along when they ask him why he’s not at the North Pole or what they are getting for Christmas. He is such a nice guy that I thought he might not be interested in doing a “darker” Santa photo. Once he got wind of my idea he got super excited and we really had a blast shooting it.