For this photo portfolio, I tried to take into consideration, and find ways to incorporate the concepts of studium and punctum, as mentioned in Roland Barthes’ article on photography. As the assignment explained, I went about my daily routine, and focused on elements of my neighborhood and surrounding places that I had either not seen before, or paid any particular attention to. Walking through my suburban neighborhood, I wasn’t hardpressed to discover that besides some newly constructed houses, the community lacked a sense of aesthetics that I believe heavily limited my opportunity to incorporate a strong studium in my portfolio. On the other hand, I did come across several sights of the area that I felt had more of a punctum that was highlighted by the contrast with the city-centered lifestyle that I experience every day, as well as my familiarity with the area.
As a general matter, I believe the photographs in this collection have in common a theme, or portrayal of a middle class neighborhood, and the range of sights that depict aspects of wear but also those of antiqueness and appreciation of nature. The first photograph I decided to include was of an old payphone, that though I’m quite positive has existed for several years, has always been a part of the community that I’ve neglected to take into account until I looked for it. Being on the opposite side of the beach, it makes sense to me that I haven’t dedicated any thought to its existence, after all it’s literally an old payphone. Looking closer, however, its wear and tear does hold some meaning, especially since the handheld component was missing! The photograph of the payphone depicts a part of the neighborhood, that though I walk past everyday without notice, represents an aspect that through renovation, natural disaster, or other physical alterations of the neighborhood remains the same, and is the classic staple of a middle class locality.
One of the few photos that I thought did depict a form of studium was the photo of the blue bridge, which connected two neighborhoods with a single wooden structure hanging over the bright blue water. Though further research would be necessary, I believe the color of the bridge was meant to mirror that of the water on a sunny day with few or no clouds at all. The color scheme in it of itself was my primary reason for taking this photograph, as well as its relation to other photos that depict parts of New York City that, once again, I only noticed when I had a clear objective to notice them.
In the excerpt “In Plato’s Cave,” Susan Sontag makes the claim that “photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe (3).” As I selected which photographs to include in this project, this notion became increasingly clearer, and related to this project. The photos of the grass field, as well as the entrance to the Manhattan Beach Bathhouse, saturated with different types of plant life, were photos that initially didn’t seem to offer any artistic value. To Sontag’s point, I felt that these photos were worth looking at for their depiction of nature in a middle class area. Though trees are common in most suburban towns, the use of a natural component as a decoration for the bathhouse, and as a practical use for everyday people walking their dogs was something I’d taken for granted, given the commonality of nature in the area, and not given much thought to despite seeing it everyday.
Considering the portfolio as a whole, my goal was to capture different aspects of my neighborhood that exemplify the contrasts to the busy city life that I’m accustomed to from the suburbs that I grew up in. I included the photos of the waterways as elements of studium, which along with the photographs with plants, add a touch of nature, and its significance to the neighborhood, to the portfolio. I also chose the photograph titled “Brighton Beach’s Elevated Washrooms” because it displayed an interesting use of architecture in one of the most basic facilities of any New York City beach. For a relatively middle class community, I thought the use of elevated restrooms, forming almost a trailer type construction, was peculiar, yet a very visually appealing play on design. The empty handball courts and seating areas were photographs that I took as I thought about the streets surrounding Baruch College, and Manhattan in general which rarely go without several people walking on them at any given time.
