William George Wadman
Encyclopedia
William George Wadman (born January 4, 1975) is an American portrait photographer. He has been a contributor to TIME, BusinessWeek
, Improper Bostonian
, POZ
, and others. His images have been featured worldwide in Le Monde
, Der Spiegel
, Times of London, USA Today
, The New York Times
, and Corriere della Sera
. His work tends towards traditional portraiture
in both environmental and studio settings. He shoots in all formats and in both film
and digital.
for two years before earning a bachelor’s degree in Music from Berklee College
in Boston. He spent the next decade working as a freelance art director for major brands including Colgate, Sprint, Phillip Morris, Royal Caribbean, Clairol, RCA, and Xerox. After almost a decade in advertising
, Wadman turned his attention to photography.
.
On June 23, 2007, 365portraits.com was chosen as Yahoo site of the day and earned press coverage from USA Today, The Times of London.
At its peak, 365portraits.com had approximately 20,000 visitors per day and has been widely imitated. His subjects included Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin
, politico Tucker Carlson
, Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Imogen Heap
, essayist Geoff Dyer
, Lord Bath
, Humanitarian Terry Waite
, photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
, TV personality Mo Rocca
, historian James Burke
, adult film star Nicole Sheridan
, activist Chelsea Sexton
, and physicist Brian Greene
.
A limited-edition book was released which contained all 365 portraits. The project was also presented at April 2010 meeting of Photographic Arts & Imaging at the Arts Club in New York City.
A selection of 20 large prints from Drabbles were be featured in a solo show at the SoHo Photo Gallery in Sept 2010. A video of 'The Making of Drabbles' lecture was given at the gallery and can be found online at YouTube and Vimeo.
'Panels' is a collection of multi-photographic works laid out as a page from a graphic novel. Each contains the story of a stereotypical dream. Flying, teeth falling out, chased in the woods, unprepared test, etc.
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
, Improper Bostonian
The Improper Bostonian
The Improper Bostonian is a glossy lifestyle guide for the city of Boston. The magazine comes out bi-weekly and reports on the area trends in a young and entertaining way.The magazine is a staple of the city, being free to people inside the city, and $14.95 a year for people who live outside Boston...
, POZ
POZ (magazine)
POZ is a monthly magazine that chronicles the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS. Its website, Poz.com, has daily HIV/AIDS news, treatment information, forums, blogs and personals....
, and others. His images have been featured worldwide in Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, Times of London, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
. His work tends towards traditional portraiture
Portraiture
Portraiture may refer to:* The creation of any portrait, an artistic representation of a person, including** Portrait painting.** Portrait photography.** Self Portait. MS...
in both environmental and studio settings. He shoots in all formats and in both film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and digital.
Before Photography
Wadman grew up in suburban Connecticut, attended the University of ConnecticutUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
for two years before earning a bachelor’s degree in Music from Berklee College
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston. He spent the next decade working as a freelance art director for major brands including Colgate, Sprint, Phillip Morris, Royal Caribbean, Clairol, RCA, and Xerox. After almost a decade in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, Wadman turned his attention to photography.
365 Portraits
Over the course of 2007, Wadman created his “365 Portraits” project wherein he took a portraits of 365 different people, one a day, posting them as a daily blog. Over the course of the year he traveled from his native New York to London, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Los Angeles, and Washington DC to collect his images. According to interviews, his subjects were largely volunteers who followed the project. Unlike most projects of the type, the portraits were all different and were taken on location and in the studio in 35mm digital, medium format film, or 4x5 PolaroidInstant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
.
On June 23, 2007, 365portraits.com was chosen as Yahoo site of the day and earned press coverage from USA Today, The Times of London.
At its peak, 365portraits.com had approximately 20,000 visitors per day and has been widely imitated. His subjects included Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
, politico Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel...
, Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
, essayist Geoff Dyer
Geoff Dyer
Geoff Dyer is a British author and novelist. He is also a journalist who writes about a wide range of topics. His published work includes four novels and several books of non-fiction, which have won a number of literary awards...
, Lord Bath
Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
, Humanitarian Terry Waite
Terry Waite
Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
, photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is an American portrait photographer known for his strikingly intimate portraits of world leaders and major cultural figures. The majority of his work is shot in large format, 11x14 inch black-and-white film and 8x10 color film...
, TV personality Mo Rocca
Mo Rocca
Maurice Alberto "Mo" Rocca is an American writer, comedian and political satirist.-Early life and work:...
, historian James Burke
James Burke (science historian)
James Burke is a British broadcaster, science historian, author and television producer known amongst other things for his documentary television series Connections and its more philosophical oriented companion production, The Day the Universe Changed , focusing on the history of science and...
, adult film star Nicole Sheridan
Nicole Sheridan
Nicole Sheridan is an American pornographic film actress. She often appears on-screen with her husband Voodoo.- Awards :*2002 AVN Best Anal Sex Scene – Film for Taboo 2001 : A Sex Odyssey...
, activist Chelsea Sexton
Chelsea Sexton
Chelsea Sexton is a marketing expert and advocate of alternative fuel vehicles. Sexton entered the automotive industry at the age of 17 after buying her first Saturn...
, and physicist Brian Greene
Brian Greene
Brian Greene is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1996. Greene has worked on mirror symmetry, relating two different Calabi-Yau manifolds...
.
A limited-edition book was released which contained all 365 portraits. The project was also presented at April 2010 meeting of Photographic Arts & Imaging at the Arts Club in New York City.
Drabbles
In late 2009, Wadman started his Drabbles series; a collection of 46 wide-angle landscape portraits. A departure from his earlier, more intimate work, Drabbles were a voyeuristic look into more scripted image often with the subject playing a role.A selection of 20 large prints from Drabbles were be featured in a solo show at the SoHo Photo Gallery in Sept 2010. A video of 'The Making of Drabbles' lecture was given at the gallery and can be found online at YouTube and Vimeo.
Current Projects
Wadman is currently working on multiple personal projects. 'Motion' is a series of long exposure studies of human motion shot in the studio.'Panels' is a collection of multi-photographic works laid out as a page from a graphic novel. Each contains the story of a stereotypical dream. Flying, teeth falling out, chased in the woods, unprepared test, etc.