4-29-2015
So for my black and white photography class, we were given the task to emulate a master photographer, which we randomly selected. My photographer is Diane Arbus. I looked up her photos and I immediately became thrilled that I had the chance emulate her. I even watched a fictional movie about her, "Fur", starring Nicole Kidman.

Diane Arbus started off working as an assistant for her husband who shot ads for Glamour, Seventeen, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and her father's department store. After quitting fashion photography, she picked up her Rolleiflex and took photographs of subjects of her own interests, mainly people that were considered different. She made photos of twins, giants, dwarves, those who were covered in tattoos, and those who lived in nudist communities. With the exception of the nudists, these subjects were subjects that I hoped to photograph also.

What struck me the most from Diane Arbus is that she spent a significant amount of time talking and getting to know her subjects before even pressing her shutter button. I've experimented with shooting from the hip and stealth shooting, but those photos just had an inherent divide between them and me.

For this project, I really wanted get to know my subjects before photographing them. I wanted to have a connection with them. I couldn't think of subjects more "Diane Arbus-y" than those at the Venice Beach Freak Show. I discovered them from the TV show, and after watching the first episode I knew I had to go and photograph them. The Venice Beach Freak Show really tries to change the negative connotation of the word "freak". They're biological rarities--nothing bad, just an exception to the statistical norm.

I spent a few minutes with Bob the "Real Life Bubble Boy" while the show was going on. He is one of the strongest and most inspirational people I have ever met. He has a rare genetic disease that causes lumps to appear all over his body. There is no known cure, however he says that the disease is a blessing. He wants to use it to teach people how to accept those that are different.

I also spent some time with the Amazing Ali. She may only stand 3 feet, 5 inches tall, but she has a smile and a personality that can light up a room. We talked about photography and how she wants to try it sometime. I hope she gets to. With her being in Venice Beach all of the time , she would have a lot of great subject matter to photograph.

Admittedly, I didn't get a chance to have a conversation will all of the "freaks" that I took a photo of, but I hope to get an opportunity when I visit again. Until then, I'll just continue to watch the show on Netflix.