Through the Lens & in Reflections,
A Photography Book
In the year of 2023, I borrowed a 35mm, Black and White Film camera. It was a difficult thing to get used to, as I had only ever worked with its successors, the DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras. The film was costly, getting the aperture and shutter speed at the correct settings proved to be nightmarish, and trying to do everything chemically correctly for film development weighed on my nerves. Every picture I captured with this 35mm lens had to be considered carefully. Supplies and time were limited to the point that each snapshot was precious in its own right. All that being said, the most fruitful and fulfilling of the few projects I embarked upon with this camera was my self-portrait series. The inspiration for this series is the work of the late Vivian Maier.
Maier was a prolifically proficient street photographer whose work, only discovered in the 2010s, spans a large chunk of the 1900s. While most of her pictures consist of candid photos of others, my favorite of her work is her self-portraits. She was able to find and capture unique portrait opportunities within different mirrors and reflective surfaces. All beautifully framed and lit, she could capture moments in some of the least expected of places.
One of the things that spoke to me about this part of her work is how Maier chose to frame these photographs. In the Majority of them, she positions herself not as the focal point or centerpiece, but simply a single part of an entire composition. She is just another person in the surrounding scenery. She also rarely smiled or posed in a way that would make herself look prettier or composed, as most would want themselves to look in a picture. This allowed her to stay in the moment and let the camera take the entirety of the scene rather than just Maier herself.
By letting my camera eclipse my own face and purposefully wearing the same outfits across every picture, I had set out to create the same kind of thoughtful framing. This book showcases the best I was able to capture across three locations I spent the day in: Dallas, Denton, and Decatur. The reason for my choosing these specific Texas cities/towns was for one reason. Each of them had a different type of urban charm to provide variety in photographic opportunities. Dallas is a cosmopolitan, fast-growing, and metropolitan city with art galleries, bustling businesses, and towering structures all throughout it. Denton is a vibrant and artsy university city/town with plenty of events and attractions for young folks to enjoy. Decatur is a small town that blends the surrounding charm influences of rural countryside with historical roots. All three of these locations allowed me to hunt for unusual, snapshot-worthy opportunities.
As stated at the beginning, I had plenty of difficulty throughout the entirety of this project. Some of the black and white film developed well, but most of it did not. These factors made me more mindful of how each photograph in this series is edited and arranged, as well as proud of what I was able to accomplish.
(Note: This statement is also the introduction found within the photobook itself.)
Maier was a prolifically proficient street photographer whose work, only discovered in the 2010s, spans a large chunk of the 1900s. While most of her pictures consist of candid photos of others, my favorite of her work is her self-portraits. She was able to find and capture unique portrait opportunities within different mirrors and reflective surfaces. All beautifully framed and lit, she could capture moments in some of the least expected of places.
One of the things that spoke to me about this part of her work is how Maier chose to frame these photographs. In the Majority of them, she positions herself not as the focal point or centerpiece, but simply a single part of an entire composition. She is just another person in the surrounding scenery. She also rarely smiled or posed in a way that would make herself look prettier or composed, as most would want themselves to look in a picture. This allowed her to stay in the moment and let the camera take the entirety of the scene rather than just Maier herself.
By letting my camera eclipse my own face and purposefully wearing the same outfits across every picture, I had set out to create the same kind of thoughtful framing. This book showcases the best I was able to capture across three locations I spent the day in: Dallas, Denton, and Decatur. The reason for my choosing these specific Texas cities/towns was for one reason. Each of them had a different type of urban charm to provide variety in photographic opportunities. Dallas is a cosmopolitan, fast-growing, and metropolitan city with art galleries, bustling businesses, and towering structures all throughout it. Denton is a vibrant and artsy university city/town with plenty of events and attractions for young folks to enjoy. Decatur is a small town that blends the surrounding charm influences of rural countryside with historical roots. All three of these locations allowed me to hunt for unusual, snapshot-worthy opportunities.
As stated at the beginning, I had plenty of difficulty throughout the entirety of this project. Some of the black and white film developed well, but most of it did not. These factors made me more mindful of how each photograph in this series is edited and arranged, as well as proud of what I was able to accomplish.
(Note: This statement is also the introduction found within the photobook itself.)