1000 Words: Make It Back..

That is what the Daily News reported about my friend. My friend, may he Rest In Peace, prompted the idea for this particular photoshoot.. Everything about his death and the moments leading up to it, framed its concept.

When my friend left his home that morning.. I'm sure, his every intention was to return home. That's our goal.. to make it back. Although this was his intention, this was not what the future had in store.

Whether it's a quick to run to the store, to play ball , or just to see a friend, our intention is to always, return home. Unfortunately we don't know what the future holds and depending on the type environment you come from, the chances of you "making it back" is often abbreviated. The rules, thoughts, and conditioning that occupy our mind as we make our way out into the world is like none other.

As we open our door, the first thing we do is take a quick glance through the crack of the door.. or even look through the peep hole before unlocking it, just to see if anyone is in the hallway. We do this for our safety. Once we open the door and step into the hallway, we look again.. always both ways, as if we are crossing the street. If you lived next to the staircase, we would often look through the window pane to see if anyone was there waiting, plotting.. Since we were children we were taught to "always be aware your surroundings". I'm not sure if that is a universal rule amongst all cultures but its cemented in ours.

Keeping your back to the wall is more than just a figure of speech or a cool lyric in a rap song. This is something we were conditioned to do.. "keep you back on the wall, this way you'll be able to see everything going on in the room"... As we were shooting, I purposely did not give Keen any direction. I wanted him to act as normal as possible in an environment he was unfamiliar with.. After he pressed the button for the elevator, he slowly without hesitance placed his back on the wall and looked both ways.. We all do this. It's a safety mechanism that innately kicks in.. "be aware of your surroundings".

Even in the elevator, without direction, once he pressed the button, he moved back, to the side and placed himself in the corner out of the view of an opening elevator door to any floor that it may stop on, on the way down. This comes from experience.

These are survival tactics that we were either taught intentionally by someone who was a bit older, that truly understood the type of environment that we were growing up in or it was something that you were forced to learn all on your own.

Rest In Peace Mel.

I know you don't think I'm going to type 1000 words, right? Lol.. The 1000 Words article is in reference to that old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". This article will explain the meaning, idea(s), or influences behind each photoshoot. I prefer to do things with purpose, significance.. Doing a random shoot, at a random location, holds no value.. Everything that I do.. will be done, with intent.

Since the development of Troubled Youth, it has been my idea to use my own life's experiences as the backdrop for the imagery in my shoots. Each shoot has an element or reference to my life, whether past or present, the association is relevant.

Model: @KeenStreetz_

Location: Harlem, Foster Projects

Troubled Youth.