3
“They’re dancing together.”
Houston pointed at the image on the screen: two lone trees stranded in an overflowing thermal pool. He added, “like Elise and me.”
The trip that resulted in this photo was epic: 9,000 miles, 3 generations, eleven national parks, and one month on the road. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of photos of everything from bison to waterfalls. Yellowstone is one tremendous photo opp. But, when the tourist masses have their cameras facing one way, Houston will be facing another. Down syndrome often affects Houston’s speech and he sometimes has difficulty expressing with words. But that’s where his passion for photography was born.
Elise is Houston’s life-long crush. They met in speech therapy as toddlers. They have gone to prom together every year for the past seven years. She has come to every one of his solo gallery shows in the US. They are best friends, and he plans to marry her. Don’t we really all wish for the same things in life – acceptance, encouragement, friendship, togetherness, love?
One of the many gifts of Down syndrome is to see hope and beauty. In all things. When Houston was a baby, each doctor that came in had worse news – dire predictions of life with a disability. Not one ever stopped to tell about the benefits – the joys, laughter, and beautiful life perspective. And his different view of the world is deeply expressed in his photographs. His passion, patience, and persistence are evident in every frame.
Have you ever felt deadened where you stand? Stuck in the toxic muck? Because in reality, the trees in this photo are dead. Died when overtaken by heated toxins oozing from the ground.
But in Houston’s world, they are dancing together. Wouldn’t we all rather dance?
CURATOR NOTE
“Dancing together”. I can see that. This is a wonderful photograph made even more wonderful by the story behind it and the inspirational artist and his supportive family that journey together.
THE ARTIST
Advocate. Artist. Traveler. Dreamer. -- Houston Vandergriff is a globe-trotting travel photographer based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Houston has a simple vision with his photography: Make the world a better place. By the age of 24, he has traveled to all 95 counties in his home state, to 49 of the 50 United States, to 5 Canadian provinces, and to 26 countries.
Houston inspires others, both inside and outside of the disability community. He is a strong self-advocate who uses the universal language of the arts to push for inclusion. He is a social media influencer - using Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to share his story. His clients include Amazon, Tiktok for Good, and multiple brands of photography-related equipment. He has appeared in live events, podcasts, and broadcasts on four continents. He has been called “The Champion of Life” by one of the broadcasters from India. By sharing his gift of photography he is also sharing the gift of hope.
Houston earned his Certificate of Photography in 2019 and his Advanced Photography Certificate in 2020 after completing more than 200 hours of study through the University of Tennessee Professional Programs. He is a member of the Southern Appalachia Nature Photographers (SANP), Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and the International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance (ITWPA). He has donated images for both domestic and international charitable initiatives. His photography journey has been shared in Newsweek, It’s Gone Viral, Spectrum News, and MSN. He and his mom were featured speakers at the 2021 World Down Syndrome Conference in Dubai.
His award-winning photography has been displayed in solo and group curated shows, online galleries, and the Inspiration Gallery in Perth, Scotland, He was awarded the 2020 International Photographer in “My Perspective” photo competition in the UK. Houston’s limited edition fine art prints are available on his website. He donates a set of photo note cards to new families with babies with Down syndrome for every print purchase.
More than two dozen photographers, a dozen countries, an age range of nearly 40 years (possibly more, but some won’t tell), multiple languages, and varied styles. Our team consists of members from around the world. We include photographers from Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Northern Ireland, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States.
What could possibly bring this diverse group together? There’s only one thing in the world strong enough to do that: a deep love for photography.
Our collective was formed on the intentional basis of being DIFFERENT - different artists with different backgrounds, different races, languages, ability/disability, ages, and genres.
When the theme was announced there was a collective sigh, literally heard round the world. In all honesty, the theme of TOGETHER presented a challenge to nearly every single person on the team. From landscape, travel, nature, astro, portrait, fine art, urbanscape, and conceptual photographers, we’ve all literally spent the past two years ALONE.
