The theme of my final project is the neighborhood of St George located in Staten Island’s northern shore. The story I wanted to depict was the modernization of a neighborhood that has been around since 1886. I want to capture the contrast of modern and old architecture in the area. Some examples in this area that support my subject matter are Curtis High School and The Empire Outlets. The Empire Outlets is a modern-day attempt to modernize Staten Island. It is active with tourism and has many outlets stores for shopping and food. While Curtis High school which was founded in 1904 represents the neo-Gothic side of St George. The neighborhood also includes the Richmond County Bank Ballpark. I personally want to do this area because I grew up near here and attended High school.
The techniques I would like to explore in this final project will be composition, Aperture, Depth of field, and exposure. I would like to experiment with composition and exposure the most because these were my favorite techniques / lessons for the semester. I will take my photos during sunny, active, rainy, and foggy days. I think these times will help with my final projects theme. active and sunny days will have a greater chance for tourist activity in the area. I think rainy and foggy days can really help depict the general weather and mood of living in the area.
St. George is a fine place for a project especially if you are going to center on the area around the high school and the waterfront and Empire outlets. Wondering if the football season is over? Not that you have to shoot a football game but a game brings crowds and people and opportunities for interesting photos.
Where else are you likely to find people? Are the Empire Outlets busy on a Saturday afternoon? People will make the photos more interesting.
You will certainly need at least one long shot that has a view of Manhattan in the distance. Like the example you show with the couple in the foreground. What I like about this photo is that there is a foreground, a middle ground and a background.