Photography Portfolio Calistro Reyes
INTENT: East Bottoms is an enormous site. We looked at our site as a whole and later analyzed it through conceptual mapping. We then zoomed into specific areas of concern. Each one of us with the task to document existing conditions and further analysis. Photography coexists with our studio project and for my portfolio I documented the western most part. The area is between Berkley Riverfront and Front Street. A main connection point to the city. The streets consist of Guinotte Avenue, Chestnut Trafficway and Front Street. My study intent is to analyze the procession of our proposed trails and bike paths through a series of photographs. These would capture the current conditions that give character and feel to the area. It will serve as a base for me and our audience before delving into our research and proposals. This portfolio is meant to be used with our studio project.
AREA OF FOCUS: This is a map showing the three streets I used for my portfolio. The lines represent the path and the dots show the exact location of the photographs. The portfolio presents the drawings from left to right along the path.
Intent & Focus Guinotte Avenue
1-2 3-18
Chestnut Trafficway
19-23
Front Street
24-25
Conclusion
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Veolia Energy Storage Building 3
Veolia Energy Storage Building 2 4
Veolia Energy Building 5
Graffiti Under Bridge 6
Graffiti Under Heart of America 7
Abandoned Storage 8
Dead End Street 9
Train Crossing 10
Tracks Cutting through Street 11
Road Block 12
Local Business 13
CAMERA & PHOTOS: Halfway through Goinotte Avenue you can see that much of the area is vacant and unfinished. This is where I used composition to frame a balanced photo. You’ll see a pattern start to emerge of symmetry and regulating lines. Capturing the moment was one of my themes. I studied the photographer John Free, who focused on the moment. He captured people and their surroundings which added to the character. I used a similar method but swapped people with the built environment. The camera I used is a Nikon D7000. It has many aperture and shutter speed settings that I used. The photographs before this page focused on aperture. While the ones following I experimented with ISO and exposure.
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Factory Cutting through Goinotte 15
Vacant Business 16
Other Vacant Business 17
Neighborhood Sidewalk 18
Live Work Dwelling 19
J. Reiger to Knuckleheads 20
Dividing J. Reiger and Knuckleheads 21
Parking Lot 22
Connection under Chestnutt 23
Scrary Tunnel 24
Decaying Sears Distribution 25
Sears Sign 26
CONCLUSION: Concluding my studies is a perspective of the character of these streets. Visiting the site many times by car and foot gave me the impression of a neglected area. Along the path there were only a few stops that showed its thriving past. People are excited about the area. They want to see it thrive again. But there needs to be more density in the area if it were to thrive. Relying on one thing isn’t a good idea, but the Berkley Riverfront development might help bring that density. “Fixing” these areas might not necessarily mean developing it. Preserving it could be a better option. A mixture of both was my convincing idea. A walkable path that is continuous in a un-continuous area might fill in the cracks that plague these corridors.
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