Luke Copping is a photographer who has never been afraid to take chances. We have a longstanding working relationship — it all started five years ago when we did his branding and in that time since, we’ve collaborated on a magazine, print portfolio, and more promotional pieces than we can count. But this piece today? It’s our favorite by far.
As creatives, it’s easy to get caught up in our own heads, our own careers and our own game. A lot of photographers and designers will put out promo pieces featuring their latest work. And, this is completely logical. But, Luke had done that already and frankly, had another idea:
Why not make a piece all about the cool things happening in his hometown that focuses on the makers and doers who are changing things for the better?
And with that, he set off to interview five agents of change around Buffalo, New York including:
• A furniture builder who crafts his pieces from reclaimed wood
• A startup who produces t-shirts and uses the proceeds to fund inspiring causes
• Two high school teachers turned artisanal ice cream makers
• A historical re-enactor who also acts on period TV shows
• A husband and wife team who make award-winning English pork pies
On their own, the stories were eclectic, inspiring and really showcased the personalities of these makers and doers. We also saw immense potential for this piece to reach a whole new audience — even someone who wasn’t necessarily looking for a photographer at that moment would still pick up the paper because the stories and photos were that cool.
Luke wanted to produce this piece on newsprint for a very old school, authentically analog look and we ended up using Newspaper Club because they can do much smaller runs than traditional printers and have very user-friendly templates (if you want more information on newsprint and printers, this post will help).
The outcome was exactly what we were hoping for — a little gritty, completely real and above all, an honest look into the lives of makers and doers who are working hard to change their surroundings for the better.
Congratulations to Luke for another great idea that’s now landing in the hands of people everywhere. Luke’s run was on the small side but not to worry: you can download a copy of your own here!