50 Strangers Update

Giving you all an update.

The 50 stranger’s project is a lot of fun. I’m actually thinking of expanding the project to 100

strangers. At first my thoughts were that I was going to be a pest to people that I would approach and take portraits of but that’s really not the case. Most people that I’ve caught on the street and photographed have been really positive towards me. Most people have also been laid back and interested in how things will turn out. Doing this project I had some worries about how things would be initially. It’s not every day and in this instance every weekend where you meet and interact with 10 or so new people. I think that naturally as people we have our own perceptions or ideas of how a person on the street may act or behave. For example I think today that many people are in a rush so maybe I shouldn’t bother him or her. To be fair I usually don’t stop and ask those who seem to be in a rush but I might start to. Or a more opened ended example could be that a person looks like they are a certain way so I should or shouldn’t do XYZ. Anyway I’ve definitely opened my eyes to people as a whole. I try very hard to not make assumptions and to approach people as an open book and not approach people by my internal perceptions. There’s that quote which states not to judge a book by its cover. This project has really ingrained that idea into my mind. It’s refreshing to interact with new people and prove those thoughts wrong. This project has been more than just a photo journey. It’s been a personal journey as well. See yah on the street.

Other than the 50 strangers project I’ve made it into an Art Gallery! The Visual Art Exchange, on West Martin Street, has added two pieces of my work into their holiday exhibition. This is… Wow. If you’re curious two photos from the double exposure series were entered. To a normal person this might not be a big deal but for me it is. I can’t believe that something that I have created has made it into a gallery. I don’t just see myself as a photographer. I see myself as an artistic and creative person. Photography helps me achieve certain forms of creativity. The pieces of work will be up in VAE for this month and next for the 2016 year.

Additionally I expect to have some interesting manipulation photography (Levitation, disappearing acts) and photo shoots, involving a bank vault, coming through the pipeline. Please stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!