Phillip Wong Photography

Portraits

          Portraits tell a story of a person, a place, a history, a passion, a motivation and a definition.  In many of these images, I interviewed the people I was photographing, writing the story of who they were, and why they were important, what they did and how they were separate from the person in the next role.  There are actors, musicians, designers, makeup artists, and people who shot to stardom, and those who struggled before dragging themselves up after years of growth.

          The writer, E.M.Forster, wrote, in The Aspects of the Novel, that an audience wants to know: “What happens next.”  In editorial work, I often follow that path, but in portraits, the audience wants to know: “Who is this?”

          Portraits define both the individual humanity, and our collective soul. It is our defiance and desire.