Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Peter Cirilli
September 24, 2021
BIO:
-Name: Peter Cirilli
-Age: 27
-Location: Essex Junction, VT
-Profession or specified field: Freelance Photographer
-How long have you been participating in your specified field: 6+ Years
W- Peter, thanks for taking some time to chat with us today. So, over 6 years behind the lens, huh? How did you get your start as a photographer?
P- I was always interested in the world of art throughout middle school and high school. My junior year of high school I picked up a camera and started shooting everything and anything. I Mainly started with sports, and as I moved into college, I got a pretty good glimpse into product/studio photography. After working as a graphic designer for a few years during and after college I eventually went off on my own to begin my freelance photography career.
W- Sounds like you’ve always had a knack for your craft. It’s cool to hear about how you took what was somewhat of a hobby and transform it into your livelihood. What tends to influence your creativity and your work, and from where do you draw inspiration?
P- I think I get a good mix of influence from both myself and past work, as well as the world around me. I follow a lot of photographers on various social media platforms and tend to take inspiration from them as well. I love finding a photograph that resonates with me and then trying to recreate or do something similar just to see if I can get the same result. After that I am able to implement those ideas into a new idea and the cycle continues.
W- It’s really cool that you let your own work inspire you. Maybe it was something you liked, or maybe it was something you ended up not being happy with. Either way, it’s awesome how you are able to reflect on past creative pieces to draw from. In terms of being inspired by other photographers, it is often said that the ultimate form of flattery is imitation.
W- So here comes the million-dollar question: What does creativity mean to you?
P- Loaded question! Creativity to me means going against the normal, taking risks, and thinking differently. If we all did the same thing life would be pretty boring.
W- What a great answer. It seems as though a “norm” has to exist in order for there be such a thing as creativity. By definition, something is not considered to be creative it it isn’t a little bit “different than usual”.
W- Before we let you go, we’re just curious about what your connection to Woodchuck might have been prior to getting involved in our 30th Anniversary Celebration, if any at all. Through your involvement with Woodchuck, was there anything you learned about us that resonated with you or that you can connect with personally?
P- To be honest, I wasn’t really connected with Woodchuck in any way but I was always interested in the brand and business. After being asked to work on this project I was very surprised to find out Woodchuck is 30 years old. It seems as if hard cider has been popping up more recently but to find out that Woodchuck has been at the forefront of hard cider and doing so from Vermont the whole time is really cool. Even though I am a Vermont transplant, I feel very strongly about companies holding it down in the state they originate from.
Thanks for the kind sentiments. While we love that so many people across the country enjoy our cider, we do hold Vermont very close to our hearts. Thanks for chatting with us today, Peter. Keep crushing it behind the lens!
Peter provided us with a photo that looks like it was produced almost entirely through digital illustration, but is actually a photo. He took a really cool approach to a somewhat simple photo of our products as his tribute to our 30th Anniversary.
Go check it out on our Instagram if you haven’t already. While you’re there, be sure to check out our #chuckturns30 contest where you can enter to win a Woodchuck 30th Anniversary cooler as well as a featured spotlight amongst 25 hand selected creatives like Scott!
Cheers, happy first day of Fall, and happy cider sippin’.
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