When I started developing my project, I didn't want to inspire too much on Antoine Geiger's SUR-FAKE project, because I thought that I would feel uncomfortable taking pictures of strangers on the streets, but I completely changed my opinion when I visited a museum in Amsterdam. I was shocked by the amount of people that we're just walking around or standing somewhere with their phones, they didn't even look at the paintings, and when they did it was of course just through the lens of their iPhone. So I just started taking pictures of different people in the museum, but also just everywhere in Amsterdam. And although I'm not sure if I'm going to use these pictures for my final project (because I didn't ask any of these people for permission and still feel kind of guilty because of that) I have to say that this was a major step for me, the development of my project and the thinking that I am investing into it. I guess before, I just never really realized how addicted we really are to our phones. Of course, I was sometimes complaining when my friends were on their phones instead of talking to me, or when my parents started checking their messages when we were in a restaurant, but as I started looking at strangers and their use of phones I just became aware of the fact that we literally all live in our own little 'online world' and although we're at the same place, we don't even see the people around us, because after all, we're all alone and extremly lonely in that world. I mean, funny enough that absolutely none of the people in these pictures actually noticed that I was photographing them, and you know why? because they we're to busy looking at their screens and isolating themselves from their environment.
But enough of the talking, let's have a look at the pictures from my first shoot:
I used to think that the point of riding a bike would be to enjoy the feeling of air in your face and look at nature all around you. Guess our priorities have changed quite a bit in the past years.
(What you can't see on this picture is that his friend was right behind him, but at the first look you couldn't even tell that they were friends, because the one on the picture was on his phone the whole time and didn't even turn around once, to talk or look out for his friend)
Beautiful weather, beautiful location, this could be such a romantic scenery for a couple, but instead of even realizing that, all they do is stare onto a phone screen.
Do these two know each other? Are they a couple or complete strangers? From the look of it thedon't know each other, but really it is impossible to tell, I mean even couples sit like that in a public space or at home, in a way that you can't tell that these two people have actually been in a relationship for so many years. Sad, isn't it?
Sisters or friends? Doesn't really matter! Both of them seem bored in the museum, but instead of talking, they each escape into their own online world. Forgetting the one next to them, and the whole world around them.
Do they notice that the people sitting next to them, are doing exactly the same thing? Or do they even notice that there is someone sitting next to them?
Funny fact about this shot: I thought the guy was on his phone as well! Looking at the picture afterwards, I realized that he was actually reading a book!
That's the reason why I really like that shot. It shows that we could (and that there are still a few people out there that actually) use our free time to do something productive, like reading a book, something that actually helps us grow academically and also encourages our thoughts, but often enough people prefer just hanging around on social networks.
Why even bother looking at the original painting? Doesn't it look so much better through that bad quality iPhone lens?
Although this last one is of pretty poor quality, I feel like it is one of the saddest and most significant ones from this shoot.
A family, the father and his two kids, sitting in a restaurant. The table is pretty small, so they sit quite close together, the perfect atmosphere to have a good time as a family and catch up on everybody's experiences, thoughts, feelings and plans. Instead, father and daughter rather have a quite one-way conversation with their phones, giving their brother/son the feeling of sitting alone in the restaurant, his family is so close, yet so far away...
I didn't comment on all of these pictures, because some of them are quite similiar, especially the ones in the museum or the cafe.
And I know, that my comments are sometimes a bit cynical, but I just wrote down what first came into my mind when I looked at these pictures.
I realized that photographing strangers just leaves you with sooo many questions. What relation do these people have to each other? What are they thinking? Are they aware of the alienation they create by using their phones constantly?
One of the reasons that I might not choose one of these pictures for my final project is that I think there is not enough variation/ no really progress in these pictures, and although most of them are in different places and with different people they all show the same thing: strangers with phones. I want my project to say more, I want every picture to have the same message, and yet each of them should have additional meanings and show different things.
It might sound confusing that I want my pictures to show the same, but yet different things, that I want them to have the same meaning but yet other meanings, and I feel like it is difficult to explain what I mean, but you're going to see and understand this, once I've got my final project together.
(All pictures were taken with a Nikon D7200 and an 18-140mm VR lens)
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