Post 1: Introduction Mathew zurita

 

Mathew Zurita

ART-398-2381

Professor. Cacoilo

New Jersey City University

January 24, 2025

Introduction

                        My name is Mathew Zurita. I'm a senior in NJCU and my major is photography. I take pictures with my camera, which is a Canon DSLR camera. In addition, I edit the photos with the following softwares, Adobe photoshop, Adobe Bridge, and Abode Lightroom. I started shooting landscapes, close up subjects, and self portraits. However, I started to shoot mostly sneakers, which was my BFA Junior review work that I presented. That's when I started my sneaker photography. What got me inspired to shoot various of sneakers is from a photographer name Andrew Dutton. Not only he's a sneaker photographer but also a middle school teacher as well. He takes pictures mostly his sneaker collection but also himself in the photo. I've captured most of my shoes but this time I want to include myself with the shoe itself. The reason I like Andrew Dutton work is because he's a sneaker head like myself and only shoots with a tripod in order for to take self portraits. I used a tripod for mostly everything as well and Andrew works as a middle school teacher. Andrew shoots what he enjoys while he does school on a side. I go to school, work, and shoot what I enjoy the same as him. We both have something in common. 

                      Sneakers are considered special because they combine comfort, versatility, style, and allowing them to be worn for both athletic activities and casual fashion, while also serving as a platform for personal expression through design and collaborations, often tied to popular culture and celebrity endorsements. Essentially, they're more than just shoes, they represent a cultural phenomenon with a strong fashion identity. As for Air Jordans specifically, Air Jordans are special because of their innovative design, cultural significance, and performance features. They are a fashion icon that has transcended sports and become a billion-dollar brand. In addition, Air Jordans can have meanings, such as the stories behind the color ways, the logo, and the impact of the shoe on the wearer. 

Susan Sontag Article:

 "To collect photographs is to collect the world. Movies and television programs light up walls, flicker, and go out; but with still photographs the image is also an object, lightweight, cheap to produce, easy to carry about, accumulate, store"

This quote catch my eye not because I'm a photographer but it involves photography in general. What this quote means is that by gathering photographs, one is essentially accumulating a visual representation of the world around them, giving the impression of holding a vast amount of experiences and places within their collection, as if they have captured a piece of the world itself through images. 

"To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge -- and, therefore, like power."

What this quote is saying is that by taking a picture of something, you are essentially "taking possession" of it in a way, claiming a certain level of control or knowledge over the subject by capturing its image, often implying a power dynamic within the act of photography itself. By capturing a moment or object in a photograph, the photographer exerts a sense of power over the subject, as if they are "taking it" for their own use.