The original photo that’s Gordon Parks took is the Mohammed Ali behind the ring in 1966 in London, England. This photo caught my attention because there has a very interesting negative space produced by the lights and shadows. The human shape could be anyone because the facial expressions or details can’t be distinguished. Also, the pose of the human seems that he is preparing for something or praying to God. So, I did some research and I realized that the photo is Mohammed Ali the most famous fighter in the history of boxing. Then, I took two empty cardboard boxes to try to recreate the scene, a dark hallway with the door and the room with light. After that, I used a small Pokémon figure called Pancham that’s coincidentally a fighting type of Pokémon as Muhammed Ali. As a lighting source, I used my iPad because is light, thin, and fits very well into the small box that represents the room that the fighter was in the photo. And to keep out other extra lights that can interfere with the photo I cover the scenery under my sheets, and I waited until night. Then I start to shoot a bunch of photos trying to capture the essence that Gordon Parks made with the original photo.

This photo is a self-portrait of Gordon Parks. In the photo Parks was holding his camera on the left side, covering their face. So, I tried to imitate his facial expressions and hold an imaginary camera, because I don’t have one, and simulate that I was taking a self-portrait with the imaginary camera. So, I used the front camera of my iPhone in order to recreate the Parks photo.

The last photograph that I choose was one that Parks took in Harlem, New York, in 1948. In there we can see a type of grid that makes a negative space, 3 vertical lines that divide the photography, 2 people on each side, and one in the middle. Between the lines have a positive space composed of two windows and two people separated by the middle vertical line. So, I trying to recreate this photo into the subway station. I went to the 59th Street Station in Brooklyn because it is the closest station to my house that has this type of structure similar to the photograph, vertical columns are clearly seen from the opposite platform. Also, it’s an underground station, so the lights are good enough in order to take the photo. I waited for the moment that two random people are on the different side of the column, and then I took the photograph.

The first photo is of a Monk praying in the church. I got inspired from this photo of Gordon Parks and thought to re-create it.  First of all I thought it is easy to re-create that’s why I chose this photo. I like how the hand of the Monk is focused and the background is blur. Also I tried my best to copy him, the angle and the way he have his fingers together. I couldn’t find a big ring  in my jewellery because I do not like big rings, to be honest while taking this photo I was not able to find any ring which can match may be a little like the one he is wearing so I thought I should not wear it at all.  I thought to re-create this photo because I believe that prayer can change anything. And in this hard time where everyone is affected by covid, we should all be thankful to God that we have food to eat and have shelter. However, covid has destroyed the world and it’s been a long time since we have lived our lives normally. So we should keep praying to have our lives back to normal. Re-creating photos was fun. I scrolled through the site of Gordon parks, at first I was so anxious of how I am going to re-create his photos because I am a shy person I really did’t want any picture where I have to be part of it. It took me a week to decide which picture I should choose for this assignment. and re-create. I saved ten photos the ones that I thought are easy for me to re-create and also I did’t wanted to go out and click any photos so I chose the ones which I can click at home.  The second photo of Gordon Parks is of a black guy with closed eyes I don’t know what he is doing with his hands in the air but from my perspective I think he is giving blessings to his audience. I decided to re-create this because I gained some confidence from fellow students posts and thought that it’s fine it’s just for an assignment. Again, I chose this picture because it was easy to re-create it.  The background is simple, white so I just stood next to the wall and clicked it. This picture is from the times of black history. I connected this picture and the first one together as they both convey the message of praying and blessings. As this photo is from black history so may be this guy was giving speech to his audience and after that  they had a little prayer together and that is when this photo was clicked may be. All the photos of Gordon Parks are so perfectly clicked that it’s impossible for a person like me who is not good at clicking photos to click a perfect photo.    

