the captured city
ronin
The Captured City My interest in architecture has intensified since I first considered pursuing it as a career. When I started my architecture studios in college, I explored the sites, neighborhoods, or cities for our hypothetical projects documenting the experiences with photography. In architecture school, professors usually crave designs that are appropriate for the buildings around the design. Wandering the place where we were designing, the site, really sensitized me to its rhythm, mood, emotions, energy and feel. After a few studios, I decided to take photography classes. My photos gradually focused on composition and abstraction of some part of the environment.
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Years later, I was lucky enough to visit Barcelona, Paris, Bilbao, Toledo, Amsterdam, San Sebastian, Florence, Rome and Mallorca within a 4 month window. Traveling is ideal for my photography. My method, wandering through places I have never been, taking pictures of whatever catches my eye is also a natural tendency of mine when I travel. Roaming with my mp3 player clears my mind and allows me to explore and absorb all of the sights and emotions of a place. This approach also allows me to stay sensitive to my surroundings, benefiting my career as an architect.
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My perception of permanence (with respect to places) is affected by my profession, and photographs allow me to remember. As a kid, I moved often and it also affects my connection to place. I see things different than most people that I have met. Many people think buildings, neighborhoods and cities are permanent; I see constant change based on light, time of day, color (of a building), race, class, function, mass, height and sounds.
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Photographing the city gives me an opportunity to creatively document it. I believe the history of cities has been simplified down to details relating to historic events. I think history is more complicated and my photographs try to fill in the gaps that are considered day-to-day life. I do this for my own satisfaction.
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I also believe cities can be the most important tool to help clean up our environment. Efficient transportation, distribution of energy, services, products and natural resources are the best tools to improve our economy and environment. Our Capitalist financial structure has lied to us by telling us products and services are less expensive the further they are produced from where we live. As our economy tries to recover from the latest recession, depression or whatever you
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want to call it, we will continue to unwisely spread across what is left of the natural American landscape. Cities are based on proximity and density which coincides with the history of human beings. Cities will always exist and I want to see what they are/were and participate in what they become. This maintains my hope for a better future and fuels my creativity.
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My photographs will not appeal to everyone. Many people will feel that the photographs are dead (lacking life) because my subjects are things rather than people or animals. To them, I say if you can only see life in people, you are missing a lot when you walk down the street. Stroll, wander, observe, learn and discover your world.
Ronin
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