Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Hancock.
Hi Evan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I first started getting into photography by looking through old boxes of family photos, nothing professional just memories. After a while, my grandpa realized how fascinated I was by photography and he gave me his old Olympus OM-1. Throughout the next few weeks, all I did was take photos of anything and everything, it was all I wanted to do and it still is.
After a couple of years, I decided to upgrade and get a Sony A7III, just to experiment with digital a little more. I brought to to a small concert in Portland, Oregon and that’s when I started shooting concerts. This is when it hit me how important a photograph can be, you capture a split second of this big performance and I mean sure not all of them are great but when they are it’s the best feeling in the world. Since the summer of 2023, my concert photography has slowed down and I have pretty much gone back to full analog. I have added many film cameras to my collection and I don’t believe I’ll ever have enough.
Right now with my work, I am focusing on making projects to someday go up in a solo exhibition. These projects range from climate change to my struggle as a young queer man. Through these works, I hope to inspire other photographers to tell a story with their art and to express themselves.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say being an artist isn’t easy. You are constantly going through ups and downs, always going through “art block” or you find out you weren’t accepted into an art show. One of the biggest things I struggle with is self-doubt, whether or not I’m good enough to even make a living off of what I’m doing or if people even enjoy my work.
Something I do to help with this is surround yourself with other artists. They have the same doubts as you but they knock some into you and help you realize you are good enough and you can do this. One person who helped me with this is my mentor Nathan Gentry, he has helped me realize that I can make it in the art world even though it is scary at times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most of the work that I publish focuses on documenting humans the spaces we interact with, and how we use and abuse them. Being only 16 years old I love to photograph subjects that were here before me and wonder how they got to the state they are in now.
I’m most proud of how far I’ve come. From a small hand-me-down to multiple cameras I carry with me everywhere I go, At such a young age I’m proud of how much knowledge I have surrounding photography and just art in general and I’m always excited to learn more.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whosevanscamera/
