Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Studio Final Project


            In every urban environment, once the sun goes down, there are places, corners, and alleyways that people avoid. More often than not, they avoid these corners because of their mysterious air. While these places should sometimes be avoided, they are, more often than not, completely safe and reasonable places to be. By illuminating various elements of these dark and lonely spaces, I hope to add to the mystery and intrigue of these places. Many fears are irrational, however often are connected to the unknown. Because the viewer doesn’t know what the illuminations are, it is justifying the fear of these places by adding an unknown.Special thanks to Max Lee for the assistance and input.













 

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Spot News

Protesters participating in Occupy Pittsburgh gather up garbage and debris on Sunday, December 11, 2011. The group decided to rebuild their campsite after occupying the park next to BNY Mellon for almost two months.

A Occupy Pittsburgh protester, who decided to stay anonymous, rakes up the space in front of his tent on Sunday, December 11, 2011. The protesters decided that it would be a good idea to clean up and rebuild camp before it begins to snow.

An older woman shovels leaves into a garbage bag at the site of Occupy Pittsburgh on Sunday, December 11, 2011. After occupying the park next to BNY Mellon for almost two months, the protesters are rebuilding their camp site.

Two men move a large tent from one side of the BNY Mellon Park to another on Sunday, December 11, 2011. By cleaning up and rebuilding their camp, the protestors of Occupy Pittsburgh hope to prepare for the upcoming winter so they can continue protesting until they believe their job is done.

Two protesters involved with the Occupy Pittsburgh Protest begin to take down the tent to one of the booths at the Occupy Pittsburgh site in the park next to BNY Mellon on Sunday, December 11, 2011. The group decided to rebuild their campsite after occupying the park next to BNY Mellon for almost two months.

A group of men discuss where they should move a tent and bags of debris to on Sunday, December 11, 2011 at the Occupy Pittsburgh site, next to BNY Mellon. The group decided to rebuild their campsite after occupying the park next to BNY Mellon for almost two months.





Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Light Painting

I was happy to be out of the studio for this Studio assignment. Max and I spent 3 hours running around the Warf that was covered in mud and infested with rats, and then an hour in some sketchy alley ways, and this is what I got.

f10 @ 15 seconds

f11 @ 13 seconds

f11 @ 13 seconds

f11 @ 13 seconds

f11 @ 13 seconds

f8 @ 13 seconds




Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Elections 2011

After walking around the Pitt campus for about a half an hour, I finally found the polling place. The second I walked up, they told me I was not allowed to have a camera. I told them I was. This dialogue continued until security was mentioned, then I eventually gave up since no voters were present.

I then went to Epiphany Church in Washington Place. They also told me I was not allowed to have a camera but much nicer about it. The woman who asked me to talk to voters outside instead of inside the actual polling place was the Judge of Elections. She said "We used to let kids in with cameras all the time, but of course one person had to mess that up". She has been working the polls at Epiphany Church for a number of years now. She enjoys it, however says it is a very long day. At 6:00, even after the polls had been open for 11 hours, she said that only about 60 people had showed up to vote at this location.

I talked to a number of people who did not want to have their photograph taken and would not give me their names, but were willing to tell me why they voted.

An older couple left the polling place together after casting their votes. They said that they vote in every single election, and neither of them had missed an election since they turned 18.

A young man, Age 20, left the polling place at Epiphany Church said "I was unprepared to vote in this election. I didn't realize how many things there were to vote on and I definitely didn't do enough research". It was the first time he had voted.

A Pittsburgh Man said "I normally don't vote in this kind of election, but I wanted to be a part because of this whole Fitzgerlad/Raja showdown".

A Pittsburgh man named Steven, Age 25, said "I haven't voted in a while, but I had to this time around. It's not really fair for me to complain about what is going on if I haven't done my part, so I wanted to do my part".

Finally after talking to 8 people, and being ignored by a number of others, someone finally allowed me to take their picture!

Hannah, a resident of Allegheny County, casts her vote on November 8, 2011 at the Epiphany Church at Washington Place. Hannah said "I don't always vote, but I really wanted to vote this time because of everything going on with the libraries. They are really important to the community".


When the polls closed at 8:00, still under 100 voters had cast their votes, a very small turnout for the number of people that live in the area.

Portraits

Two strobes, f13, 1/30, Athena.











Code of Ethics

I decided to take pictures of Occupy Pittsburgh, something I was uncomfortable doing.

People have been Occupying Pittsburgh since October 15, 2011. The protesters have been camping out in the park next to BNY Mellon.

A protester named Jim shows his support for the Occupy Wall Street Protests in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday, November 6, 2011. Jim works during the week, but has spent every weekend showing his support.

Protesters meet in front of the Food Tent in where the Occupy Pittsburgh Protesters have been camping on Sunday, November 6, 2011. "Every one is working together, even if some of the causes conflict one another, we stand in solidarity" said one of the protesters.

A protester named Maggie holds up a sign supporting the Occupy Pittsburgh Movement in front of her tent. She has been there since Day 1 and said "This has been a crazy experience, I went from having no roommates to a hundred roommates. It's been hard because of that but we're all working toward the greater good".

A group of protesters sit outside their tent in the park next to BNY Mellon in Downtown Pittsburgh, where the Occupy Pittsburgh Protesters have been camping on Sunday, November 6, 2011. 


A protester sings a song supporting the Occupy Pittsburgh Movement on the corner of Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, PA. His dog has accompanied him throughout this journey.