World conditions have left everyone in isolation. The thought of “TOGETHER” was at the same time refreshing and terrifying. A few members panicked, some laughed, some left, most cringed at the thought. But in the end, the theme of TOGETHER has brought us TOGETHER.
We’ve dug through our archives, shot new images, edited like crazy, and shared critiques. Then we went back and started all over again!
This collective is the labor of our love, created with laughter, fun, and friendship. With our members spread over at least a dozen time zones, meetings were sometimes varied, crazy, and broken into smaller parts depending on the parts of the world. When you think about that accomplishment alone, accomplished with a bunch of creatives no less, you realize the depth of the loyalty to the project, to the team, and to each other.
Long late nights filled with love, laughter, jokes, craziness, and support have been the backbone of this project since the beginning.
For members of the team who are just beginning their NFT journey, it is an honor to be included with seriously talented photographers, who have been secretly discovered to be just normal people. We are all photographers but we don’t act like competitors. The community and support have been the stuff of legends. We want everyone to make it. Together as a team, we have been able to celebrate victories, face challenges, share as we have won awards, been represented by galleries, sold limited edition fine art prints, and are helping ensure everyone on our team is kicking it in the NFT world.
Through it all there is one common theme: every single member shares the same passion for photography. When asked what the best part of our team is, one member replied, “Love, kindness, love, happiness, love!”
Or, as they say in Ireland, the craic!
CURATOR: AlphaTrilogy
ARTISTS
- Armand Sarlangue
- Daniel Viñé
- Dima Chatrov
- Donna Martinez
- Ekrem Şahin
- Elena Liseykina
- Emre Bostanoglu
- Enrico Fossati
- Eric Boniakos
- Gianluca Podestà
- Hendro Soetrisno
- Houston Vandergriff
- Jidhun M.G.
- Joffrey Briaud
- Kat Livengood
- Kristen Valent
- Kristin Piljay
- Leslie Spurlock
- Mustafa Aydın
- Pam Voth
- Paul Killeen
- Paul Moon
- Sabine Weise
- Sara Zanini
- Xose Casal
- Yuri Santin
Deserted Dancers by Houston Vandergriff
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“They’re dancing together.”
Houston pointed at the image on the screen: two lone trees stranded in an overflowing thermal pool. He added, “like Elise and me.”
The trip that resulted in this photo was epic: 9,000 miles, 3 generations, eleven national parks, and one month on the road. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of photos of everything from bison to waterfalls. Yellowstone is one tremendous photo opp. But, when the tourist masses have their cameras facing one way, Houston will be facing another. Down syndrome often affects Houston’s speech and he sometimes has difficulty expressing with words. But that’s where his passion for photography was born.
Elise is Houston’s life-long crush. They met in speech therapy as toddlers. They have gone to prom together every year for the past seven years. She has come to every one of his solo gallery shows in the US. They are best friends, and he plans to marry her. Don’t we really all wish for the same things in life – acceptance, encouragement, friendship, togetherness, love?
One of the many gifts of Down syndrome is to see hope and beauty. In all things. When Houston was a baby, each doctor that came in had worse news – dire predictions of life with a disability. Not one ever stopped to tell about the benefits – the joys, laughter, and beautiful life perspective. And his different view of the world is deeply expressed in his photographs. His passion, patience, and persistence are evident in every frame.
Have you ever felt deadened where you stand? Stuck in the toxic muck? Because in reality, the trees in this photo are dead. Died when overtaken by heated toxins oozing from the ground.
But in Houston’s world, they are dancing together. Wouldn’t we all rather dance?
CURATOR NOTE
“Dancing together”. I can see that. This is a wonderful photograph made even more wonderful by the story behind it and the inspirational artist and his supportive family that journey together.
THE ARTIST
Advocate. Artist. Traveler. Dreamer. -- Houston Vandergriff is a globe-trotting travel photographer based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Houston has a simple vision with his photography: Make the world a better place. By the age of 24, he has traveled to all 95 counties in his home state, to 49 of the 50 United States, to 5 Canadian provinces, and to 26 countries.
