MIAD-FA382

© Joshua Ballew

The first image is of my current roommate and longtime friend Jon. I have photographed Jon before so making this image was not very difficult. We stepped out onto our porch, tried a few different poses and called it a day. He always gives me grief calling me his paparazzi when I ask to use him as a subject. The second image is of Max, a member of the church my mother attends. This past Sunday marked the 19th year anniversary of Max's release from the prison system. I was interested to find out that Max and I shared a common passion for photography as we briefly discussed the age of the digital camera and how he did not care for how much heavier they are compared to film cameras. Making this image was very different from the one of Jon both because of the physicality's of the location (the lighting inside the basement of a church compared to that of the sun) and my relationship between the subjects. I am around Jon at least part of the day every day so his face and expressions are familiar. In contrast, making an image of Max felt less comfortable and completely alien. In addition the level of emotion was vastly different in each situation, fully contributing to how each image was realized. I am motivated by the fact that Max was interested in seeing the photographs I made that day and look forward to sharing them with him.