Bits of Bushwick

Today I decided I was going to get creative. I've been meaning to get out and shoot more, and I really want to find a way to capture the area in which I'm now living. Bushwick has its good and not so good parts. I'm hoping here and in future posts to capture both. 

Shooting today was not only a challenge due to the cold, but it was also for the fact that walking around with a camera makes me especially conscious of my surroundings. By that, I mean I stick out. A white girl, particularly a white girl with a camera, is breaking social norms in my part of town. Race, and my part in the gentrification process, are always on my mind here. And though no one said anything to me while I was shooting, I was very aware of what I was doing. And because of that, I was conscious of what I was capturing with my lens. I chose to shoot today with only my 50mm, not only to push myself creatively but because it would be less noticeable. 

I am still not comfortable in a street photographer role. I will not take pictures of people. I don't want to be the person sticking my camera in someone's face because they are different from me. I have moral issues with that that I struggle with. I am not ready yet to make that social commentary. Maybe someday I will be. But not yet. 

So for today, I hope you enjoy these small bits of my part of New York. Hopefully in future endeavors views will be widened as the community and I become more comfortable with each other. But for a first day out, I was happy with the results.