![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1516,2100,1516,550/0-0-0/4b8e580f-27eb-4f30-adcf-8e99b9502d81/1/1/Robert.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507782~hmac=0227ce3c79ddd8c6493a4fc5b3b1eaa7727b7195ed31729a6b7835e1e7f67846)
Robert O. (playing Smuggler’s Run II: Hostile Territory
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1636,2082,1636,550/0-0-0/8a823607-a0c8-47f1-9e15-272a49c910cc/1/1/todd.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507782~hmac=13a0bb2b9a1b87b0c8b403419162592c549d7bbc82f4043587bf90953f604c45)
Todd (playing Test Drive)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1552,2100,1552,550/0-0-0/f5f56a98-7cf4-42fe-b2de-81377d57c2a9/1/1/BrandonM.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507782~hmac=344e4203b4ebae496965ff8bb0e73e12af1ee7b61adf579521a6e72593e3ee6d)
Brandon M. (playing Halo 2)
Game Boys is a portrait series of young men engaged in a familiar pastime--they are playing video games. For the past two years, I have been photographing video game players who come to my studio, sit in the dark, and play for hours while I quietly watch and shoot. The studio setting lends a theatrical quality to this commonplace activity. Sometimes, I watch the game to see a particularly interesting sequence, but mostly I just watch the game players. I seek to explore the popular culture phenomenon of video games by examining the “gamers” who play them. Because my work is rooted in the tradition of portrait photography, I look beyond the hype surrounding video games and focus on the players themselves. Traditionally, the belief has been that a portrait could tell us a great deal about a subject: a window into a person’s inner character could be found through facial expressions. Although the expressions on my subjects may appear to be passive, the gamers in these photographs are actually performing fast-paced maneuvers and executing split-second decisions, making these portraits of intense concentration.
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1503,2100,1503,550/0-0-0/da51ba68-01f6-492f-9f8a-c62655b890a8/1/1/Bobby.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507782~hmac=f57fbc923cec3e85b93181845570b508b9196225850c626630364b16fd8a0434)
Bobby (playing NASCAR 2005)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1509,2100,1509,550/0-0-0/aa71e84d-c964-48be-8f0f-54f98c54749a/1/1/Jamie.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507782~hmac=65b8006384fe91b0c532430b79d9287d30674a37cb0c667604beeba33bd1fd18)
Matthew F. (playing SSX 3)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1496,2100,1496,550/0-0-0/f5203a43-a101-4b49-a597-d38b130bf350/1/1/jason.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=ddbd2b670f361ed2b7756e32d5b6c40eb702d04d1451ce6e38cd73d7bdb990a9)
Alex (playing Fight Night)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1490,2100,1490,550/0-0-0/46aeecbf-6f34-4afe-a311-7ece2317e6d2/1/1/Kyle.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=cba04f4c327eff1d2e34bd35481f50d862109b4dbe358243a75a2ef0f6d89efc)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1498,2100,1498,550/0-0-0/ba189dee-b61e-4ec1-abd7-3c248694320d/1/1/Kevin.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=1818865cf8da513df510195b49b7f9a29c9b846cfa01bf4d32fce987dc0d57c1)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1515,2100,1515,550/0-0-0/5d65c05d-6d40-4c96-912d-f1503544e0df/1/1/Joseph.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=e2adf874f6c51a0cf2dc5aa1b36af2f5f2a71740973e21fd6bee5c0af2cbc5ff)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1506,2100,1506,550/0-0-0/dee39dfe-8240-4442-912c-19a61a38359a/1/1/Matt.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=ed0a942e54106d518c657d3a5ecd19aadeb8b5b6f4d189cee48308be8eba949c)
Matt H. (playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1553,2100,1553,550/0-0-0/bab90fad-dcbe-42c3-89b8-c3031afa05bb/1/1/Ian.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=6cacc29300d8e231279a8e728659c01fce3154472e79499bd390b2d16358dda9)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1510,2100,1510,550/0-0-0/ff3c12b7-d453-45f0-b6a7-5912f8854443/1/1/Zack.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=de4e9ff8c07008eaba89cb4d6f6debf09faf82b027c837390129b39ca9b27366)
