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Cultures
are an amazing representation of the roots of human nature.
Every different store, town, or country that one enters can
open up a whole new window to the history that has created it.
Identifying the unique sounds and sights of a new place can be an
adventure in itself. Time
becomes unrecognizable. It
escapes us either by stopping completely or by moving so fast we cannot
account for it. Capturing
these moments in history though photography is a challenge, but it does
allow us to observe for more than just a moment the effect of human
nature on the essence of time.
For
the spring semester of 2002 I had the opportunity to travel in Italy and
to study at the Lorenzo De’Medici International Institute in Florence.
With some financial help from the Student Affairs Office at UNC
Asheville and the study abroad program at UNC Chapel Hill, I was able to
begin one of the best experiences a person could hope for.
Throughout four months I traveled to various places in Italy.
I have included pictures from Florence, Rome, Fiesole, and
Ravenna.
As
part of my studies I worked with a variety of camera bodies.
By using only three cameras, I was able to experiment
with the subtle and dramatic differences of each and to discover which
captured the atmosphere of each shot with the most genuine character.
The cameras used were a
35mm Nikon N80, a 120mm Ilford Sporti and a 120mm
Brownie.
Each camera has special characteristics that are
appropriate for different styles of photographs.
Deciding which camera to use to represent the subject was as
much a part of the process as picking the subjects themselves.
I found that the type of camera body in my hand at the time of
photographing influenced how or what I would photograph.
All three cameras, however, made me aware of time - whether it
was time that passed me by or time that stood still.
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