Artist Statement

As a photographer you have to have the ability to see everyday things and put them in a beautiful light. As I walk through the streets I see people doing things that are in their everyday routines. To many these activities may seem boring or redundant but everyone has their own routine, their own life that truly makes street photography one of a kind. My favorite photography tool is leading line, I really think that it can make a photo if there is a line that leads your eye to the very end of the picture and makes you wonder what if just beyond the horizon. My goal is to make to want the viewer stretch their hang out and try to extend to the end of the horizon. Normally black and white is my preferred color pallet but I have been experimenting with color and photo shop. Bringing color into the photo creates a whole new image, it can make lines pop out more than before and can create even better leading lines and contrast.
My favorite photographer, Bernice Abbott, used leading line in the majority of her work, which is what I was most attracted to with her photos. She took many street photos in New York City with people of every color, background and path of life. On the other hand I took my photos in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The atmosphere is different here, other than the workers during the day the city is pretty dead so most people I saw were in work attire and had a reason to be where they were. Bernice Abbott being in New York saw tourist, workers, bums, and many police officers a whole different spectrum of art. With her photos you saw the subjects story right on the picture but with my subjects you have to wonder what happens after they leave the city and get out of their work clothes it leaves room for wonder to create your own story or each photograph.
I went straight to black and white because that is what was used during my favorite era of photography. I started to look at more modern and local artwork that had the color be just as important as the subject in their photo. I started to look at color as a possibility to enhance my photos. I started with simple colors that were quite similar to their natural colors but slowly moved to unnatural colors and saw that they made the picture stand out and I could really use my creativity in my art. The main places I used crazy bright colors was in the leading lines that were in certain photos, it brought out my favorite part of photography even farther than with just black and white.
In all I have trained my eye to see in more than one way, there are pictures that are just perfect for natural color or black and white but in addition I can now see subjects that could use some color boost and lines that just need a bright base or a dark shadow to make it perfect. Bernice Abbott is my inspiration for many black and white photos and many ideas for subjects and composition. As I further my reach into more editing techniques I will have to add another path for my eyes to lead to get that perfect photo; photography is much like learning you never stop learning new things and can always improve or see things differently. Learning to see in a different way is perfect as we have a world full of photos just waiting to be captured in time.