It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

          It's been a while since my last post (as is the case these days with many of my posts), but everything is going well! I have been living in Philadelphia for the past two months, and while there have been some struggles, I'm doing alright. My photography, on the other hand, has been a little lacking. For the longest time I couldn't bring myself to take a photograph, and when I did, I felt lost, useless. Part of it had to do with an arts position I was rejected from, and since my graduation I have been questioning my art and whether or not my life up until this point has been a complete waste. 
          However, there is a brighter end to this story. I was recently hired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a Visitor Services Assistant! It is a wonderful opportunity to be surrounded by important works, as well as learn the inner machinations of the museum. There are other artists who work at the PMA as well, and I have begun to feel a sort of kinship with my colleagues, so this is the right place for me to be. Hopefully in time I will be able to prove myself to the museum as well as my fellow artists, and make this City of Brotherly Love my new studio. 
          Now, you may be asking yourself at this point, what does this have to do with the pictures above? Didn't I say that I hadn't created any works since graduation? Well, yes, until recently. I was trying to get back into the gear of photography, working it over and over like a group of muscles. That is when I realized I had to go back to the basics. The first digital assignment I had in my photography course was "abstraction," bending the world around me using nothing but my lens as a way to crop and turn my surroundings. In a way, they are puzzle pieces that will never fit together, but when spread out, you start to notice the similarities. Thus I ventured out into the only place I was familiar with: my neighborhood. It's a small start, but these photographs are a step in the right direction. 
          I haven't really taken any photographs since the ones above, but I'm well on my way to working my photographic muscles (if you can call them that) and getting back into shape. I recently received my grandfather's old Polaroid cameras, which still work, much to my absolute joy, so that is another project for me to work on. Now all that's left to do is feel the rhythm of life and go about my days learning what I can and doing my best.

Until Next Time!

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind.