Spring Break Photos

There were two things that I really wanted to do while I was on Spring Break (that were related to this photography course). The first thing I wanted to do was to take pictures of the abandoned power plants and refineries that would have been featured in the documentary film project I proposed, but I unfortunately never got the time to do that. However, I did accomplish my second goal: I got to take pictures of actual people!

It was really liberating for me to take pictures while I was on break. I didn’t really have a theme or purpose in mind while I was photographing my subjects, because we didn’t have class that week so I didn’t feel pressured to relate my photographs to any discussion. That being said, I feel like everyone of the pictures from break that I actually like is connected to one of the topics or photographs brought up in class. Maybe it was just an unconscious influence.

Working with the "models" was not the struggle I was expecting it to be. A lot of people weren’t really interested in being photographed to begin with, but the people who agreed to work with me were willing to do whatever I asked. I really tried to give as little direction as possible, because I knew I wanted to go for something more natural and uncomplicated. I took a good amount of pictures over the break, but a lot of them just didn’t work, and I don’t think it was because of me or the subject - I think there was just something off in the composition. However, I feel like I did get some pretty decent shots.

The pictures this week would probably fit into the deadpan portrait classification discussed by Charlotte Cotton. Until I took this photograph, I never really understood the psychological complication of this genera of photography. Like, I couldn’t really tell why these portraits were a study of the human condition if the photograph was supposed to capture an apathetic expression. After taking this photograph, I understand what the audience is supposed to be looking for in the picture: the face isn’t important, it’s everything but the subject’s face that I should be analyzing. I want to look for the subject’s reaction to the act o being photographed. I want to see what they’re showing, what they’re hiding, and what they’re self-conscious about, all that subtle emotional stuff.