Fayetteville is known so have some funky culture and businesses, and what better place to experience that first hand than Dickson Street? I figured I would have a large number of photo opportunities with the unique style of Fayetteville. The first time I went to take pictures was at 11 am on a Wednesday and let me tell ya, there are just not that many people out exploring at that time so I found it hard to take pictures with people in the background. However, I was able to seek out people who I could photograph one on one. The most challenging part was photographing pedestrians without feeling creepy, especially those who were at a distance. I could feel the judgmental stares combined with curiosity of why I was taking photos of them, when in reality I was seeking a focal point. Their bodies were just used in my background. After taking profile pictures of the three people I met, I wished I had spent more time preparing the images so they would be more visually appealing. At the time I felt it was an awkward experience for them and I did not want to take up too much of my subject’s time. I needed to be more prepared!
Miranda Sunderland was the first person I approached and she was a little stand offish when I asked if I could take her picture and why I wanted to do it, but I would probably have acted the same way. I love the background of this image with the train bank/ATM is in the background, which I think is a cool unique place that Fayetteville has. However I am not in love with this picture because you can tell she was uncomfortable based on her body language. I tried to maximize the background of this photo so the audience had multiple things to focus on other than the subject. Adjusting the contrast of this image enhanced the colors to allow the picture to be more visually appealing.
Food trucks! Fayetteville has an endless supply of food trucks. I chose to photograph this truck because it was the one with the most unique design and really stood out from the rest. Adjusting the brightness and contrast up-played the color of this image. I wish I had gotten more people in the background because there were a lot of people out at this time, I just happened to catch this girl walk by. I tried to focus on the food truck more because I like it when photos have people in the background and they look almost blurred. I failed at trying to recreate that idea, but maybe she just needed to be further away from me.
I took multiple photos of Bronwyn Davis and this was the ONLY good shot I got. She was funny, but she thought this project was funnier. Davis could not stop laughing, which in turn made me laugh. Luckily, I got this shot, showing her in a more serious pose. I thought about posting the photo of her laughing but I really wanted to capture what she was doing without the distraction of me being present. It would be a little weird to have a picture of a girl smiling at her phone for no apparent reason. My favorite part about this photo is the atmosphere. This particular shop in Fayetteville really gives this big city a small town feel.
I was really excited about this picture. I wanted to get a full shot of Dickson Street because there are so many cool things to look at. This particular shot was taken on the third floor of Kimpel and I was so pumped to find a place where I could get this perspective. However, this picture would have been a thousand times better if Fall was in full effect. This picture has a lot of green, and a pop of Fall colors would have made this photo more visually appealing.
Anthony Bruce Cullum was probably the most approachable person I encountered and he was thrilled to help. I genuinely enjoyed talking to him and our conversation was very unique. His wife is living in Paris, France, and he finally agreed to move there so they could be together (kicking and screaming of course). Cullum emphasized enjoying the little time he had left in the United States, because he considered French people to be arrogant. He had me laughing the whole time and told me I smelled good (kind of
weird, but I went with it). I almost forgot to take his picture because I had such a great time talking to him! My only complaint, it was a little overcast so I was not in love with the color quality of this photo, so thankfully contrast and lighting was invented.
weird, but I went with it). I almost forgot to take his picture because I had such a great time talking to him! My only complaint, it was a little overcast so I was not in love with the color quality of this photo, so thankfully contrast and lighting was invented.
Here is Mr. Cullum again, however this was before I actually met him so at the time he was an “unidentified Fayetteville local.” As you can see there was not really a huge selection of people to photograph on Dickson at this time. Hog Haus Brewing Company is one of my favorite buildings on Dickson Street. I think the architecture is unique for Fayetteville. I wanted to take a cool perspective picture, but at the time Mr. Cullum was catching on to me and thought I was being a weirdo. Once I explained the project, he was really cool. I just had to reassure him that he would not be placed on America’s Most Wanted List.