Personal Work, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I shared a portion of my final photography portfolio from last semester. Today I want to share the second half of the work that was produced for the final portfolio. These photographs were taken in Kansas City, New York City, London, and Paris, and all developed and printed in the Fordham University Lincoln Center darkroom.

1-8, London, March 2019

Andy and Ben, Kansas City, April 2019

The Bullet Hole, Kansas City, April 2019

French Bride, Paris, March 2019

Garden of Beauty, New York, April 2019

Designated Smoking, Kansas City, April 2019

Private Storage, New York, April 2019

Quel Optimiste, Paris, March 2019 

Rosedale Chairs, Kansas City, April 2019

Video Gifts, Kansas City, April 2019

I believe these photographs represent who I am as a photographer in my most natural state: camera in hand, prepared to roam free for hours on end. I find myself to be the most creative and the most inclined to take a photograph when my mind is free from extraneous thoughts binding me to the less artistic sides of the world, mostly organized engagements or stationary indoor tasks.

I say "stationary indoor tasks" because one of the greatest joys of being a photographer is that there are truly no constraints to photo-taking time, except for light and having a roll of film handy. There are very few moments in the day when I feel like I could not take a single photograph, and it is usually when I am sitting in the office at work. I always try to keep my camera on me, even if I am running to the grocery store at the corner, as we never know when something will urge you to take a photograph. In preparing my final portfolio for last semester, I decided to cut out one of my favorite photographs solely because all others were taken outside. 

Tesco, London, March 2019

This photograph, taken around midnight in a London grocery store truly embodies the possibilities of photography. There is always an endless supply of photo-taking opportunities, and it is our job to keep our cameras on us at all times.

A Bit of Personal Work

After being asked to share some of my personal work, I decided to collect six photographs that were all taken within the same two months of each other. These two months marked travels between Kansas City, New York, London, and Paris, yet I return to the same photographic style throughout. I believe in capturing similar moments between these very different places we are able to uncover the human truth that we are more similar than we are different. 

All of the photographs below were captured on a Canon AE-1 with Ilford HP-5 film at 400 ISO. They were then developed in the dark room, and what you are looking at here are scans of prints, indicated by their slightly different coloring variations. 

468. New York, New York, April 2019

Don's Liquor. Kansas City, Missouri, April 2019

Salvation Army. Roeland Park, Kansas, April 2019

B&W Deli. New York, New York, March 2019

Will Call. Kansas City, Missouri, April 2019

Luxembourg Garden Theatre. Paris, France, March 2019

When taking photographs, I try to abide by Henry Wessel's process as I have talked about in a previous post: don't think before taking the photograph. In doing this, I believe I am able to capture pure moments in time, even if there is not any movement involved. In every shot,  I am capturing a different time of day, a different place, a different scenario where we interact differently depending on what our environment is. I believe it is important to let these places, despite their mundane nature, shine in their own ways.