Editor’s Note: Most assignments that come our way are driven by client objectives, with the subject, brand message, target audience and metrics for success defined in detailed design briefs. No matter how interesting, and sometimes lucrative, such projects can be, they are ultimately dictated by the client. At the end of the day, some of us like to unwind and reassert our creative freedom by dabbling in projects that captivate our interest and allow us to be as quirky and experimental as we like. Some of these self-generated projects are turned into published books and commercial products; others are only enjoyed by the artist and select friends. From time to time, we plan to feature some of these side projects, beginning with Terry Heffernan’s sole project.

Nationally renowned still life photographer Terry Heffernan has what one might consider a shoe fetish. More recently, his lust for famous soles has grown stronger.

Heffernan says it all began while touring the storage area at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, when he was shooting there on assignment. “On an old green metal filing cabinet, I saw a pair of well-worn black leather cleats with a yellow ID tag tied onto the lace,” he recalls. “I asked what that was about and was told the shoes belonged to Shoeless Joe Jackson, accused in the Black Sox Scandal of conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series. Seeing the dirt still on the cleats actually raised the hair on my arms; it was a visceral reaction. I just had to shoot it.”

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