Caleb Palmer has been been capturing moments around the world for over 25 years. In that time he has photographed old friends and new friends throughout the United States. His documentary work has taken him to Mexico, the Philippines, Europe, India and Egypt.
He and his wife Becca live with their three kids in Casper, Wyoming.
The dictionary describes a portrait as “the likeness of a person, especially of the face.” Think about some important portraits, whether painted, drawn, or photographed and what is the thing that stands out to you? Is it the background? Is it the location? Is it really even the technique or style the portrait was done in? Probably the thing that sticks out in your memory the most is the face, and in many cases it is probably the eyes.
The human mind is designed to recognize and remember faces. Expressions can often give us a lot of insight into the character of a person. For me, creating photographic portraits is about capturing that character. A portrait painter uses their skill to combine features and details over a period of time, or from multiple source images to create a single composite image that is their translation of that person’s character. As a photographer I try to capture in 1/125th of a second a single moment that encapsulates a piece of who that person is.
For me portraits are more that just recording milestones in a person’s life. A good portrait can stand on its own and last for generations, not because of the perfect location, or the perfect lighting, or even the perfect pose. A timeless portrait becomes art because of the character and personality of the subject and the skill and creativity of the artist.
