Photograph of student smoking a cigarette, using a prism to add a reflection of trees.

Media has brought positive improvement to our lives and society through the allowance of external awareness at remarkable ease. More specifically, without exerting too much effort, we have access to photographs and videos that depict current social and political issues. This aspect of media gives individuals an understanding of phenomena and trends occurring around them, from a local to global scale. Furthermore, this increased awareness allows for individuals to formulate opinions and ideas on a wide variety of topics. One negative aspect of this increased awareness is the ability for individuals to be easily manipulated, depending on the context of the photographs and videos, specifically if individuals are ignorant to the topic being displayed.

For example, some organizations, such as the EPA and ASPCA, utilize media to effectively spread their message of environmental protection and animal abuse in an efficient manner. While it is an effective method of getting their word across to the people, it can also misconstrue the beliefs and ideologies of the people receiving the message.

 

Project Title: Portraits in the Streets of NYC

The main goal of my project is to capture portraits of individuals traveling throughout the busiest streets of Manhattan. More specifically, the theme of this project is to capture the expressions and movements of individuals at differing settings and angles, in order to tell a deeper story and give room for various possible interpretations, as to the mood of the subject(s) and the portrait itself.

One specific setting for these portraits will be Wall Street. Due to the fact that Wall Street is filled with numerous individuals going about their lives in a potentially very stressful environment, I will be able to capture different facial expressions that can tell the story of these individuals days. In order to capture these portraits, I will use a telephoto, allowing me to manipulate the framing of my images at greater distances. One possible problem I may run into is the fact that some may feel uncomfortable that their photo is being taken, and in the event that this does occur, full respect for their privacy will be given.

 

Associated Research:

Some inspiration for my final project was drawn from portrait photographers metropolitan photographers like:

1. Allan Sekula,  an American photographer capable of manipulating angles to better portray his portraits of not only humans, but inanimate objects as well.
2. Phillip Lorca Dicorcia, an American Photographer who manipulated color balance and flash to highlight his subjects.
3. Jomayra Texiera, a photographer previously mentioned on this blog, recently made popular through her photographs of metropolitan street life, utilizing a low-key aesthetic.

Expected Outcome:

• A series of 7-10 photographs of both human subjects and inanimate objects that can tell a story about metropolitan life.
• A few images using flash and a few using black and white color.
• A brief description on each image that still leaves room for audience interpretation