We had the good fortune of connecting with Terrance Hamilton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terrance, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
It is very tough to imagine the ‘end’ of my career. It is hard to imagine not engaging with youth in the community as an educator and definitely hard to imagine not creating art through photography. I can imagine being disciplined enough to put my camera down for a few minutes but as long as I have vision I desire creating art and important portraits. On my journey, I would like my works to be collected and displayed in more galleries. I would like my heirloom prints in the homes of people who cherish them. I want to continue to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing my commercial and fashion work in action. There are a few celebrity folks with whom I would love to make portraits.

I also envision the support of my wife, Monette, who is a dope artist herself and. Program Director of our Hamilton Essentials Foundation, Incorporated, 501(c)3. The foundation provides professional development for adults and creative youth programming for a better community. More information at: http://www.THEssentials.org — our shared vision is that we have a successful community center with staff for our after school programs and fresh baked cookies to greet the youth as they enter. Monette and I would then have more time for travel and photography together. She is not only our Program Director she is often the Creative Director and primary influence in much of my art endeavors.

END GOAL: Professionally prosperous in photography and our community efforts. Living comfortably.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I will take this opportunity to talk about my non profit work first and then a shorter plug for my photography passion.

The Hamilton Foundation.

The Hamilton Essentials Foundation, Inc. exists to provide programs and support for transitional aged youth & young adults. Our programs support positive mental health through the arts, leadership development, community organization, community advocacy, youth empowerment, life skills, and academic programs that include reading, writing, mathematics and science. We offer programming at school sites, community centers, faith-based organizations and more. Creating Youth Programs for a Better Community, for over two decades, our bicoastal programs are offered in-person and virtually and create environments that foster unintimidated learning opportunities to underrepresented youth, young adults and communities. We have been serving youth and youth adults 9-25 years of age from the West & East Coast since 1998 and under its present business name since 2013.

I invite your readership to visit our website at http://www.THEssentials.org for more information on our program offerings. We are always blessed by partnership opportunities.

RiversideNYC3.com. – I had a formal introduction to film photography while in college, B.S. Physics, CSUSB 95’`. I still shoot film and most proud of the Mannequin Series which features old-school black and white film captures. I love that my work is creatively different from the peers in my inner circle. I’ve enjoyed developing portfolios for up and coming models that have been featured in ShoutoutATL, and have enjoyed producing commercial video and campaign work. I do work with a team of Master level photographers. I am the Director of Photography and Producer and I let my team shine at their strengths resulting in satisfied clients.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When my best friends visit, food is on the itinerary! In New York we would go for BBQ at Dinosaur BBQ: Harlem, Brooklyn, Syracuse, Rochester! Also, The Dolphin Bar & Grill, Yonkers Brewery and Off the Hook in Yonkers, close to the loft studio near Lions Gate. Then for sites: Central Park and Time Square and anywhere else you can reach by subway, train or fairy. BBKings is closed now but that was a goto for us as well.

In Southern California, we suggest all the beaches… and then we go back to food! The nearest: In-N-Out Burger, tacos, or Mexican food in general. In Los Angeles, it’s Mammas Chicken, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles. In the Inland Empire, I have my friends meet me at Rosa Maria’s on Sierra Way in San Bernardino and Mexicos on Highland Ave also in San Bernardino.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My biggest creative and professional influence is @Mopoeticone , Mrs. Monette Hamilton. We jokingly refer to ourselves as twins because our birthdays are 7 days apart and we are both Leo’s. She is an amazing professional and creative. Sometimes it’s tough to hear the professional advise coming from someone so close to me but her counsel is always spot on. Creatively we come from the 70’s era and have the influence of gospel, sultry jazz, blues, funk and hip-hop throughout the majority of our major works together and separately.

Also I would Shoutout the @photographybruhz – a small group of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Brothers that share a passion for photography. We hold each other accountable for all aspects of our creative work in an iron-sharpens-iron fashion.

Website: www.THEssentials.org

Instagram: RiversideNYC3

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrance-hamilton-617a371/

Twitter: NYC3Riverside

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiversideNYC3

Other: instagram.com/RiversideNewYorkCity

Image Credits
All photography by Terrance Hamilton @RiversideNYC3

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