Task 6
Project Title: Tale of Two Cities
Project Description:
Throughout the semester, I’ve worked on projects that aim to work directly with subject matter, color, and experimental techniques that align with what I find interesting. Coming into my final project I intend to carry on this trend, this time around, using the elements of photography mentioned above to document different aspects of a place I love: New York City. Being born and raised in Brooklyn, I have a deep connection to all five boroughs of New York City, a connection that impacts the way I view the world, as well as the types of people and things that I value. Given this context, my project will consist of a set of photos that explore, emulate, and display New York culture. This includes activities, fashion, food, locations, and people that are directly associated with the iconic culture that’s been harvested in New York today.
This project will predominantly consist of portraits, landscapes, and still life photographs whilst utilizing images captured from both DSLR and film cameras. While on a surface level this project is intended to display the way in which I perceive New York City and the things about the city that I’m fond of, this perception that I intend to communicate is influenced by a variety of issues that have continued to persist in New York throughout my entire life. One of the issues that this project will tackle is gentrification. While I’ve lived in Brooklyn my entire life, my family has moved several times throughout the borough due to unaffordable housing that came about due to gentrification. Given this, I feel as though I have an understanding of the impacts that gentrification can have on the diverse culture present in New York. As a result, the photos produced from this project will be taken with the aesthetics of the “gentrifiers” and “gentrified” at their root. These images will not aim to necessarily spark change, but rather to display and bring awareness to the vast cultural differences within New York City despite the environments in which these differences are present being close together.
Outcomes:
- 8-9 Images Total
- The final set of images will have a mixed range of photos taken on film, photos taken in the studio, as well as photos taken outdoors
- Full-size images presented via projector
Methods and Materials:
- 35mm Film & Film Camera
- Portable Camera Flash & Softbox
- Specially Cut Light Stencils
References:
Stanton, Brandon. Untitled. https://www.instagram.com/humansofny/?hl=en
Humans of New York is a widely known Instagram page run by photographer Brandon Stanton. Started in 2010, the page initially began as a project to photograph ten thousand New Yorkers on the street, however over time, Stanton began to interview his subjects in which he began to obtain short stories and quotes, from their lives. I see Humans of New York as an integral piece of this project for a few reasons. From the images above, it can be seen that Brandon Stanton has a style of photography that doesn’t aim to be extremely complex or cinematic. Instead, the photos he takes use natural lighting and public spaces to tell stories which I appreciate. I feel as though this photographer will be useful toward the creation of this project as it serves as a reminder that in trying to portray New York, I don’t necessarily have to always aim to create a “studio look.”
Hajjaj, Hassan. “Rania & Yazid.” 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRekwlsp3g3/?hl=en
Born in Morocco in 1961, Hassan Hajjaj is a Moroccan photographer that specializes in portrait photography. His portraits capture the cultural multiplicity that animates the streets of Morocco, where the artist grew up as they feature bright and patterned backgrounds that complement the loud clothing of the image’s subject. Upon the patterns featured on the background and clothing, Hajjaj’s images utilize a patterned frame upon the other elements which accentuate the role of patterns within his work. While I don’t intend to base my photos for this project predominantly on patterns, there are several takeaways from this artist’s work that I admire. One aspect of his work that I admire is the importance of fashion in his work. To me, it stands at the forefront of his pieces and gives the subject a personality. Another aspect of his work that I intend to implement is the use of flash outdoors. Hajjaj’s photos come off visually as “studio-like” despite being outdoors via particular use of composition and flash. As a result, his photos maintain a curated look while also having elements of natural sunlight within them. I believe that this technique is really interesting and it is one that I want to attempt to implement within my final project.
Hordijk, Bas. London (July 2019). https://bashordijk.com/photography
Bas Hordijk is a Dutch street photographer whose work predominantly focuses on framing people in relation to the environments they’re in. This can be seen above in which the person in the photo only takes up a sliver of the photograph. Color is also a large part of Hordijk’s work as well. The image above expresses a wide range of yellow tones, ranging from lemony all the way to deep ambers. It’s these formal elements of Hordijk’s work that I intend to seek out for my final project in order to create images that not only accentuate usage of color, but are particular about where the subject of the image is featured within the photo.