Conceptual Photography based on the song Long Nights by Eddie Vedder

Artists and photographers are always creating self portraits, so I figured, why don’t I create one too. But rather than take an arbitrary picture of myself, I wanted to tell my own personal story during my most important moments. Also, when someday I have kids of my own, I want to be able to share these stories of self growth with them in the best way I know how. This is part one of my “Self Portrait” conceptual photography series.

“Long Nights” is a song off of the Into the Wild soundtrack by Eddie Vedder and I listened to this song quite a bit during my last few months as a teacher. Teaching was everything to me and it was my calling, but when I received my pink slip I knew that my teaching career would be put on hold for a very long time. I was heartbroken, and I stayed in my classroom long past school hours and into the night trying to figure out how to save my job. During this time, the economy was at its lowest point, and I knew deep down that I won’t be able to save my career. This was hard for me to accept, and no matter how hard I tried, there was nothing that I could do to save it.

In this picture, I wanted to create a visual representation of those long nights in my classroom. Sometimes I would sit there at my desk and envision myself running away from everything and venture off into the wild, and other nights I felt like giving up completely. But I knew this was not the answer and that I needed to overcome this somehow.

In Part Two, I’ll talk about how I overcame all this in my next blog post from my “Music is Life” series. The next picture will be based upon another Into the Wild song called “End of the Road.”

Play “Long Nights”

Lyrics

Have no fear
For when I’m alone
I’ll be better off than I was before

I’ve got this light
I’ll be around to grow
Who I was before
I cannot recall

Long nights allow me to feel…
I’m falling…I am falling
The lights go out
Let me feel
I’m falling
I am falling safely to the ground
Ah…

I’ll take this soul that’s inside me now
Like a brand new friend
I’ll forever know

I’ve got this light
And the will to show
I will always be better than before

Long nights allow me to feel…
I’m falling…I am falling
The lights go out
Let me feel
I’m falling
I am falling safely to the ground

If you’re interested in purchasing a print, visit my online store today. If you’re interested in shooting a Music to Life series image, message me at contact@jimmybuiphotography.com and don’t forget to visit my website and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thank you so much!