The Process
Vibrant colors, eclectic objects, people from all walks of life- a photographer’s dream. I jumped at the opportunity to capture those exact elements when I heard that Greenville was hosting a Hispanic Heritage festival at Fluor Field.
Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by the Puerto Rican side of my family, whilst the Polish-Jew side all resided in Pennsylvania. I love both cultures, but Greenville’s 24th Annual Hispanic Heritage Festival was a way for me to be fully immersed in latin culture, once again. It was deemed an outlet to express my Puerto Rican pride. It proved to be just that.
When I arrived at the festival, I immediately began to observe. What stands out? What catches the eye? Which angle would best suit this situation? I walked through the festival and at every booth I made sure to look at all the details, every pattern, and every object. I overtook pictures so I could have a variety to choose from. Additionally, I was able to narrow them down to the very best photographs. After I chose the photos I wanted to present, I had to photoshop a couple of them and make some alterations.
Through this process, I learned that a variety of angles are crucial in keeping photographs engaging and interesting. Moreover, people in action are some of the best photos to take due to the ability to capture raw emotion and movements. One challenge I came across was using Photoshop. I was overwhelmed with all the options and editing tools, but through the help of Youtube, I was able to really nail certain edits. All the lessons I learned from this experience are incredible skills for my future dream job of being a photojournalist for National Geographic. This could be the most important experience, as it pushed me to understand different framing, positions, and edits necessary for that career.