The Pilgrimage: A Photography Book

Artist Bio:

My name is Luke Pearsall and I am a Commercial Photographer and Film Maker living in Los Angeles, California.  In recent years I’ve had the opportunity to commercially work with some amazing brands including Samsung, AT&T, Bridgestone Tires and Land Rover USA in various capacities.  Most recently I was selected by Lowepro to represent them as one of the company’s Lowepro Professional Storytellers representing image makers worldwide by sharing a unique vision through visual storytelling. 

www.lukepearsall.com 

The Project: (A Fine Art Photography Book and Social Experience)

The Camino de Santiago (often referred to as “The Way”) is an ancient pilgrimage of Christian origin spanning 500 miles. Christian historians believe that the remains of St. James the Apostle were carried down this trail from Jerusalem to what is now Santiago de Compostela. For thousands of years Pilgrims have been making this journey on foot. Many pilgrims start the journey carrying prayers or burdens written on paper to carry with them and reflect upon them during the course of the pilgrimage. When they feel like they have found what they are looking for, or when they have completed the trail, it is tradition that they leave these prayers or burdens along the way to signify that they have shouldered their burdens and reflected upon the things which they sought to answer and can now move forward freely with an open heart.  We all can relate to moments of having crossroads in our lives and this is what makes this experience so universal and the stories so relatable.

The purpose of the story is to document more then just people on a hike. The purpose is to create imagery, that tells a story of this journey that is steeped with rich spiritual history and to portray the stories of the modern day Pilgrims who choose to endure such a uniquely challenging journey.  Although this project will be presented primarily in a photographic format, my own written journal entries will accompany the imagery adding my personal perspective to the piece.

Today the Pilgrimage is still walked by many for the same religious reasons as those who walked it a thousand years ago however, to many of its modern day travelers the Camino de Santiago has become a pilgrimage for many different reasons. Some hike to honor and remember people who they have loved and lost; to others it is a journey to reconnect with themselves and find inner peace with issues or situations they may be facing in their lives.  Every Pilgrim walks the Camino for their own personal reasons. It is my greatest hope that they will share with me the purposes of their journeys as this is my personal quest to discover in pictures along The Way.

The social aspect of the project when wifi is permitting will include updates to my Snapchat, Facebook, Tumblr and my 120k Instagram followers. I will be making Skype calls from the Camino to the popular podcast that I have become a regular cast member of called, “Bad 4 Business” hosted by Jerry Ferrara. Jerry is most well known for his role of Turtle on the HBO television series “Entourage” and the podcast also has a very broad reach with its audience. As much as possible and time permitting I want this to be an interactive experience for my followers, supporters and sponsors along the way.  

Time Frame:
From May 20th to July 9th (50 days). 

Personal Note:

On a personal level preparing for this project has helped me to focus on what I find important again for the first time in a very long time and it has opened up my heart to accepting that the world around me is bigger then just me.  I am being supported financially, emotionally, and spiritually by so many incredible people in my life that in a sense my Camino has already begun.  

I have had the opportunity to share my artist statement with so many during the fundraising and planning process for this project that I have already felt a reconnecting to the art that I love, the people I love, and loving myself.  

I don’t think I could possibly ever pay back the kindness and generosity of the people who have supported me in this endeavor but as a small gesture I will be asking them to allow me to carry their own personal written prayers and wishes with me on my journey. I will shoulder those messages across the 500 miles on my back and find places to rest them under the sacred rocks along the path to Santiago and pray that in some way my steps and their words can bring them one step closer to the answers and peace that they seek.

Sponsorship (corporate and otherwise):

Corporate sponsorship means that your brand will be represented by a passionate talented and creative young artist with a preexisting and engaged audience.  

All corporate sponsors will be added to my profiles on social media accounts, to the finished product where it will be hosted online, as well as a special thank you in the finished limited edition publication.  In addition your products will be featured in my photographs via social media and I would be happy to review any merchandise upon completion of the journey if you so choose.

Financial support at any level would be greatly appreciated.  I have been generously supported by many people for this journey already however there is still more fundraising that needs to be accomplished mostly for the design and short run of books that will be published.  Your names will be included in the thank you section of the final book as well. 

Your financial support will assist in travel costs, insurance, equipment purchases, website design, graphic design and layout for the final product.  

I look forward to speaking with you about any level of sponsorship you may be interested in and sharing with you my journey.  

Please message me here with any questions you may have.  

Thank you from the bottom of my heart I look forward to sharing my journey with you! 


Current Social Media Numbers:

Instagram: 120,557 followers (www.instagram.com/lukepearsallphoto )

Facebook: 1351 followers on fan page (www.facebook.com/lukepearsallphotography )

Snapchat: Average 1500-2500 views per post ( username @lukephoto)

Tumblr: 9,000 subscribers post vary from 100 to 135,000 reblogs (www.lukepearsall.tumblr.com )

Website: 14k unique visitors per month worldwide  (www.lukepearsall.com)

Bad 4 Business Podcast: http://b4bent.com/