We recently connected with Bryan Wark and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bryan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has to be “Breathing in Flowers,” a photo shoot with Amanda Jean, a lung transplant survivor celebrating 25 years with her donated lungs, received when she was just a year old. This project touched me deeply due to my own experiences with organ donation from a very personal perspective.

After the loss of my daughter, I faced the heart-wrenching decision of signing off on her organ donation, a decision made even more poignant as she passed in my arms. This grief brought about intense, irrational anger towards the simple joys of others and the successful outcomes in stories that didn’t reflect my pain. Working with Amanda allowed me to understand organ donation from the recipient’s viewpoint, providing much-needed closure and a profound realization of the preciousness of life. This experience illuminated the extraordinary impact of organ donation, helping me find peace in knowing that my daughter’s organs saved lives, highlighting the immense potential of a single donor can actually have.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Oh, where to start. I am an artist by trade. As long as I can remember, I have always been driven to the arts. Whether it be music, drawing, painting—you name it, I loved it. Art was my way of connecting with people. I grew up undiagnosed with bipolar disorder. I would get into these manic states and do things on a whim and then just completely shut down, and I couldn’t explain it; my brain was constantly just at war with itself. Art, though, helped me make sense of it. So, I tried my hands at a lot of different mediums, from graphic design to writing, and found some success here and there. Sold a few paintings over the years. A few small blurbs made print. However, I never really tried to make it a career. I always used it as a way to just create a world where my symptoms made sense. I even recently wrote and self-published a graphic novel “Pics or It Didn’t Happen” which follows a cartoon rendition of myself named “Camera Head” as a way to share some of my manicly driven adventures.

As far as becoming a photographer, one day, when hiking Death Valley on a whim with a friend who would eventually become my wife, the sun began to set and I thought to myself, “I wish I could take a photograph that wasn’t just on a phone but actually captured this moment.” It was that adventure that inspired me to learn how to photograph. It wasn’t long after getting my first DSLR camera that I learned how much I loved taking portraits. Not just the photos themselves, but the person in the photo. It turns out that a life of extreme states of mania to severe depression gave me a story I can tell through other people’s joint experiences. It has allowed me to photograph hard-to-talk-about themes from suicidal thoughts to domestic violence without it coming across as shock value.

Listening to people’s life stories and being able to relate became my primary focus. The photographs produced during shoots become a side quest. Most of our time together is spent sharing stories and learning about the paths we traveled and where our lives intertwined on a metaphoric level. Because of it, there becomes a certain sense of intimacy in each photograph, a memory we both share. I think it’s so important to have a genuine connection to the person you photograph. It allows them to have their photo taken with the most authentic emotion.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I think when discussing social media, it’s important to remember that there isn’t just one correct approach. Setting realistic goals and outlining a strategy based on your workflow is crucial. Personally, I experience periods of high and low activity, so scheduling posts is essential for me. Taking a day or two each week to prepare and schedule social media content in advance really helps.

Another key aspect of building a following and engaging your audience is interacting with your supporters and others in your niche. I often visit a recent post of mine and engage with everyone who has interacted with it. I visit their profiles, find a recent post that resonates with me, and interact with it. I find that my “news” feed” is overwhelming and often misses many posts, so visiting supporters’ profiles directly helps me understand them better and connect on a more personal level. Since I started doing this, I’ve found much more success in reaching people with my art. The key is to be genuine. Don’t approach it mechanically as a chore. I love the connection I get with people this way, which is crucial for growing a supportive fanbase.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

From an early age, I aspired to be an artist. Yet, during my school years, I faced significant discouragement. Even my high school art teacher was skeptical of my potential, critiquing my style and my tendency to eschew traditional artistic “rules,” like the rule of thirds. This feedback, suggesting I lacked artistic talent because I valued creative freedom over convention, was deeply disheartening.

Despite these setbacks, I refused to abandon my passion. After high school, I joined the Marine Corps, an experience that broadened my horizons and profoundly shaped my perspective. This period of exploration was crucial, as it reinforced my belief that art should be a fluid expression, not confined by rigid standards.

When I returned to the civilian world and began to showcase my work, I encountered the politics of the art world. During my gallery debut, a director removed some of my pieces to favor artists who conformed to established norms. This was a stark reminder of the barriers that non-traditional artists can face.

However, I persisted, driven by a conviction that authenticity in art is paramount. Over time, public reception to my work grew overwhelmingly positive, affirming that art truly resonates when it reflects genuine self-expression.

This journey taught me a crucial lesson: never let anyone dictate the validity of your vision. True resilience lies in staying true to yourself and your craft, regardless of the challenges. This belief has not only shaped my approach to art but also my approach to life and any professional endeavor I undertake.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SilentPortraits.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesilentportrait/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesilentportrait/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilentPortraits
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8lHxu1NlyhQQKvrvWpMxHg
• Other: www.whoiscamerahead.com