Month: February 2020

I plan on doing my photo essay on the upcoming annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. The theme of the show this year – which has run for 18 years – is “Jeff Leatham’s Kaleidoscope” which promises to have “dazzling floral creations” and “bursts of forms and colors—in purples, reds, oranges, and hot pink,” according to the organization’s website. Exhibits from previous years that I have attended were very colorful, lively, and unique which I believe will be best captured through a photographic medium. For the essay portion I will explain the history of the Orchid Show and the inspirations for this year’s show. I will hopefully also be able to interview staff members and guests for their insight and opinions on the show.

So here are my ideas for the photo essay:

1. My first idea is to profile The Series NY, a start-up sustainable denim brand that creates genderless clothing from “pre-existing materials.” For this series I hope to get some shots of the creator’s studio which hopefully will offer some interesting imagery of textiles and textures. I hope to also get some shots of the artist and creator herself. I think this would make an interesting story because fashion is very visual and her concepts are very bold, and colorful. Also the way she uses recycled materials is important as more pressure is put on fashion companies to be more sustainable. I have access to this story because I already reached out to the creator and they would be interested in working with me for this piece.

2. A second idea I have is profiling queer nightlife and what nightlife represents for the LGBTQ+ community. I have this idea of following a friend around who is a designer and makeup artist, and who is also a part of queer nightlife, on a night out. I would profile the getting ready process, on the way to the party, and the party itself. I feel like this is a strong visual story because of the amazing, incredible looks that are pulled out for these events. I have access to this story because I reached out to them and they said they would be interested in doing this story with me if we can find an event to go to!

If anyone else has any other suggestions or ideas of things I should aim to capture, please let me know!

The millennial generation has pushed the envelope of self employed work and entrepreneurship. Though we understand the significance and potential of a degree in higher education, we allow our passions to transcend societies definition of  success. During my time at Baruch, I’ve met dynamic individuals that graduated but pursued aspirations that render their degrees useless. For my photo essay, I will be focusing on one particular friend, Fatima Daniels, a 22 year old Baruch Alumni who opened her own salon in Queens, NY. My goal is capture her story of navigating the hardships of being a business owner at such a young age and enlighten my audience of the success that can prevail when one chases their dreams.

Earlier today, a rally was held on the 23rd Street plaza that called for the New York State government and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to fund CUNY and stop the yearly tuition hikes. I was able to attend this rally in full with my camera and voice recorder, and I think it is an excellent subject for this first assignment.

The photos I took (over 200, but I will choose the best 20) showed the passion of protesters — which included students, faculty members, assemblymembers, and alums of various CUNYs — and I was able to get some quotes from both speakers and the general public. This is a very important topic in the news right now, as both CUNY and SUNY schools are calling upon their elected officials to provide either free public college or an affordable education to those who need it the most. This is especially current because of the most recent tuition hike that was passed by the CUNY Board of Trustees, and not enough people are fully aware about what is going on in their school. This is also a personal issue that affects each student who goes to Baruch, so I think doing a story on it is essential.

The event I will be selecting for my photo essay is the Thirty-Fifth Annual New York Sword Dance Festival in New York City. It is a two-day event that will feature 12 teams from across the country. The event is a free event open to all and takes place February 15th and 16th in various different locations. I expect to take action shots of the different sword dances and focus on the dress wear of the dancers as these performances are a part of English tradition. The event should provide visually appealing pictures.

For my photo essay pitch I would like to cover the Chinese New Year  Parade on February 9, 2020 in Chinatown from 1-4PM. I believe the parade will allow me to take amazing photographs that represents Chinese culture and show people what Chinese New Year is about. Every year the parade attracts thousands of people all over NYC, either spectators or participants. The parade will have dragon dances, firework displays, stunning visuals, and festivities from Little Italy to Canal Street.

For my photo essay, I am thinking of taking pictures of how people sleep. In different ages, different sleeping habits and different cultures, sleeping may reveal intimate things about those people, from a homeless to a couple, from a student in the lab to a man sleep on the subway, I think this series may tell a lot more about how the world was constructed diversified, and how the others’ life is. The problem might be the interview and the names since I can think of the difficulties to ask a person some questions while he or she is sleeping.

For my photo essay,  I wanted to focus on a Gurdwara in my neighborhood, specifically on the practice of serving free food that takes place every day.  I have access to the story as it is a place within my community that I have been to before. I want to document the members of the temple who work and serve food to visitors, and the reasons why the practice is important to their personal faith and life. I also hope to document some of the people who come to the temple for meals, and their reasons for doing so. Overall, I want to be able to capture the relationship that the Gurdwara and its members has with its community, and the impact service and generosity has on a frequently misunderstood community.

It can be difficult trying to find a balance between school and outside life, and trying to be mentally stable. It takes some people to come to the realization that they just need to take a step back and look at life through a different lense- this may also mean focusing their energy and attention on things that make them mentally sane. I will be photographing a current student, who is taking a gap year, focusing on an activity that she is passionate about- dancing. It will be interesting to see how her typical days layout and the people that she surrounds herself with during this time. I am able to have the opportunity to create a human interest story because I know this person and they are willing to allow me to document them.

Richmond Hill Neighborhood in Queen, has the highest Sikh Population. I choose to take Sikh Community into picture because I used to be work with a non-profit organization and as volunteer I went to Sikh Temple and collect some health survey from Sikh Seniors and tried to help them out if need any assistance. So, based on the experienced that I had, I decided to choose my Photo Essay topic that covers the different aspects on Sikh community of NYC and what are the problems and challenges they are facing. Especially I will try to cover the what are the challenges of undocumented and illegal immigrants of Sikh community of NYC.