January 20th - Shoot w/ Myrsha Santos

The Philosophy: That in today's world, even the simplest mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, depression, or paranoia, are being treated with drugs rather than with therapy. Not only do these drugs cause addictions and dependencies, causing even more problems for the user, but they have become recreational drugs as well for teenagers and young adults, and have thus become a part of youth drug culture in the form of activities like "Robo-Tripping" and "Pharma Parties."

My first photo shoot of the project was with my friend Myrsha, whom I had not seen in over a year. As an individual, I admired her. She is a 17 year old, Hispanic girl living in the Bronx. Yet somehow she and her friends listen to bands like Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, and Megadeth. Knowing her personality and style—and not wanting to spend a huge amount of money on authentic looking clothing—I decided that she would be a great choice for my setting of a depressed “goth” girl looming around the local Duane Reade.

On the day of the shoot, I was waiting around my apartment with my brother, who decided he wanted to come along for the shoot—he’s begin to take an interest in photography himself. When the doorbell finally rang, I discovered Myrsha wearing a black trench coat, about a bottle and a half of eye makeup, black and white striped knee high socks with fishnets over them, and a pair of six inch platform boots that would have made the lead singer of the Misfits stumble. She was with her sister, Myrna, who had decided to come into the city with her younger, seemingly more angst-ridden sister.

We went to the Duane Reade on 88th street and Broadway. I had warned Myrsha of the possibility that the drug store would not let us take pictures inside, and that we would have to find a way to shoot outside. What I had not anticipated was that it would be freezing cold with the wind blowing. So we walked into the store, walked to the back where they keep the pain pills. (Another note, that’s also where they keep the laxatives and adult diapers, conveniently next to each other. The diapers also had strange names like “Prevail,” and “Depend.” But I digress.) Somehow, under the watchful eye of pharmacists, baggers, and sales clerks, we were not approached once, not even by the drug store’s “civilians,” or as others might call them, “customers.” We got some awkward looks, but never a single question.

The strange thing was that the taking of the photos almost seemed like the most boring part. Myrsha would look one way or the other, I would tilt my camera to try to accentuate the “Rx” in the sign above her or the Advil she was looking at; the whole thing felt very mundane. I guess one thing that I learned about photographing constructed environments is that, like in conceptual art, half of the photo’s expressive nature has already been taken care of. As we walked towards the café near my house in search of a well-deserved hot chocolate, I realized that this project is going to put me into a role similar to that of an architect. The plans and blueprints have already been drawn for this project, now I just have to build it.