ICP Teen Academy
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Skateboard rides down Broadway Avenue in Astoria, Queens, are the common ground connecting teens getting around the neighborhood everyday. Broadway is an essential part of my life because of how often I’m there, riding there to get to the train, see friends, and linger around surrounding stores. I’ve come to learn all the bumps and cracks on the avenue, as well as remembering each street strictly by landmarks. For example, Omonia Café is strictly remembered as being three blocks from the train, the spot where most southern Europeans tend to frequent, particularly for coffee and a little pastry.
I felt like I was in constant motion throughout my project. And so through my photographs, I thought it would be cool to freeze people in motion on my daily journeys down the avenue. I sought out certain colors and tones in my photos, as seen in my image of a man in a bright blue jacket walking past a background of bright orange street cones. It all happened by chance, as I happened to be skating to the train to go photograph in Manhattan. I packed my camera with an 85-135mm lens, which made it perfect for street photography and photographing people from a distance as I was riding.