Neighborhood Saunter

This week's selection from our text focused on the concept of artist biography, and its relation and interactions with the perception of their work. I based this week's project largely on the concept of biography, but not necessarily a biography of my own life. Instead, this biography is one of my family, our surroundings, and the neighborhood which we inhabit. Thematically, I tried to stay away from cut and dry "documentary" photography in favor of a more suggestive, abstract approach. For this project, the "abstract" doesn't necessarily refer to solely the formal elements within the frame. In equal part, it is what is omitted that creates meaning in these photographs. I attempted to create images that extend beyond their borders, and demand more than a cursory glance to appreciate their full potential. 

I think this might have been my favorite project yet (the process at least!). I used a compact camera this time instead of my normal DSLR, and I think that helped put me in a different mindset. The lens is a 28mm equiv. prime, which is a significantly wider angle than I'm used to using. This challenged me to get physically closer to my subjects, and opened up new perspectives I might otherwise have missed, favoring a convenient zoom instead.

Because of how much fun this project was, I might start a tradition of walking through my neighborhood every day to see what new subjects I might chance upon! Perhaps this could be a part of next week's project...

Flickr link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/183257849@N08/albums/72157714126113578