The Proposals

The First: Coffee Shops

When you go to get your grande mocha frappuccino, do you ever stop to look around at what everyone else is doing at the coffee shop? Do you only go to name brand places for that special cup of joe? Coffee houses are fascinating, eclectic social hot spots. In the age of technology, these places offer a perfect ground for social interaction and productivity with their free wi-fi, constant supply of caffeinated beverages and tasty snacks. In an environment where you can interact as you see fit or disappear behind a book or laptop, we see more and more sociability in our otherwise technologically linked world of solitude. The purpose of the assignment would be to showcase the vast variety of social interactions that can be found in one small place. The quality of the images should portray that comfortable, enveloping warmth found in such places and connect the different subjects.

The idea is to photograph in several different coffee shops around town, focusing on both chain and locally owned houses, though the later may outweigh the other. There are several coffee shops with completely different environments located throughout town and to link them into a common theme would be both challenging and exciting. Being that I work until 10pm all but two nights a week, this leaves me with a more consistent night theme to work off, which is when I believe these places really start to come alive. I do plan on spending some of the few afternoons or mornings as well to break up the monotony and offer some softer and lighter tonalities to the photographs.

My concerns are socially grounded. In the past few years, I’ve become acutely aware of how socially connected we are through technology and yet how socially disconnected we are to the environments around us. Coffee shops, though, offer a merge of the two, which cannot be found in many other places. Bars are strictly social; libraries strictly productive. These two can be merged in one small place and that place is a coffee house.

Currently, I’ve been contemplating whether or not I would need a different lens for this project. As I’m still a bit unsure as to how I want to go about photographing this subject, I think I may be fine with my current gear. I have budgeted for drinks, which is a definite requirement if you’re going to sit in a coffee shop for very long.

The Second: The Hilton

Ever since I moved to Tucson (three years and a couple months ago), I've worked at The Hilton El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort. I started out in Housekeeping and moved on to Security as a Dispatcher and Administrative Assistant. In that span of time, I've gotten to know a ton of people--some stay and some go. The fascinating part to me is the amount of different cultures represented in one small spot in the world and the amount of time some of these employees have been working there. Everyone had stories. Everyone has quirks. In a hospitality enviornment, so few pay attention to the behind the scenes workers. Every housekeeper is a "Maria" who silently cleans their rooms while they're away. I want to give the world faces to remember. People not so different from you and I. Every person who works there has a reason, whether it be that the hospitality yearly schedule allows for an "off season" so that they can spend more time with an elderly mother or that they feel trapped in a world they cannot get out of. Being in Security has allowed me access to every department in the hotel and a chance to get to know much more about the individuals working here. I'm one of the first people they go to when injured or dealing with a problem. I'm one of them. The working class that makes just enough to afford working.

I intend to bring my camera with me to work and spend my 10 minute breaks and lunch breaks photographing those around me. I can also devote my Friday-Sunday mornings to the project. The idea is to include a close up portraits as well as distance shots. With the portraits, I'd like to include their first names, dates of hire and origin so that the viewer can get a sense of how long some of these people have been working here as well as where they are from--Iran, Samolia, Bolivia, the US etc. In addition, for the multi-media aspect I'd like to include quips or parts of their stories. Some of these people have multiple degrees and spend their days unplugging toilets. Some of these people have come to the US as war refugees. Their backgrounds are so diverse and yet they all work in the same area and encounter the same struggles daily. I'd like to capture that commeradrie and diversity.

I've already cleared the project with my Director. He inturn took it to our Director of Sales (also incharge of PR) and the Director of HR as well as the General Manager. All I have left to do is discuss the project with the GM personally for final approval and go over company brand and logo policies. In exchange for the access, I may be required to photograph for the resort and have agreed to also budget that time into my schedule. I may also share rights to the photographs, if they choose to use them as well.

Assignment One

For the assigment, I wanted things that would remind me of everyday life, from passing my coworker on his bike everyday to looking at an old scratched photograph of my boyfriend and I. I wanted the outdoors because it's always been a source of calm for me. I need things that could help me pull through the time and not necessarily make me nostalgic. I wanted little things that we take for granted everyday that would inspire me to continue through the deprivation or remind me of what I no longer need - like keys!

