Picturing the "Other"

This is the first image I took for this assignment. I found this assignment fairly challenging. I am usually a pretty outgoing person who likes to meet different people, yet I had a hard time with this assignment. Therefore, I first began taking photographs of people from a distance, like the girl on the left. She was vastly different from me in age and perhaps ethnicity. I wanted to show the fairy tale, wondrous side of childhood and capture a certain magical spark.





This photograph shows the relationship between father and daughter. However, it also illustrates a different dynamic that, at first, I did not realize. The father is Caucasian and the daughter is Mexican. I discovered this when I watched two families enjoying the park, both of which included Mexican ethnicity's and realized that the father of one was Caucasian. I did not realize this before because the importance, for me, was on the relationship between the father and daughter, not what skin color either had. I chose to photograph this relationship because I have definitely not yet experienced a relationship with my own kid. In general, I had wanted to go up to the families and ask to take a photograph, but I was honestly too shy at first and didn't get the chance. Once I was brave enough, the families were already leaving. I wanted to take a photograph of these families because I feel a sort of connection and kinship to the Hispanic culture (as you can tell by reading my blog).








This young woman is the first person I asked if I could take a photograph of. I knew that once I began asking people, it would be much easier. She seemed sweet and was with her husband/boyfriend?, walking her mother's poodle. Originally, I was going to take a photo of her husband but was delayed by a phone call. I saw how the light was hitting her and realized it would be a good picture, so I got out of my car, where I had been waiting to find someone to take a photo of (I had already been out in the freezing cold looking for subjects so I had decided to stay in the car for a while) and ask her if it would be ok to photograph her. She was very friendly and sweet. I took this picture to show the relationship and love between a girl and her dog.

This other photograph has a different emphasis. I placed emphasis on the girl the most, trying to show her beauty and the way the sunlight was illuminating her hair. This photo is more about the girl than the girl with a dog. I used Photoshop to smooth out her skin, a technique I tend to use for most portraits to make them look more glamorous.

To help me gather courage, this is one of the first pictures I took of the second subject I asked. At first, I was shy and so I took a photo far away; therefore, I did not feel like I needed to ask permission. I felt drawn to this particular man because of the way the light was hitting him and the serenity he seemed to radiate while reading in the park.

As you can see, I was gradually getting up the nerve to ask this man if I could photograph him. He seemed nice, a different gender (so fitting the description of the "other" according to our assignment), and my intuition told me that he would be good to photograph. I was already a lot braver since I asked that one woman if I could take her picture. It was kind of exhilarating. Therefore, after this picture, I finally asked this young man if it would be ok to take some photographs.

I finally got the nerve to ask him if I could take his picture, and he was very nice and said that would be fine. After taking this picture, I asked him what book he was reading, and it sounded fascinating although I can't recall the title right now. We then started talking about cameras, and he actually had heard of my camera, the Pentax K10D. I was impressed. It was refreshing to meet someone who knew about photography and cameras, since I have a strong passion for both.

I took this photo as we continued talking. After taking photos of him, he gave me his email so that I can send the photos to him, and he can send me the name of the book he was reading. He had mentioned that he had traveled a lot and that he read this one book every couple of years because of that. Overall, this was a very exciting and good experience. My intuition led me to meet someone like minded and kind.

On a side note, I could not decide if I liked this photograph more in black and white or color, so here are both.

I discovered something interesting in the way I approached Photoshopping images of this individual. Typically, I smooth out imperfections, but for some reason, I did not want to smooth his skin because the lines added character.

I had only one person decline to be photographed, but he was very polite and even mentioned that I did not have to ask but thanked me for being courteous. I already knew that you technically do not have to ask someone to photograph them, but I wanted to be nice.

I also realized another important aspect about myself in this process. I still love photography, portraits, and people in general. I found out that it was not as hard as I thought, and also I realized it was easier for me to approach people because I have a likable personality. It is in my nature to be friendly and outgoing. Also, I love to meet people and communicate.