This fashion photo from 1949 taken in Paris was the first photo I decided to recreate! Something that great about Parks was that he was very versatile when it came to the subject of his photography- fashion, social commentary- he pretty much did it all! I was drawn to this photo because of the candles in the original’s background (we love a good Phantom of the Opera moment) and because I love how annoyed this model looks, whether she means to or not. I wanted to make the background of the photo more modern, so I chose my good ol’ lava lamp and a red candle to help recreate a small portion of the background. I decided to tackle this photo from the lens of body positivity, especially since many models back in that time were skinny and I’m not (big shock, call the press). She probably felt super beautiful in that dress, so I wanted to wear something I feel super beautiful in! Taking this photo was also extremely empowering when I first took it, because shortly before I took it, my three year relationship ended because SOMEONE DECDIED TO GET TWO OTHER WOMEN PREGNANT (look I know I’m oversharing but I’ve cried about this every day since it happened okay let me vent a little I deserve it) and I was made to feel ugly and unworthy of love. But I realized I was HOT AS HELL taking these! While the light source is mostly the candles in the original, I’m only allowed to light one candle at a time due to a prior incident, so I decided to abandon that idea because I would like to not accidentally commit arson again! As this was the first photo where I actually planned everything out, I decided not to worry too much on the specific details of the photo- although I did pay homage to the candles, and tried to recreate the same face, pose, and angle. I think the photo is a pretty cool representation of what we could possibly see in Vogue or any other better fashion magazine!

The original photo by Parks’ tackles the idea of race, and I believe the photo speaks about how black people are so conditioned to believe that white people are better, they will choose white people over themselves. While I’m not black (another big shock), I did want to keep the theme of choice in the photo, especially in the context of making the wrong decision for yourself, and decided to tackle mental health with this photo. As someone with severe Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Panic Disorder, and PTSD (isn’t that quite the fun mix!) I often have to rely on medication and therapy to be able to function correctly. However, especially during severe manic episodes, I tend to convince myself that I don’t need my medications, and I tend to go off of them without rational thought or care. During these periods I can experience psychosis and after a while I’m forced to go back on my medication, and it’s a cycle. With this photo, I wanted to represent how I tend to “choose” my mania and psychosis over my medication, just because my brain and my mental illness lead me to believe that I’ll be fine without it. In the photo, I’m rejecting my medications in favor of my psychosis, representing this through my hand blocking my medications from my own view, and pointing to “someone” who doesn’t exist out of frame. While I did take some shots where you can see I’m pointing and talking at an empty chair, I felt they did not stay true to the final composition, and decided to choose this one. I like how ominous the original looks, and wanted to capture that look. I lit the room in a way that it would be extremely shadowy where I was in frame. I also tilted the camera upward like he does in the original photo, as that angle gives the photo a little bit of a off balanced feel. I tried to stay true to the composition, tone, and mood of the original photo as I possibly could.

Pro tip to anyone else who wants to recreate this photo: don’t do it in a back alley of a park where your now ex-fiancée is blocking you from the public’s eye because people WILL THINK you’re doing a drug deal and the weapons aren’t helping. The original photo was the first photo where I was able to come up with the idea for what I wanted to do with it, and I’m proud of how it turned out! The original photo is of a woman doing some recreational archery at a summer camp in 1943, and she looks absolutely confident and badass. I decided to recreate that confident and badass look while also addressing the issue of women’s safety and self defense. This photo was taken around the time where there was a lot of discussion about the safety of women and femme presenting people in everyday life, sparked by this tragic story, which I believe added to the determination I had to add that voice into my recreation. I feel like I turned a photo of a young woman having fun into a powerful statement about how, even in broad daylight, women/femme presenting people cannot feel safe doing anything due to the climate of the world we live in. This photo is also extremely personal to me, as I took the photo in spot where I experienced minor sexual violence as a teenager, and a spot where many of my friends experienced similar things. I kept the angle of the photo as similar to the original as I could as I felt that angle was extremely powerful and even a little threatening, and I even kept the background of the trees similar to not only stay true to the original photo, but also to give a sense of isolation, and feeling alone and scared even in broad daylight. I love how Gordon decided to portray a black woman like this in the original 1943 photo too, as it showed a powerful black woman outside of the “angry black woman” stereotype.

The original photo is a beautiful photo of Marilyn Monroe in 1959. Fun fact: I originally took this photo first, right after class on the day we got this assignment, and I thought the originals came out great!- Until my mom pointed out to me that my nipples were completely out, and that I would have to retake these as my titter tots had decided to make an appearance. When I got to the park to retake these, I definitely triple checked to make sure Thelma and Louise were in their proper place before I began to shoot. I wanted to recreate this photo as close to the original as possible, as Marilyn Monroe is really hot in this photo, and I’m also really hot in this photo. The original photo is filled with sunshine and confidence, and that’s what I wanted to capture with myself. I’ve come a long way in terms of self love, and I wanted this recreation to be a celebration of myself as the original can be seen as a celebration of her.