These past 5 weeks was sort of a nightmare as I prepared for my very last photography project as an undergraduate. The anxiousness of not knowing what to expect killed me during this entire process. Because of the nature of the plastic Holga camera, it is often very difficult to predict what your photos might look like. You see, I have quite an obsession with needing to control the cameras I work with. Not being able to predict or control the things I am working with gets me nervous. I had originally planned to use a ton of lighting equipment for this project, but on the day of the shoot, nothing (I REPEAT, NOTHING) was working properly with the Holga— a ton of the plexiglass models that I built broke apart and nothing was going the way I had planned. However, at the end of the day, I was quite surprised by the trippy colors and strange light leaks from the camera. I have learned to embrace this little plastic camera and love it for it’s imperfections. It was the imperfections in these photos that made everything perfect in it’s own way.

My final college project is about a future generation that strives for technological advancement using digital information that is completely surrounded around the head. The people are all encased in a plexiglass that is filled with technological information. The plexiglass surrounds them, protects them and molds the people into who they are. The land of the plexitross is a place where everyone is encouraged to strive for perfection, it is a place where the people are protected as long as they wear the plexiglass on their heads at all times. My project documents the lives of several people who try to escape away from this futuristic land and enter into the woods where they try to find peace. As the plexitross people enter into the woods, they discover that they are afraid of letting go of the plexiglass because they have become so reliant upon it. The plexitross people walk around the woods with fear and sadness as they realize that they are blinded by the reflections of themselves–preventing them from being able to see the beauty in the nature around them. The plexitross people realize that it is impossible to return to the past where they were once free and liberated from technology.

HOLGA 120 camera

Films used:
FujiColor PRO400
Kodak Portra400
Kodak Ektar 100

The person that appears in these photos below is my friend Robin Denler. She is one of my photo classmates at the University at Buffalo.

HOLGA 120N// Kodak Ektar100 + Kodak Portra 400//

Holding her for the first time was such a precious experience. She was the tiniest thing ever and I remember feeling terrified because I didn’t want to crush her with my heavy fat arms. I’ve never really considered myself a  ”kids” kind of guy but when you have one as part of your family, it is really one of the greatest experiences ever and kids really do grow on you. It’s fun watching the behind the scenes work on raising a child too. I think my sister has been secretly… ok…maybe the better word would be “subliminally”  trying to make me learn how to change Allison’s diaper. That’ll never happen. hahaha

Little Allison is growing up so quickly, I feel old.

And the award for Chillest couple of the year goes to…………AISHA AND DAVID! :)
It was the coldest and snowiest day in New York City, Aisha & David called me and agreed to continue with the photo shoot at City Hall.