Boston was the first thematic photography project I attempted in 2020 for my Photo Practicum course at Emerson college. This project was firstly designed as a city landscape photography project, then I tried to add some loneliness feeling into this project as a result of this work done during CODVID era. I primarily used a Mamiya 6×7 camera to shoot 120 film in large format, but also combine with several 35mm films. Take a looking back, this project has many shortcomings. Firstly, the theme of loneliness wasn’t adequately conveyed; the project’s core theme was petty weak to be honestly. About half of this project were simply street photography, lacking the more crucial theme of ‘loneliness.’ And some photos were not well-composed or color-balanced, it’s just hard to find the topic on some of them. Though at the exhibit I presented the project in large 30×27 inches level which somehow mitigated the issue of insufficient focus on the subject, from my current perspective, many photos could be effectively improved by simply re-crop . Especially considering that my photos are often shot with 50/85mm lenses at a distance of 3-8 meters, leading to a lot of redundant information that distracts from the narrative. I was too focused on the emphasis on cool colors and largely ignored the natural pursuit of the project itself “objective representation of things“. (While many readers may already be aware, I feel it’s worth reiterating that ‘objective representation‘ is not a rule that photographs must adhere to. However, given that the case study discussed in this article centers on street photography, the importance of this principle naturally elevates)
As I revisit this project now, there’s a significant regret that has consistently been a part of my photographic endeavors over the years. Specifically, I didn’t abel to finish my projects with a single camera. like in Boston, I mixed using both the 7:6 Mamiya 6×7 and the 16:9 Nikon F100 film cameras. Mainly because I was just enter the area of photography, eager to experiment with everything new. However, looking back, I realize that if I consistently used the Mamiya 6×7, the final texture of my work would have been more cohesive. The first 14 photos in this project were shot in 7:6 format on 120mm film, while the last eight were in 16:9 on 35mm film. This difference in aspect ratios created a jarring visual inconsistency.
The long retrospective could be better if we end here, please enjoy my 2020 project ‘Boston‘ as well as its 2023 remastered version
This is a fascinating photograph. To me, the essence of street photography lies in transforming ordinary, everyday scenes into something extraordinary. This particular shot was taken near my dormitory in downtown Boston, a small alley I pass by almost daily.
In this remastered version, I’ve cropped the image to eliminate extraneous elements from the top, bottom, and sides. This allows for a more focused attention on key elements in the frame: the masked man walking, the large sign in the background, the ‘dead end’ sign, and the flag on one side.
This is a photograph I’m particularly fond of from this project. It was taken at the terminal station of the Blue Line, capturing a man practicing skateboarding alone in a parking lot. undoubtedly, this is an excellent encapsulates for the theme of this project.In the remastered version, I’ve removed extraneous details to focus on the essential elements. When I was working on this project in 2020, the pandemic was in full swing, so I intentionally used long-distance shots to create a sense of alienation. However, the original version had the person too small to be easily noticed. Now, the feeling of discovering a lone individual in an otherwise empty space should be more impactful.
At the time, I felt this photograph had an ambiance reminiscent of ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.’ Unfortunately, there was too much empty space at the top and bottom, which wasn’t fully utilized.In the revised version, I’ve made slight adjustments to the color tone, but the primary focus was on adjusting the frame.I distorted the tone of this picture before, but be honestly I dont think this is a goodone.
It’s so funny I actually took two shots of this scene. For some reason, I didn’t choose the second one that included that man. Instead, I picked this one, perhaps because the lighting and mist effects were better. This shows a problem I had at that time: I was selecting photos based on their individual merits, overlooking how they fit into the project as a whole.
This photo, when featuring a character, naturally exudes a strong sense of narrative, undoubtedly surpassing the original in quality.
這個場景我覺得是拍攝得相當優秀, 雖然有一點過曝但是高光和陰影之間的對比度我很喜歡I believe this photo was captured quite excellently, though it’s slightly overexposed, I really appreciate the contrast between the highlights and shadows, after all, it’s not every day you see someone playing Spider Solitaire on the subway.The edits mainly emphasize the subject—especially the ‘This is me’ sign on the right, which adds an interesting touch.It’s a regrettable photo, it’s so good but I lost the negative.The original one was already good enough, so I only did some shape to elevated the yellow tones.There’s nothing inherently wrong with this photo. The main reason I altered the proportions was to highlight the three characters in the frame. To be honest, the effect doesn’t feel as good as the original.This photo is rather unique; it’s a piece I’ve reselected from my past failures. I’m particularly fond of the smoky effect, the atmosphere of the circular plaza, and the urban vibe between the skyscrapers.This is the previous one, the building and road are too distracting“Utility poles are a symbol of the urban landscape, and the cables running through them are the lifeblood of the city…” As much as I’d like to offer some serious theory to justify this photograph, the reality is I just wanted to capture something in the style of Hideaki Anno. Every time I visit Quincy, I take a photo of this carousel, which exudes an old-school charm. This photo was edited with a focus on conventional composition. In hindsight, centering the carousel or slightly offsetting it would have enhanced its visual appeal.”
The photos below were selected back in 2020, but I feel not good enough nowadays. While I’ve made some modifications to a few, it’s not necessarily an improvement—more like I simply reedit the negative.
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