For Memory's Sake

There is something disturbing and yet relatable about the rate at which Angela Singer produces photographs. It's inspiring to see someone willing to photograph constantly. It's hard to push myself to photograph daily and as much as I try, I often forget or feel unmotivated to even pick up my camera. I was told by a prominent photo instructor of mine that I should practice my craft at least 15 minutes a day and at times it feels impossible to even do that. It's refreshing to see someone who's camera is never far from their reach. If you are going to capture a more honest version of reality, though, you almost need that constant interaction. As her granddaughter pointed out, the camera was pretty much a part of her grandma and they never really saw her without it. I'm sure after years, everyone accepted that photos would be taken regardless of how they reacted. In my own family, everyone tends to tense up whenever a camera is brought out. I found it interesting that she used photography to cope with life and as an escape. Her identity became defined by her photographs and allowed for her to control small moments of her life. I respect that.

Singer's photographs are important because of their honesty and intimacy. They bring our attention to all the small details of life that people take for granted. They show all the small precious, and at times terrible, moments of a person's life that most forget about. They have the innocent, honesty of a family's 35mm snapshots which adds to their intimate quality. You could imagine just getting prints back from Walgreens or another 1-hour photo developer and sitting down with a close friend or relative to look at the photos and reminisce about the times. That same sort of feel was present during the section of the film showing the gallery of her work. In a world accosted with constantly retouched photographs, Angela Singer provides us with this beautiful bank of images fresh from her camera, documenting life and all it's idiosyncrasies and peculiarities.

Film Response: What Remains

In the beginning of the documentary, Sally Mann mentions that the things you are closest to are usually what you photograph the best and that if you don't love what you photograph then you're not going to make good art. Though she has respect for those that travel for their shots, it is not for her. She goes on to talk about the influence of a child's book, Art is Everywhere, that her father gave to her as a little girl and how that in a way epitomizes her approach to art. Later in talking about photographing her children, she mentions that how they were playing and what they were doing would catch her eye and aid in her ideas for her work.

I found the introduction to be poignant and caused me to contemplate my own approach to my work. Her ability to photograph and direct her young children in her shots is astounding. In my own work, I've struggled with directing those around me to produce my vision, even those closest to me, and her ability to bring out their personalities to create a complex and beautiful photograph never fails to amaze me. Photographing the intimate has its own set of challenges. It takes trust on both ends, which Sally Mann also mentions in talking about photographing her husband. I've struggled with this in my own life. Even when I have the trust of the model, I don't trust myself enough to have the confidence to take the photograph. I'm afraid to direct the other person. It's hard to coach a stranger; the intimate for me is too personal to tamper with. In difficult times, I often have to wonder what my motives are and whether or not I should impose. A similar sentiment is shared by Mann, in photographing her husband and his battle with muscular dystrophy; this question of whether or not she should. The most memorable example of this struggle in my own experience was that with my father battling pneumonia on top of Leukemia and in the hospital at the time. I'd seen him in and out of hospitals and near death for about 6 years and had never brought my camera. This time I did. The first day I couldn't even approach the idea of photographing him because I was too afraid. He looked so fragile, unlike the image of him I've always had in my mind. After being told by the doctors that he could go at any moment, I made up my mind to get at least one shot of him on the second day. I took out my camera and he asked what I was doing. Being too afraid to say that it may be my last photograph of him, I told him it was so that he could look back afterwards and see his progress once he was out. I quickly took two pictures and put away my camera. Now that he is gone, I regret not taking the time to really look behind the viewfinder. I, like Sally Mann, was in denial of what my eyes told me. Was it right for me to take even those two photographs because those are the two last photographs I have of my father. Do I want to remember him in the prime of health or in the pathetic, helpless hospital state?

Photographing the intimate is leaving your heart bare and exposed and trusting that what your doing is right. You sacrifice comfort, but in exchange strengthen your trust.

I have a deep respect for Sally Mann and her ability to work through this issue of death that each of us faces. She's right in the fact that it was important work, but not a pleasant topic for most. Great art echoes timeless themes and enlightens our minds. I believe Mann to be successful in her endeavors to capture and understand death in a beautiful way.