Houston inspires others, both inside and outside of the disability community. He is a strong self-advocate who uses the universal language of the arts to push for inclusion. He is a social media influencer - using Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to share his story. His clients include Amazon, Tiktok for Good, and multiple brands of photography-related equipment. He has appeared in live events, podcasts, and broadcasts on four continents. He has been called “The Champion of Life” by one of the broadcasters from India. By sharing his gift of photography he is also sharing the gift of hope.
Houston earned his Certificate of Photography in 2019 and his Advanced Photography Certificate in 2020 after completing more than 200 hours of study through the University of Tennessee Professional Programs. He is a member of the Southern Appalachia Nature Photographers (SANP), Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and the International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance (ITWPA). He has donated images for both domestic and international charitable initiatives. His photography journey has been shared in Newsweek, It’s Gone Viral, Spectrum News, and MSN. He and his mom were featured speakers at the 2021 World Down Syndrome Conference in Dubai.
His award-winning photography has been displayed in solo and group curated shows, online galleries, and the Inspiration Gallery in Perth, Scotland, He was awarded the 2020 International Photographer in “My Perspective” photo competition in the UK. Houston’s limited edition fine art prints are available on his website. He donates a set of photo note cards to new families with babies with Down syndrome for every print purchase.
More than two dozen photographers, a dozen countries, an age range of nearly 40 years (possibly more, but some won’t tell), multiple languages, and varied styles. Our team consists of members from around the world. We include photographers from Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Northern Ireland, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States.
What could possibly bring this diverse group together? There’s only one thing in the world strong enough to do that: a deep love for photography.
Our collective was formed on the intentional basis of being DIFFERENT - different artists with different backgrounds, different races, languages, ability/disability, ages, and genres.
When the theme was announced there was a collective sigh, literally heard round the world. In all honesty, the theme of TOGETHER presented a challenge to nearly every single person on the team. From landscape, travel, nature, astro, portrait, fine art, urbanscape, and conceptual photographers, we’ve all literally spent the past two years ALONE.
World conditions have left everyone in isolation. The thought of “TOGETHER” was at the same time refreshing and terrifying. A few members panicked, some laughed, some left, most cringed at the thought. But in the end, the theme of TOGETHER has brought us TOGETHER.
We’ve dug through our archives, shot new images, edited like crazy, and shared critiques. Then we went back and started all over again!
This collective is the labor of our love, created with laughter, fun, and friendship. With our members spread over at least a dozen time zones, meetings were sometimes varied, crazy, and broken into smaller parts depending on the parts of the world. When you think about that accomplishment alone, accomplished with a bunch of creatives no less, you realize the depth of the loyalty to the project, to the team, and to each other.
Long late nights filled with love, laughter, jokes, craziness, and support have been the backbone of this project since the beginning.
For members of the team who are just beginning their NFT journey, it is an honor to be included with seriously talented photographers, who have been secretly discovered to be just normal people. We are all photographers but we don’t act like competitors. The community and support have been the stuff of legends. We want everyone to make it. Together as a team, we have been able to celebrate victories, face challenges, share as we have won awards, been represented by galleries, sold limited edition fine art prints, and are helping ensure everyone on our team is kicking it in the NFT world.
Through it all there is one common theme: every single member shares the same passion for photography. When asked what the best part of our team is, one member replied, “Love, kindness, love, happiness, love!”
Or, as they say in Ireland, the craic!
CURATOR: AlphaTrilogy
ARTISTS
- Armand Sarlangue
- Daniel Viñé
- Dima Chatrov
- Donna Martinez
- Ekrem Şahin
- Elena Liseykina
- Emre Bostanoglu
- Enrico Fossati
- Eric Boniakos
- Gianluca Podestà
- Hendro Soetrisno
- Houston Vandergriff
- Jidhun M.G.
- Joffrey Briaud
- Kat Livengood
- Kristen Valent
- Kristin Piljay
- Leslie Spurlock
- Mustafa Aydın
- Pam Voth
- Paul Killeen
- Paul Moon
- Sabine Weise
- Sara Zanini
- Xose Casal
- Yuri Santin
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