For the collage project, I chose to photograph the different types of headwear in New York City. People wear things on their head for many reasons, whether it is to stay warm, religion, or some sort of sports affiliation. In my experience, a large amount of New Yorkers sport some sort of headwear. The different reasons why New Yorkers wear headwear are interesting though.
All of these photographs were taken at night, some indoors or outdoors. I tried to gather a wide range of photographs, capturing many different types of headwear. Some photographs were taken in Central Park, some on the subways, and others in the more suburban areas of New York City, such as Lefferts Boulevard in Queens.
The inspiration for this collage comes from within. My religion requires me to wear a turban, and thus I tend to notice different types of headwear people are wearing wherever I am. I like to think of different reasons why people wear the headwear they do, and why what they chose is the best for them. For example, if I see someone wearing a beanie, I think it serves them the purpose of keeping warm and making a fashion statement. If someone is wearing a simple cap, I think t symbolizes one of his or her favorite teams or organizations. I am not right all the time in my assumptions, but it is still fun to think of the different possible reasons.
This collage is organized in a very simple manner. All the photographs that have the same “reason” for why the person in them is wearing that specific head covering are grouped together. Going counter clockwise from the top left, the reasons go from warmth, religion, support for an organization, and jus plain old fun. These are the most prevalent reasons for people to wear headwear that I have found.
Headwear is something that many people own and wear on a daily basis. However, because it is so common, it is not noticed that often, and my goal was to simply point out the ordinary in order to show exactly how extraordinary and unique it is.
