My name is David Sperring, I'm 25 years old and living in California. I was born here but moved to Pennsylvania, Then Michigan and back to California at the age of 14. I have been taking photographs all my life but didn't try to take a serious one till I was 17. Around that time I was in a silk screening class and made shirts out of the photographs I was taking and selling them out of my trunk to avoid getting a real job. After High School I started taking photography classes at the local community college then some Internet courses at Academy of Art University. In 2005 I was in a "best of college photography" book. The book featured one of my first "serious" photographs I have ever taken. Along with photography and silkscreen I enjoy art. Recently I have been buying wood from a local Home Depot and making my own frames and canvas out of the wood. In October of 2009 some of my photographs and paintings where made into an installation for a Urban Outfitters window in Costa Mesa, Ca. Along with the art work is a giant gold dead rat i spray painted at the top of the wall with the gold paint dripping down into the paintings and photographs. I have yet to break free from Southern California though many times I have dreamed of moving to San Francisco or New York to help further my creativity. I love to walk around and just take photographs of random things, and I know in a city like those my options would be endless. Till then I keep my self busy with two jobs, silk screening my own shirts and trying to add new images as much as possible to my website www.davidsperring.com
This is my friend john, the picture was taken on Halloween of 2009. I was at a party and once he showed up i just had to pull him aside and take his photograph. I'm normally shy about asking people to pose but with this one i just couldn't let it get away. Once i took it i had that feeling it was going to be one of my favorite photographs Ive taken,and i was right. That's one of the best feelings, right after you take a picture with film and just know its going to be your favorite new thing.
This is my other friend Joel,the photography was taken in Long Beach,Ca. There is a record store there that is just the best to get vinyl and other rare stuff. I met Joel down there so I could pick up the newest Felice Brothers album. Joel comes walking up with his dog Tank, I bent down to play with Tank for a little and when I came back up Joel was just taking a drag from this cigarette, I took the picture as fast as I could so it wouldn't look posed once he saw me taking it. I love this photograph and just wish the background was different because I feel if it was you would never be able to tell when it was taken, It would have that timeless feel to it.
I hadn't seen my friend Matt for months, one night he randomly calls me cause he was back in town. We meet up at a 7-11 to catch up, he tells me he wrote some new songs and wanted to play them for me, so in the parking lot he takes out his guitar and just starts playing. I luckily had a few cameras in my car so I grabbed one of my medium format ones and just started shooting. He kept stomping and twisting his feet super into the song. In every picture you can just see him lost in the moment and I think you can see it almost in just his feet.
This is Laura, Laura is beautiful but every time I try to take a picture she hides her face. I was playing with a Polaroid camera when I took this. I tried to trick her into thinking I was just showing her out it works so I could get a shot of her face. I guess she is smarter than I thought cause she quickly covered her face and this is the outcome. A ghostly black and white Polaroid of Batman's face.
DAVID SPERRING // www.davidsperring.com