Over the fall, I was able to work on several interesting and fun projects, one of them being my final project for my Photo Design & Concept class. I created a series of photographs I called "Portrait of a Town", which basically translates into me going around my home town of Abita Springs, into all the little shops and restaurants, and asking complete strangers if I could take an environmental portrait of them (a portrait in surroundings that are personal to the subject, or illustrative of a part of their life). I wanted to create an honest collection of photographs that show the people that make up this town and keep it going.
Now, I'm going to be honest, this was hard for me. I'm a pretty extroverted person, and I thrive on meeting new people, but walking into the local grocery store, finding the owner, and asking to take his picture is pushing it. I had a deep fear starting this project that I would be met only with incredulous looks and firm rejections. However, I thought this would be good for me (I needed practice getting braver with my camera), and ultimately a very worthwhile and rewarding project. And so I set out.
My very first target was the super cute Maple Street Bakery, owned by a husband and wife. I lurked outside the building for about five minutes before I worked up the courage to go in. I was really concerned about taking their time away from working, so I waited for all the customers to leave (more lurking) before finally introducing myself and explaining my project. They were so nice about it. He was a little more enthusiastic than she was, but mostly because she was doing the baking and was worried about looking too much of a mess. It was perfect, though, because any messiness just made the picture all the more "real". And anyway, she looked beautiful.
After that I was feeling a bit more confident, and decided to stop by the fruit stand in town. He was very obliging, if surprised that a random person who just literally walked up off the street wanted to take his picture.
From there, over the course of the next couple weeks, I accumulated the rest of my photographs. It was such a great experience.
Through taking these portraits I got to meet and befriend all kinds of new people, have interesting conversations, and learn to be more confident with my photography.
It actually got to where I could walk into places around here and have people know who I am, like they do in small towns in movies or something.
I especially loved this guy. And his fedora. He and his wife own Breakaway Cafe, and he let me take his picture while in conversation with a friend.
There was only one person, out of all the people I met and asked to photograph, who refused to let me take her picture. I met her when I was in Artigue's Grocery, taking this one:
The man above called her his "second mother". She was ninety-something years young, with hands gnarled from what must have been years of painful arthritis, a bright red baseball cap on her head, and she was absolutely brimming with spirit and vigor. She was (and still is) a painter, and whenever she found out that I was a fellow artist she pulled out a little pocket album and showed me her favorite pieces that she'd created, giving the story behind each of them. They were sweet and touching and hilarious in turns, and meeting her was such a happy treat. I wanted so badly to take her picture, however sadly she kept refusing, insisting that "I didn't want her picture". Not wanting to be pushy, I eventually gave up and settled for resolving to write about the encounter in my blog.
So there you go. One of my favorite projects from last semester. I'm so glad I went through with it, and pushed past that initial nervousness! It was completely worth it, and I just wanted to share the experience. Here's to a new semester, and making it even better than the last. Also, to writing more posts. Definitely to writing more posts.
