Photography’s Burning Issue

Great debate about photography and race going on on BURN. Here’s the write up to the Essay:

“Photography is an addiction.” Johanie, 24, aspiring photographer

Black Photographer is a portrait series on young black people in the New York City area who aspire to be photographers.

Even as children, many people dream of becoming a photographer. The glamour of strutting through a war zone with cameras flashing, being a spokesperson for the latest human rights cause, or having your work plastered on billboards in Times Square can be too enticing to ignore. Awards like World Press, can shoot a photographer to stardom almost instantly, and easy accessibility to professional photographers through agencies like VII (and their workshops) make this dream seem more realistic and attainable than ever before. Indeed, everyday countless photographers around the United States and the world are actively pursuing this dream.

There is, however, a huge segment of aspiring photographers who will find attaining their dream disproportionately difficult. They are black photographers. We all realize, at least in some way, that the mainstream photography world is white-washed, especially at the high end.  This is in no way representative of New York City’s, the United States’, or the world’s population. On the ground level, where photographers are just starting to put a portfolio together, the reality is quite different. In doing this project, I used a photography forum to contact photographers. I found that, despite so few black professionals, thousands of  young black photographers (just within 50 miles of my NYC zip code) are striving to attain their dream, or at least their interpretation of it.

Despite the odds and a stark downturn in the  photography,  these aspiring photographers have high hopes and remain steadfast. They work hard, often juggling school, work, relationships, and family (some are even mothers) to find a few hours a week to squeeze in a shoot, or perhaps two if they’re lucky. Using an approach that is part anthropology and part fantasy, the photographers I shot are a cross-section of real people who want to do every kind of photography, from reportage, high-end fashion, print or commercial work to eye-candy and artistic nudes. Their interests are varied, as are their styles, but this one dream ties them all together. Behind that dream are fundamental human issues that touch upon identity, elitiism, sexuality, race, and the drive to be recognized in a culture obsessed with fame and celebrity. I hope that these portraits can in some way contribute to their pursuit.