In New York City, teenagers and new adults, as young as 12, and as old as 25, roam the streets and alleyways of this vast city looking for a new spot. A new spot to take pictures, or as some call “flicks”. Photography in this city is a rite of passage. Taking pictures, capturing moments, with high-tech cameras is nothing new. Kids trespass into abandoned railroads in Queens, go to Photoville in Brooklyn, head to SoHo or the rooftops of skyscrapers in Manhattan, and explore the suburbs in Staten Island. Exploration. It is all about exploration, and then capturing your findings, a piece of evidence that you have been somewhere.
“Lets go to the abandoned railroad on Metro,” my friend would tell me. He would need something “cool” to post on Instagram. Searching up NYC on instagram will find you a ton of City Kids and outrageous pictures on their accounts. A familiar friend stands on the roof of a skyscraper, literally on the edge. The blur in the background of the city lights and the darkness, you can only get these kinds of pictures in Manhattan. Going to Forest Hills, out in Queens, people trespass onto abandoned railroads in search for a good picture, making them seem adventurous, but risking getting arrested.
Living in such a big city gives ids many opportunities starting at a young age. Roaming NYC is a great experience to do on your own routes, because finding hidden streets and places is the key to making this your city. What better way to prove it yours, make this your city, and share it with the world, than to take a picture of it. Friends take pictures of each other, as well as strangers do for others, as NYC photography is a small community in a colossal city.
Lina,
Your article really captured my interest. I like how you talked about the influence that Social Media has on people, and how it can make them do stupid and silly things, just for a cool post.
I also like how you connected with your own topic in a way by mentioning some examples of this in Forest Hills. A sentence that stood out to me was ” Friends take pictures of each other, as well as strangers do for others, as NYC photography is a small community in a colossal city.”
This shows the art of photography when compared to NYC as a whole.
Thank you for writhing and I look forward to hearing more from you.
Lina,
Your interpretation of photography really resonates with me! I found it really cool how you took into account social media, which is a significant part of many people’s lives these days, especially in New York City!
One sentence you wrote that really stood out to me was, “Living in such a big city gives [k]ids many opportunities starting at a young age.” I agree! New York City is an incredible place where anyone can start out! I love how diverse it is, too. Like you, I find it a unique place.
Thank you for writing this post! I look forward to reading more intriguing posts about the lives of teenagers, as being one myself, I am interested in this topic!