Jennifer Kay is a Miami-based reporter for The Associated Press who has enrolled in Iris' IPC Visual Lab. Before moving to Miami in 2005, Kay was an editorial assistant in the AP’s Philadelphia bureau, and previously graduated in 2001 from Dartmouth College, where she was the photography editor of the daily student newspaper. Kay is looking to expand her knowledge of the visual language and to engage in the process of visual story-telling. Her blog will be a common feature for the next several month on the Iris PhotoCollective's Iris Rising series.
Day 41: Restaurant Reflection
This frame was from the first of my three around-the-block attempts. I shot this frame in the early morning and I wanted to get the reflection of the sunrise in this restaurant window, while also revealing glimpses of the restaurant's interior. I just needed to find an angle where the sun wasn't too high over the buildings across the street.
I woke up early on May 1 with really good intentions about documenting my block. I picked the early morning instead of the evening because the block faces east and the light is better in the mornings. For the first time, I noticed what a weird shadow the pigeon-deterring owl on my balcony casts on the drapes in my apartment. I knew the rising sun's light would make the colors of the buildings richer and make for interesting reflections in the windows; I was thinking about how the Caribbean Market was reflected in the windows of the building across the street. I thought I could find the graphic elements I like and then have them broken up by passers-by. What I didn't count on was someone seeing me with my camera and deciding I was some kind of threat; he followed me and kept yelling at me and generally made anyone who might have walked into my frame give me a wide berth. I cut my walk around the block short because he just wouldn't leave me alone. So, I tried, but I have to try this again, maybe on a less paranoid block.
Day 42: Shapes
There's not much to say about this frame, other than I found the repetition of the L-shape in the pipe and the dreamcatcher and then it's inversion in the wall interesting.
When: 2 May, 7:14 a.m.
Where: Garage, South Beach
Inner Thoughts: I really liked how the shape of the pipe was mirrored in the dream catcher. Also, I had never noticed the dreamcatcher until that morning.
Day 43: Alley
I like the blank white space of this house. It's like a blank canvas.
When: 3 May, 4:50 p.m.
Where: alley near Dewey's, South Beach
Inner Thoughts: For a few days, I kept passing an abandoned couch in this alley. By the time it occurred to me to photograph it, the couch was gone.
Day 44: Luke at Debate
The frame illustrates the problem with this particular candidates' forum and the special election in general -- no one showed up, so there wasn't a real exchange of ideas amongst the candidates or voters.
When: 4 May, 8:50 p.m.
Where: Booker T. Washington High School auditorium, Overtown
Who: Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Luther Campbell gets a little bored during a sparsely attended town hall meeting.
Inner Thoughts: Carl has assigned me the task of photographing the people I interview for work. The time management that requires is proving difficult. I need to find the time to pull out the camera when I won't be missing something I need to write down for a story.
Day 45:
ShapesLook, more shapes! That is all.
When: 5 May, 6:48 p.m.
Where: kitchen, South Beach
Inner Thoughts: I'm getting a little tired of taking a picture every day. I will never get tired of avocados, though.
