Alex Harris documents the socialist country of Cuba through his lens. Though photography can be subjective, he photographed people in locations without intruding in any way. He states that he wants to speak about Cuba through his pictures, that they will tell you something. He wants to show the people’s desire for freedom, education, sacrifice, love, etc. In my own photography, whether documentary or staged, I am also always trying to convey something. Documentary is definitely new for me and to not have control over my surroundings yet still capture it in the way that I intend is a very difficult thing to do. It is even more difficult when you are in a different, unfamiliar country.
His photographs show movement, dialogue, and a story which is important to me because within the intimate moments I am photographing, I want to show the same thing. They people don’t necessarily have to be doing anything but I want my idea to project through the scene, body language, etc. and it is an ongoing challenge. It is hard enough being in a personal space feeling like I am invading on couple’s privacy, I can imagine it is even more difficult for him to put himself in the middle of a place he is not familiar with and photograph people.
While looking through Harris’s work, his images through windshields in cars is especially interesting to me because he creates a scene where the viewer feels like they are there looking through the window. It doesn’t seem as if he is trying to portray these people in one certain way but rather how they just are naturally. I try to do this in my project by not asking the couples to do anything at all except pretend that I am not there. It is extremely easy to become self conscious and very aware of yourself when someone is photographing you in an intimate scene and that is exactly what I am trying to avoid, which Harris succeeds in doing. There are many parallels between our work like in the way he photographs his environments. I try to not let either person in the couple dominate the other and make them seem equal just as he doesn’t allow the environments or people take charge. Instead, have them work together to create a cohesive story.
