William Feiring

FEEL THE MUSIC

The power of music is universal.

Most of us have songs we love. Music can remind us of people, places or experiences that hold meaning for us, as well as evoke feelings of joy, excitement, or sadness. When I Listen to“Mother’s Song”by Gregory Porter, I always think of my mom and how important she was to me in my life.

For this project, I asked people to listen to music that holds meaning for them while being photographed. I wanted to capture their emotions to the music. Some of the songs chosen I knew, and during the sitting, I often found myself absorbed by the melody or lyrics and forgetting I was supposed to be taking a photo.

Just like the many genres of music, many kinds of feelings were evoked, from sorrow to happiness. Some were meditative as they listened, others more physically expressive. Before a session, many people voiced that they were apprehensive about being photographed, however the power of the music moved everyone beyond self-consciousness. Four days after sitting, Brown, ninety-four, told me“Been a long time since I’ve taken the time to enjoy those musical pleasures.” Eight days later Brown passed away.

Artist Bio

William Feiring’s work explores the intersection of documentary and portrait photography. His images are characterized by a deep respect for authenticity and human connection.

For the past five years, he has been documenting the workers at Honey Pot Hill Orchards, a four-generation family farm located in Stow, MA. Photographing the family, local full-time workers and seasonal workers from Jamaica are all part of this project.

Since 2017, Feiring has been on the board of the BCA Photo Group of Bedford, MA. He transitioned the group to Zoom during the Covid pandemic and managed their “Image Sharing” critiques. This entailed recruiting regional professionals, collating images and hosting the online meetings.

Primarily self-taught, Feiring recently completed the nine-month intensive Atelier program taught by Emily Belz at the Griffin Museum, Winchester, MA. His current portraiture project “Feel the Music,”captures his subjects’ response to music.