Essay 326 • Aug 24th 2018
- by Aundre Larrow
When I was in high school, the very first play I acted in was called The Matchmaker. It was a lovely piece about a grumpy old man, Mr. Vandergelder (played by me), who hires a matchmaker to find a suitable wife for himself.
As he pursues love, his daughter falls for a starving artist named Ambrose. Throughout the play, Ambrose's existence reveals that Mr. Vandergelder believes love to be impractical. Their dialogue even now reminds me of the duality between dreams and practicality, and how trying to straddle the line between both can be impossible. Spencer, the model in these images, played Ambrose in that original play. And our theater teacher, Mr. Tempest, gave me my first camera. In a way, this small shoot is for him.
Aundre Larrow
On his fifteenth birthday, he received a Minolta film camera from his high school theater teacher as a gift. Within three months, he had blown all of his money processing film filled with portraits of fast friends and loved ones. Ten years later, not much has changed. Aundre is a Brooklyn-based portrait photographer who has spent the last few years shooting editorial and lifestyle content for his clients. He most recently shot the NCAA Tournament, NY Fashion Week and a portrait project about immigration. Throughout the years, his work has always pursued the truth that can be found in portraiture, and his current work as an Adobe Creative Resident is the next chapter of that.