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PHOTOGRAPHY

"As for myself, I work the way I do because of the kind of person that I am – my work is an expression of myself. It reflects me, my fascination with people, the physical world around us, and the exciting medium in which I work. I do not claim that my way is the best or the only way, it is simply my way. It is an expression of myself, of the way I think and feel."

- Arnold Newman, A Life in Photography

LIAMNA PESTANA - THE CUBAN MUSICIAN

The PERSON project

This is a semester long photography project as I follow a subject for months documenting his/her life. After taking a total of 800 images, I edited them down to a collection of 12.

Liamna Pestana is a first generation Cuban immigrant in the United States. She is a single mother working hard to raise her two children, but at the same time also a talented musician pursuing her career as a music performer.

For her part-time job, Liamna sings in a medieval choir as the main soprano. She performs once every three months at a Christian Church for a community of medieval poem and song lovers. Although the work doesn’t pay much, she still values it and enjoys bringing happiness to the community she loves.

During weekdays and time beyond work, Liamna studies vocal and guitar at Syracuse University. Due to her heavy burden of supporting the family while paying her own tuition, she attends a University volunteer program at the La Casita Cultural Center that covers half of her tuition in the graduate program. Therefore, she usually spends her weekends in the museum, teaching kids about cultures in the international community and music from other countries. It is truly amazing seeing Liamna giving her best at teaching kids from other families and loving them like her own kids.

BEHIND THE IRON GATES - THE ANTIQUE SHOP

The PLACE project

This is a semester long photography project as I did 4 photo shoots at a local antique shop in Syracuse over the course of 3 months. After taking a total of 800 images, I edited them down to a collection of 12.

This 21 room, 1886 Victorian Painted Lady mansion known as Behind the Iron Gates, opened its doors to Selma Adydan on February 14, 2004. She operates it as a customer oriented business, specializing in antiques and collectibles. Each room has a special theme such as Vintage Clothing, Toys, Fine Glass, Pottery etc..

Over the past decade, Selma has developed her business on close relationships with old customers and a constant replenishing collection of artifacts and antiques. Many people are attracted to her shop by the timeless arrangement of collections and nostalgic atmosphere, visiting the shop on a regular basis.

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BLACK AND WHITE PORTRAIT COLLECTION

With the help of Professor Gergory Heisler, I created my first collection of black and white portraits. It was my first attempt of working with no ambient light but with only studio lights. We used LED lights from Home Depot and placed them in different positions to test the lighting effect on the subjects. I was able to explore possibilities with creative use of those lights and captured quite a few astounding moments with my camera. It was overall an interesting experience and gave me a new perspective of how hard and soft lights play a decisive role in a portrait's tone.

COLOR AND SHADOW
PORTRAIT COLLECTION

International Student American Dream Project

I interviewed Gabriel Funada, a Japnese-Brazilian who went abroad to the U.S. in seek of better education. With an intention of showing hope and ambition, I went back to the photography studio and used studio flashlights to simulate morning ambient light. This is the first time that I used colors and shadows as a tool for expression. On the basis of black and white portraits, color adds a whole other dimension of story telling into the image. Different combinations of complementary or contrasting colors convey different moods. They can also work as visual projections and amplifiers of one's emotions if chosen wisely.