Visu SoCo Photos

This man was standing off to the side away from anyone else as he enjoyed his cigarette. Smokers are a minority in Austin, where good health and green living are emphasized all over the city. Regardless this man was courteous to the others around him as he stepped off to the side, away from his friends to have a private moment to himself to partake in his addition. The composition of this photograph shows the isolation he puts himself in as the city moves all around him and the idea of this faceless portrait shows a more detailed side of him that including the face in the photo could have subtracted from for instances the viewer wouldn’t be able to see how he holds himself as he holds the cigarette. The isolation and privacy associated with this photograph and smoking, though similar ideas have conflicting connotations. Isolation is something that society inflicts onto something deemed abnormal and as health administrators antagonize the smoking industry, smoking has become abnormal. Privacy is instead something a person chooses for themselves and smoking can be a very personal experience that allows people to really think for a moment in a world that never stops.

This woman was walking down South Congress with her friends, who also had quite a few tattoos. When taking photos of her, I over heard her friend say she was often called the illustrated woman. This made me think of The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury which was a collection of science fiction short stories that commented on the human nature highlighting it’s faults. Many of this woman’s tattoos are separate, individual tattoos that span different styles of tattoos rather than a collective image and she uses her body as collection of images as if they are short stories themselves. Each tattoo has it’s own meaning, personal to the subject that reflects her own perspective of the world and society just as Ray Bradbury’s novel reflected his opinions on the increasingly technological world. This woman uses her body to tell her story to the world as well as to her self.  She exposes her personality to others out of her own volition which is a common characteristic of the city of Austin as a whole. The personality of the citizens is what makes keeping Austin weird so easy.

Out of the photos taken in front of the “I Love You So Much,” sign this photo depicts the mixed emotions Austinites feel about it’s tourist attraction. What many of the tourists don’t realize is that the wall itself tells a story of its own. Jo’s, the coffee shop that the wall belongs to, is owned by a lesbian couple. Supposedly, the couple had gotten into a big fight that resulted in one of the women to be kicked out of their shared home. The wall or really the message on the wall was that woman’s grand romantic gesture to her loved on to say she was sorry. The couple is now back together and leaves the message up to signify the love between them and the love that fills the city. The wall has been graffiti’ed over resulting in the outrage of many Austinites as that sign signifies the loving community of Austin. Despite all of this, this picture also shows the annoyance of seeing “I Love You so Much,” photos that plague the internet in a sort of exploitation of Austin Culture. Many Austinites both love and hate the wall, clearly this one in the image does.

This couple was standing at a corner on South Congress and Elizabeth waiting to cross the street. They had previously walked up holding hands. The couple was sweet together, though shy around the camera but allowed their photo to be taken regardless. It was only after I began taking photos that I realized the woman was pregnant. Suddenly the entire image and story of the couple changed. This picture now captures the couple in a transitional phase of their life between their separate life together and their life that is about to begin with a new baby. The fact that they are holding hands and were walking around holding hands shows their strength as a couple as they are about to embark on a very new adventure in their life.

This man, enjoying his meal at Guerro’s, represents a citizen of old Austin. Austin is a constant changing city as it is filled with so many creative minds of both artists, business people, and politicians. Austin and many Austinites struggle with the city as it becomes more modernized with each day and year that passes. Many speak about it’s changing for the worst, but this man enjoys one of the many things in Austin that has stayed prevalent in Austin culture, specifically the Austin Chronicle.

There is a deep rooted stigma behind men with tattoos that makes them appear as if they’re criminals because of the association with prison and gang life. This stigma contributes to the stereotype that men with tattoos are criminals or thugs, but when I saw this man it was his gentleness that I noticed. When I first saw him he was leaning against the counter at Jo’s not focusing on anything but watching the cars pass down the street. His true personality appeared when a woman passed by with her small dog. Immediately, he approached the woman to talk and asked to pet her dog. This man was anything but the stereotype he seemed to embody, defying the preconceived notion of what people think of others with tattoos. He is more than what he appears, just like many of the people on South Congress.