I met Billy while photographing the houses in his neighborhood, Third Ward. I was afraid to be in Third Ward that day; I tried my best to take photos of the houses as quickly as possible. Approaching people was not an option in my mind. I knew very little about Third Ward, only what I heard and saw driving to school every day for the past two years. Billy happened to be standing outside with his dog in the middle of the street while I was taking a photo of his house. He looked at me like I was out of place, and that was when I knew I had to introduce myself. I was so afraid of what I did not know, but once Billy began to talk to me, he immediately calmed my nerves. He was a kind man, very open to me photographing his house and even him. Billy was immediately comfortable in front of my DSLR. My goal was to get to know Billy on a personal level and photograph him in a way that speaks to who Billy is, but still leaves the viewer with some questions.
I began to feel my project was going well the first time I photographed Billy, the day we met. I am intrigued by his lifestyle and our differences. He is a 65-year-old unmarried man, living in Third Ward and I am a 23-year-old married woman who has lived in the suburbs almost all my life. I feel when I meet people who are different from me; I have a broader understanding of the world I live in without yet having had the privilege of traveling. It is important to me to get out of my comfort zone and experience and learn about the world others live in.
Arnold Newman and Dorothea Lange inspire my work. One specific characteristic of Newman’s work I want to attain in my own work is his ability to capture the personality of a person, describing who they are but not telling the whole story. I am intrigued by the way Dorothea Lange’s photographs were aesthetically pleasing, although her subject matter was often harsh and hard to look at. The people Dorothea Lange photographed seemed at ease, which shows her ability to connect with the people she is photographing; I admire that about her work and want to achieve that quality in my own work.
