We were lucky to catch up with Zachary Deloach recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zachary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is a body of photographic work titled “Desiderium”. It’s an NFT project that I launched towards the end of last year and it includes a collection of images I had been working on for the last year or so. I’ll start by explaining a little bit of the circumstances that sparked the drive to make the project. Back in the beginning of 2020, I had just moved into a townhome in the city with my partner and some friends. We we’re there just shy of two months when Covid-19 shut everything down. Within the week I had lost most of my work for the year and we had to terminate our lease and go our separate ways. I was devastated, having to move back to my hometown and feeling like I had lost all the traction I had gained. I remember spending months just kind of existing when I had finally convinced myself that this wasn’t the way to deal with what was happening, I needed a creative project to put my focus on and drag me out of this depression I had fallen into. The inspiration for this series of images started during the height of the pandemic. I watched my hometown and so many other familiar places become deserted and almost unrecognizable. Shops closed down, places were abandoned and city streets were devoid of people. As the days went by, this overwhelming sense of isolation continued to grow. I started to imagine these desolate and abandoned scenes of my normal life turned into scenes from an otherworldly sci-fi film. So I started shopping around various pawn shops and thrift stores to find different pieces to build my own astronaut suit which would be the main character and focus of each image in the project (side note, the suit was worn by my partner for the entire thing!). The narrative was a planet and civilization long forgotten and the journey of a lone traveler returning to a place she once knew. The images I created are a visual representation of those feelings and the mental and emotional toll that was taken on me during times of quarantine, something that I know all of us felt. I became so fearful of the unknown and became afraid to step out into anything unfamiliar. As the project progressed, there was a tipping point and I knew it needed to be bigger. I planned a cross country road trip with my partner and this project became a catalyst that made me physically step out of my comfort zone. I decided I would document my first road trip across the country using this series of images to visualize the exploration and beauty I found along the way, which in return helped me deal with the feelings of loneliness and isolation that created this project in the first place. For the first time in my life as a photographer I felt like my creative expression was something I could run to for comfort, it gave me a way to process my emotions and it showed me the true power art can have on one’s life and its ability to connect others. This project became an ode to the ones who take the risk to explore the unknown and the beauty and growth that can be found through it and thats why it means so much to me.

Zachary, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Zach Deloach, I’m 26 years old and I live in Atlanta, GA. My journey as a creative began with music, I’ve been a drummer for almost 11 years playing in various bands and personal projects as well as spending time in studios as a contract musician. My love for music eventually lead me to become a photographer. I was interning at a music/production studio called ‘Bravo Ocean Studios’ and they had a need for someone interested in photography and cameras, so from there I had access to a lot of really high end photography equipment, which I used to teach myself through trial and error and the internet. Learning the trade along the way and educating myself on how to properly use cameras eventually led me to buying my own gear and throwing myself into the world of freelance photography. It’s a bit difficult to narrow myself down to one specific genre of photography because I do everything from concerts, businesses, product, bts, weddings, portraits and everything in between but I will say my absolute favorite way to shoot is with film. I like to focus on conceptual photography and working with music artists and cinematographers to visualize their ideas through my camera. I would say the thing that sets me apart is my specific photographic process. I love using film as my primary method for creating images and through the use of practical effects and experimental in-camera techniques I believe my work showcases a unique side of the medium. Im a very hands on kind of person and one thing people learn quickly about me is that I like communication to be thorough. I believe the less time we have to spend communicating logistics of a project, the more time we can spend being creative and making art. Which is what it should be about right?

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe NFT’s are the next step in the way consumers communicate with the businesses/brands they care about. NFT’s also provide a way for unique ownership of digital assets or access to exclusive events/perks through ownership of said NFT. Another great perk is proof of ownership that’s verifiable on the blockchain. NFT’s most importantly present an opportunity for artists to own the entirety of what they create, without larger labels, galleries or organizations taking a high percentage of what the artists profit from. This puts so much power back into the artists hands and gives them the freedom to grow in ways they see fit. The ability for artists and creatives to directly communicate with their fans or peers and release products in the form of NFT’s with no middle man provide limitless opportunities for crowdfunding and options to build their career on their terms. Here’s a more basic example for how NFT’s could play out for a business I know everyone recognizes: Let’s say Starbucks releases and exclusive NFT and there’s only ten thousand of them. Upon purchase you then get exclusive access to a special drink menu thats only available to verified owners of said NFT. I believe this technology is a great way for consumers to get involved with companies/brands on a more personal and exclusive level. This is just one of the many examples of how this technology could be implemented. Given todays climate and how integrated our phones and social medias are into out daily lives, this technology becoming more and more common is only a matter of time, in fact, its already here!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I don’t really have much of a backstory for this one, but its something I’ve definitely had to unlearn in recent years and is a pretty important conclusion I came to given that I’m a freelancer just figuring things out on my own. As you get better at your skillset and your job, you’ll become more efficient and certain jobs wont take as much time as they used to. Just because a job takes less time to do, doesn’t mean you should charge less for it. Yes people are paying for your current time, but what a lot of clients don’t realize, is they are paying for the years of time, blood, sweat and tears an artist/creative has dedicated to honing their craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://opensea.io/collection/-desiderium-by-zach-deloach
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_zachdeloach/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachshootsfilm
• Other: https://www.thebillboardcreative.com/past-shows-2/nft here’s a link to one of my images from my NFT project featured on its own billboard out in LA!