JAMES HAYMAN REALISM

by on in Art, Culture, Lifestyle, Photography, Places, Portraits, Travel
James Hayman is a photographer as well as a film / television director, producer, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. 
His photojournalism and film education from American University, University of California, Santa Barbara, and post-graduate work at New York University led him to travel around the world. He notably traveled to Central America, working for the UN’s disaster relief efforts after the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala. In the 1980s, Hayman began shooting various independent films in New York City, gaining recognition as the cinematographer for An Autumn’s Tale, starring Chow Yun-Fat, which swept the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1987. 

London

In 1989 he moved to Los Angeles, where he went on to direct and produce multiple television shows and films including episodes of The Sopranos, ER, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, and others. Hayman has also worked as an executive producer, most notably on Ugly Betty, which led to winning a Golden Globe Award. He has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and a Director’s Guild Award. 
In addition to his photography archives, Hayman’s current work began in 2014, when he moved to New Orleans to run the television show NCIS: New Orleans. The community, landscape, and culture of the area led him to photograph a series that balances both his eye for humanist cinematography and socio-economic realities.  One of his New Orleans images was accepted into “The Connected World” exhibition at the Los Angeles Center for Photography in May, 2020.

New Orleans

While in New Orleans, Hayman’s assistant and friend, Mary Thornton, started a nonprofit called Pack Essentials, to support people experiencing homelessness, a domestic non-profit, 100% funded by private donations that delivers basic essentials across New Orleans to unhoused communities.

“Throughout the years, whenever I am in New Orleans, I work with them to support their mission and delivery essentials across the NOLA area.”

Hayman continues to support local organizations and nonprofits, using his photography to not only shed a light on the reality of the underclass but also to call viewers to action. “Throughout my career, I’ve used photography to engage with people, share their stories, reveal their truths. I do not want to shy away from the inequities that are very real and often go unseen in our daily lives, but I also do not want to merely observe. This is why philanthropy and volunteerism must be another part of that photographic engagement. I encourage everyone to not merely observe, but to expand our awareness and our support wherever and whenever possible.”

New Orleans

“I’ve always been a visual storyteller, interested in other people’s stories. When I first picked up a camera, I believed being a photographer meant staying hidden behind the camera, solely as an observer.  As I’ve grown as an artist, I’ve since realized that it doesn’t need to end there, it can be so much more.”

New Orleans

“Photography is an interactive experience, an exchange between listener and storyteller. My photography aims to document these moments of exchange and is deeply rooted in the world communities I find myself drawn toward. And while these photographs might capture such specific moments, I also believe they transcend time and place. They negotiate between the ephemera of the moment and the timeless nature of the photograph.”

Pune, Maharashtra, India

“No matter where I might be, or who I might be speaking with, the construction of narrative is what ultimately leads to a lasting image: a totality of human experience suspended within a single frame.”

Kenai, Quartzsite, AZ

Name : James Hayman

Birthplace : Paterson, New Jersey

Métier : Fine Art Photography

Sources of inspiration : The world around me. See my favorite quote below!

Anguilla

Sources of motivation :  My desire to capture moments of humanity. Hopefully these captured moments will encourage people to come to the aid of their fellow humankind. To engage in laughter and love and to embrace the concept that we are all versions of the same.

What makes you happy : The click of the shutter, knowing I have captured a moment. As I shoot a subject, when I feel that I have captured the perfect moment, I get a satisfaction like no other.

Favorite reads : All types of fiction. Lately, I’ve been reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doer, Husbandry by Mathew Dickman, and a daily New York Times (paper version not digital). 

Favorite tunes : Depending on my mood it could be The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, or Diplo and other electronic music. In a way, music is another answer to what is my source of inspiration.

Manzanar, Eastern Sierras

Favorite foods : Sushi, Southern BBQ, anything from New Orleans, po’ boys, gumbo, anything fried, crayfish, beignets and chicory coffee at Cafe Du Monde.

Travel tips : Take carry-on and always carry your passport. You never know when you gotta go. 

Favorite ways to unwind : Being in water, preferably the Caribbean Sea. If I am landlocked, then golf, my dogs, and exercise.

Favorite part of living in LA : The ocean nearby and the lake I live on. I guess I’m a water guy!

Paris

What gets you in a working flow : Boredom. Whenever I feel bored, I get out and work. It immediately gets my synapses firing.

What are you working on now : A museum group show in Tokyo, and a  new gallery showing in Florence, Italy along with some upcoming NFT drops.

Favorite motto / quote : “You just have to live and life will give you pictures” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

Also, to note James Hayman e is also a co-founder of the All Are One Fund, which distributes funds around the country to those in need during the pandemic. Founded by him and his wife, Annie Potts, All Are One redistributes donated stimulus payments to those in the most need.

To date we have distributed $120,000 to 100 families in need. These distributions range across the United States, including Northern California, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and South Carolina.