Zack (playing Crash Bandicoot)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1512,2100,1512,550/0-0-0/f22a266f-dde0-47b1-a9df-8a2b28e81e8f/1/1/Brenton.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=09462966bbd019049b236a633cb5b1b4ca7a8c9a003445ec8adfe6438b185e6f)
Brenton (playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1500,2100,1500,550/0-0-0/230637f1-1119-4c20-9536-50aaa1702b5e/1/1/Justin.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=b097ad511388484abb7e04676f01e904a0867189ef17e8ce8a17e55dda824bad)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1446,2069,1446,550/0-0-0/769cca75-834f-415d-8cc1-be6c9017a49f/1/1/Dusty.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=eb032eef864adcebcd79f7d35796550305b9334e9d79ce7f52cd047b732db632)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1544,2119,1544,550/0-0-0/b6278c58-4bfd-4d38-a606-85ceaaf166af/1/1/MatthewF.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=7dd1e4929fdd0b5cece2413463dc693104d36ae3451714adf602daa81f23c03b)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1503,2100,1503,550/0-0-0/b56dac0a-e7df-4a64-aa51-14951ce7b91a/1/1/Carson.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=159c4f7798c3bfb3ff52849554a40909385bef81926f385c67412d7a9379875d)
Brandon C. (playing Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1529,2100,1529,550/0-0-0/9f0c5b53-15ac-4c64-8385-86cc9b388201/1/1/JustinD.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=b5125d7d2b0cddfd4b254ec6ce0f529e484f3fa874e9febacac4e7f38b81dc4c)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1567,2100,1567,550/0-0-0/ed16d25f-2e3a-4077-93c9-84ee4cdeab37/1/1/BrandonC.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=0c8053dc9cd6203f05aff8ea11ebb4ec30c65e3993e9f794001a4f79834cc37b)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1503,2100,1503,550/0-0-0/523e3c05-8b68-400a-a37a-fdc20dc994bd/1/1/Brett.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=159c4f7798c3bfb3ff52849554a40909385bef81926f385c67412d7a9379875d)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1498,2100,1498,550/0-0-0/ed4b577f-12c4-40c2-8935-047bd29d562a/1/1/michael.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=1818865cf8da513df510195b49b7f9a29c9b846cfa01bf4d32fce987dc0d57c1)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1575,2100,1575,550/0-0-0/a3162e8f-7722-4e47-a38e-cbc7f020d09a/1/1/CJ.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=2fcc5d2566c7e561370afb975cc9e434f80613082e24204bb69b8e5ee945184a)
C.J. (playing Enter the Matrix)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1580,2136,1580,550/0-0-0/d9e6b448-4ff8-4317-8e01-28d944abde29/1/1/Piers.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=f14f0f97b66a2dfb8792c05a082f0b2aa748390938f76cd9a17ea41fe23794ac)
Piers (playing Fight Night)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1586,2141,1586,550/0-0-0/76f21813-a95d-45e4-8ffb-82eb76cda167/1/1/Alex.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=d35ce3856da461c8ce0399c3b4675406036e612aeea0fc78e1ce905b27489c52)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1574,2139,1574,550/0-0-0/fed2a9ee-114c-4cd0-8e20-98bc21322434/1/1/JustinC.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=e90fbb84cbfa7ed0cd2d49360bbd0ca07c0e9793c529b0ff553a54e3e76da056)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1506,2100,1506,550/0-0-0/f0e51bc9-3948-48f0-9219-0f064ec42935/1/1/Terry.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=ed0a942e54106d518c657d3a5ecd19aadeb8b5b6f4d189cee48308be8eba949c)
Terry (playing Fight Club)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/df0b6d62-40ca-4bbd-a846-fe12c7f9462a/0/0/0/0,0,1552,2100,1552,550/0-0-0/ede03847-7505-43e2-b1c3-7cad9fefc6f8/1/1/Shawn.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037507783~hmac=a92b42ec0f5df8759565a0b46a33e3cf188c16e257b9dd958dd72ff86ad955fc)