So why photograph people in the early morning hours, when they are still in pajamas, t-shirts, and bathrobes?

One reason: light, in the early morning hours, is naturally warm and wonderful. But a better reason is that we all become a little more human in our pajamas. We all begin our days in very similar ways. It’s what we choose to do once we are up and moving that makes all the difference.

Rated PJ is a yearlong photography project that explores the question of what motivates certain people to wake up earlier (or stay up later) than others. What I am hoping to catch a glimpse of in this series of portraits is the transition area where the extraordinary and the everyday meet.

Each portrait is of a person who is in some way enriching the arts and culture of Charleston, South Carolina. The question asked of each of them is this: what motivates you to invest your personal time – often far more time than the average person would be willing to sacrifice – in order to achieve something extraordinary?

I hope that you will enjoy these glimpses into their lives as much as I enjoyed documenting them.

- Jason A. Zwiker

About the picture: Going through a manuscript in progress, pen in hand, is something to which any writer can relate. It is both a way to catch and correct past errors, and to plan out the work that still remains to be done.

About the project: Rated PJ is a yearlong photography project that explores the question of what motivates certain people to wake up earlier (or stay up later) than others. What I am hoping to catch a glimpse of in this series of portraits is the transition area where the extraordinary and the everyday meet.

Learn more about Nick Smith’s books here. You can read one of his latest projects, a web comic collaboration with photographer / artist Charlie Thiel, here.