Category Archives: Assignment Three – Environmental Portrait

I’ve been attending Mixed Martial Arts classes for around 6 months at a gym near my home. It is there where I met the subject for my environmental portrait project. The subject for this assignment was my MMA instructor who spends a majority of his time in the gym teaching as well as training for up coming fights. Though he was very open to letting me take pictures, many of the initial photo’s seemed unnatural and came out looking posed. It took multiple shoots to finally have my instructor behaving normally and focused on his training. But do not be fooled by his serious look, off the mat he often jokes and has a playful character. It is amazing to see the shift in a persons attitude and behaviors when doing what he loves most.

My environmental portrait is on a close friend, Bryan Karundeng. A man of large stature, Bryan once had cancer as a young teenager. His troubled past has on occasion led him to indulge in drinking, an issue he is very open with. His habits are better tamed today, but he still has a taste for Jack Daniels on the rocks. He plays music, though does not perform on stage very often. He hangs around with many “scenesters” on the Staten Island music scene. He occasionally goes to shows in Brooklyn or Manhattan, especially to support fellow musicians from Staten Island. Though, he does not always pull himself into the crowd at parties and events. He tends to pull himself aside with close confidants to talk, hangout, play music for them or “Jam”.
Despite his aversion to crowds at parties and shows, he is a very friendly and open person. He loves to strike up conversations with people, especially about music. He has a passion for instruments and their qualities and enjoys discussing the ins and outs of particular guitars or ukeleles. It is not uncommon to see him calmly and contently playing music by himself at a party, strumming just loud enough to hear himself over the music.

Rafiel is a shoe repair man who’s store is located at 323 2 Ave, Manhattan. Originally from Uzbekistan Rafiel worked in a large factory making high end shoes before moving to NY and starting his own business. Now he shares his space with a seamstress to help pay the  high rent, and tries to keep his prices low so customers keep coming back. It costs $10 to fix a pair of shoes.

This shoot portrays how the subject’s religious beliefs play a part on aspects of their life even though they remain an ordinary person.

Essay:

For this shoot I chose to study a friend, her name is Imani Randall. Initially I was drawn to focusing on her demeanor and obscurity. As I began shooting her in her nurse’s uniform, a special uniform required for the nursing ministry in some churches, mainly protestant ones, in which their primary concern is the care of the clergy, I realized her religious beliefs were the determining factor in most aspects of her life. As I continued to shoot, I realized the extent to which her religious beliefs influenced her life and what an important role her spirituality served in her life. As I sought to explore the different aspects of this, I also learned that I had many obstacles such as not being allowed to photograph her church and her family’s refusal to partake in the shoot. I decided to think about it in a different way.

My shoot therefore attempts to depict that her spirituality is both cultural and personal. It influences everything from the way she is perceived to her view on social issues. She takes great pride in her Christian upbringing even though she does at times feel a bit out of place because of it. I wanted to highlight the fact that even though she is a very devout Christian who dedicates much of her time to the church, she is also an ordinary young woman.

My environmental pictures are about a teenager’s dependency on technology.  I followed my fiancée’s teenage daughter, Cynthia, for a day only to discover how extraordinary that she cannot go two minutes without using her phone to text and “Facebook” her friends.  I asked her if she could go a whole day without looking at it and she said no.

She woke at 6am for school and within 10 minutes she was on the phone gossiping or texting someone.  Who in their right mind does that at 6am?!?!  Before we even got out the door, she was on Facebook.  To and from school, the phone was in her hand ready for a quick reply when needed.  After school, Cynthia stopped at a friend’s house for a bit where she actually put down the phone only to pick up a guitar and play rock band.  When we got home, while laying in bed she can be seen and heard communicating via her phone.

Even when Cynthia had the computer to do homework, the phone was in constant use.  Only when she fell asleep studying did the phone get put down.  Funny enough, just after I took the picture of her sleeping, the phone buzzed and still half asleep, Cynthia replied then went back to sleep.  In the evening while still watching TV, the noise of her fingers pressing the buttons on the phone continued until it was time to sleep.