#BirthPains: Anthony Crawford Adamick
/Name: Anthony Crawford Adamick
Age: 34
Birth place: Boston, MA
Occupation: Photographer and Motivational Speaker
"My goal is to capture and tell an amazing story in images. Story telling is what drives me. Whether it’s creating a photo project to shed light on a issue, a brand, shooting portraits, street and travel photography or just hanging out with friends and family. everyone has a story and I want to capture it.
In a world of “snapshots” and uninteresting photos, please allow me to capture your story and leave you with images that make you feel their emotions and live on forever."
What do you say to man that has been practically been through so much but didn't break? An overcomer. And Anthony Crawford Adamick is just that, an overcomer. He has been through abandonment of his father before his birth, abuse from his step father, infidelity from his ex-wife, depression and more. But one thing that stayed consistent was being a father to his children, his father was never was for him. You truly don't know a person until you become adults. In that time I saw Anthony started doing photography. I saw his development and was extremely impressed on how he grew in his craft. Eventually I would ask him if he wanted to be featured on my blog and he more then agreed to be interviewed. But I didn't know what he was about to share.
Let me first say, after our interview I was honored that he felt comfortable enough to share his story on this platform. So I will like to publicly say thank you and hope I do your story justice.
I was extremely depressed. I didn't have the motivation to do anything. On top of that I had found out that my wife had cheated on me and that the baby she was carrying wasn't mine. I left everything behind in Connecticut and moved back to Boston. Sleeping on my sisters couch and struggling with anxiety attacks. So I just randomly picked up an old camera and went on a journey on taking pictures. I needed to do something and started shooting pictures and my mind wasn't bothered by all that I was dealing with. Then someone told me that I wasn't good enough and suggested I give it up. But I didn't listen and eventually it is what you see today. It helps me to get out of my head. I love the power to be able to tell a story and discovered I can make income from my passion. This year I will be backpacking in July to Haiti to capture positive imagery of the people and it's land. No I'm not Haitian but I've always had a strong gravitation to the culture for some reason; and some of my friends are Haitian. I dislike the imagery and propaganda that they circulate about Haiti and I want to be part of changing that.
My childhood wasn't easy. My father abandoned me before I was born and my step father was abusive. So I never had a relationship with my father. Down the years I was later told I was molested by a teacher who ended up being locked up for his crime. I would have a difficult time in school because of it, I was told. I don't remember it maybe bc I was young or I just shut that memory out. Something I became a master at doing. Eventually as time went on I realized crying was a good outlet in dealing with a lot of things I was going through. So many men are shamed for crying but it's therapeutic. I let it out and then I am able to move on bc I have released that feeling.
Through my experience I define family as as supportive unit that come into your life to be positive influence. Someone who is willing to be supportive. It does not need to be defined by blood. It's people who have been there for you. It is a spiritual connection you have with the people who come in your life.
But in attempting to define fatherhood and even family is very difficult for becasue I trully never had that. So I am in a journey of self-awareness. It is very hard to just hug my son at times. I have to tell myself to hug my son becasue I never had that. So being a father is an ongoing process for me.
My life statrted changing once I had the understanding I wasn't less than. As a father there is pressure, especially when not having one in your own life; to not be like the ones who weren't in my life. And I had to realize I had to create peace within myself to be a good father. Being self-aware, knowing my flaws; realizing who I was and stop making excuses and realizing all that doesn't matter. Everything you go through doesn't dictate where you are or will be. You can be whoever you want to be. Once you start jumping into life but you must embrace fear. LEAP EVERYDAY. HAVE FAITH AND THINGS WILL START OPENING FOR YOU. Your blessings will meet you at your level of courage. Your faith in yourself and God will open doors.
My goal is to be a motivational speaker and photography is the pipeline towards that. I want to help people change their perspective of themselves . Something I've done my whole life. I love inspiring others and that's what I'm doing now, everyday.
Anthony is a full time photographer focused on changing the narrative of the downtroddenthrough photo stories. Hi is currently teaching photography at Putnam middle school in Cambridge ma. He helps small businesses with their marketing and social media. Anthony's photography expertise is in corporate and commercial photography. He is scheduled to talk at a "today at Apple event". He has shot for brands like Microsoft and Pillpack. he is headed to Haiti next month to work on a personal photography project. Anthony's fine art pieces have been displayed and sold through different galleries in the city and is currently in a accelerated business program. You can see more of his work her in his website http://www.ovstills.com/ or his instagram at @ovstills.
