Saturday, March 7, 2009

Arnold Classic





So, I decided to go to the Arnold Classic this weekend, which was a lot more interesting that I thought it would be. I'm not really into sports or fitness in general, besides walking and hiking, but this was a completely fascinating event! There were so many people there, and many events going on all around. It was also a really diverse crowd. One of the things I think I enjoyed the most was that I wasn't hassled by anyone while taking pictures of them. Sometimes I was less obvious about shooting, and shot from the hip, and other times I just shot directly and no one cared, which made it a lot easier. I also really enjoyed the boxing, which I normally don't care for, but found it interesting to watch at the event. The other crazy part of the Arnold Classic was how completely trashed the place was. There was trash littering the floor everywhere! Anyways, I went with my friend Guv, and we spent about 2 hours there before it closed and they kicked us out. I had a great time, and look forward to going and shooting it next year!

More Arnold Classic




More Arnold Classic




Sunday, March 1, 2009

Dance Party!!!






Dance parties have been an after-bar thing for me for about 4 years now. Honestly, on weekend nights, I go out with my friends and boyfriend, Dave. We usually go to bars and finish the night off at someones house. To be fair, I spend all weeknights at my house, hanging out with Dave, doing homework, watching tv, etc. So, on the weekends, I like to catch up with my friends, and hang out. When we first got this assignment, to photograph our "clan," or group of friends, after studying Nan Goldin, I immediately thought of using these photos that I have amassed of dance parties with my closest friends while we danced the night away after a night at the bar. I decided to only choose photos that were taken in my living room and only during the year 2008. If you happen to notice, all of these photos were taken after a night at either The Library or Dick's Den. This is due to simple geography. As a general rule, because we drink on these weekend nights, we don't drive when we leave the bar. So, we limit ourselves to places that we can walk to and home from. I happen to live near the 2 bars we went to before these dance parties, thus, we end up at my house afterwards.
2008 was kind of a changing year in my group of friends. I turned 24 in 2008, my boyfriend of almost 7 years turned 27 this past Janurary, and most of these great friends in these photos are between 22 and 30. Such a range of ages means life changes and seperation. You can tell through the progression of photos that some people aren't present in the later photos while some others remain close friends. You also see new people pop up in the later photos which represent new friendships. I felt that Nan Goldin's work benefitted from the idea to shoot the same people over time so that the viewer was able to understand how her life, and her friends lives changed throughout their friendships. This is what I want to achieve with these photos. There are so many more outside of what I chose to post here, so there are some nights where there were certain people there whose photos weren't selected (Guv!), but were present on these nights, just like they are in my life.

Dance Party!!!





After Dick's Den. 03-28-08

Dance Party!!!





After The Library. 07-13-08

Dance Party!!!




After Dick's Den. 11-22-08

Dance Party!!!




After The Library. 12-14-08.