A Photographer By Alex Kotlowitz

To be acclimated to the everyday struggle of the lawlessness of the hood and growing up in the ghetto is tough for these three young individuals. Looked at as just more statistics. Although they grew up with substandard role models in an inadequate environment I see them having a lot of injustice in their lives.

The nonfiction book, There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz attempts to awaken the reader’s sense of outrage that children are made to suffer needlessly. The author conveys this message through the lives of two boys, Lafeyette and Pharoah, surviving in the Henry Horner Homes which is a public housing unit with crime and neglect. In the Preface, the author explains how he met Lafeyette and Pharoah. He explains he met these two boys through writing an interview for a friend doing a photo essay. Though Kotlowitz interviewed over ten children, Lafayette's description of violence unnerved him. He spoke in terms of “if he grew up” rather than “when he grew up.” He wasn’t sure he would make it to adulthood. Also, he explains that the title comes from the boy’s mother. When asked if he could interview her children, LaJoe replies “but you know, there are no children here. They’ve seen too much to be children.”

Lisa Kay Creative Photography is a photography studio that is located in Chicago, Illinois. This company serves Chicago, West Michigan, and beyond. Lisa Kay is a documentary wedding, family, and event photographer. This photography studio is a proud member of the Professional Photographers of America. Lisa Kay Creative Photography has been featured on Wedding Guide Chicago, Be Spoke Bride, Huffpost Weddings, Creator, and iso: ALT- in search of the

In There are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, the way of life in Chicago's Henry Horner projects has a profound effect on all the residents who live there. The children become desensitized by the constant violence that they are forced to witness every day. Children are forced to walk home from school through the urban war zone of these housing projects. It is not unusual for the children to run home from school to avoid becoming casualties of the ongoing battle between rival gangs. The violence has affected Lafeyette and Pharaoh as much as anyone in the projects.

Chuck close was not always like this.He was not always paralyzed from the neck down,and not always in a wheelchair,he was born like any other average child but he was not always focused in school because he was diagnosed with dyslexia around the time he was born.

     Alex Kotlowitz’s book, There are No Children Here, is a story about two boys, Pharoah and Lafeyette Rivers growing in the late 1980’s in Henry Horner, a housing project in Chicago. The boys try to retain their youth while they see constant gang violence, death of close friends, their brother in jail and their dad struggling with a drug addiction.

Alex Kotlowitz was a freelance journalist. In 1985 a friend came to him and asked him to write a text for a photo essay he was doing on (children living in poverty) for a Chicago magazine. That is when he met the Rivers brothers, Lafeyette, age ten, and Pharoah age seven. He spent only a few hours with them interviewing for the photo essay. Lafeyette had an impact on Kotlowitz. When asked what he wanted to be, Lafeyette responded with "If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver." Meaning, at ten years old, he wasn't sure if he'd make it to adulthood. In 1988 Kotlowitz suggested to the boys' mother, LaJoe, the idea of writing a book about Pharoah, Lafeyette and the other children in the neighborhood.

David Bailey took a ‘simple’ approach to his photography. David Bailey was a photographer for Vogue. He said “I’ve always tried to do pictures that don’t date. I always go for simplicity”. A lot of his work was done in black and white as it will never date. Back in the 70’s black and white was an original effect to use and even today black and white still has a massive effect on the world of photography. These were known as timeless shots. I would take a similar approach with my work because of the effect of the simple work. To make something so simple have a huge impact can really strike an audience as a talent and would be good on the front of a magazine. He used many cameras but the one that he use

My MYP project topic is Photography. I am researching photography because it is a subject that really interests me and that I enjoy. Photography falls under the global context of Personal and Cultural Expression because it is a form of art and a way for people to express their creativity. Throughout this MYP journey I hope to become a better photographer and explore more of Washington D.C. Some questions i’m trying to answer for this project are, What are some restaurants in D.C that are highly favored? What are some cool places I should visit in D.C? How can I become a better photographer?

At the age of 15 he had to start work on the railways because he had to help with the financial contrubution at home, after his father died, shortly after his first job he worked at WM Larkins animation studio. Then he had to serve at the Royal Air force where he assisted as a photographer, his job was to process the film that came back from the bombers. He use to photograph gangsters for fun, these were mostly people he hanged out with. Durning and for many years after starting to work as a photographer Don used Nikon and Olympus Om 1 and his favourite focal lengths, 28mm and 128mm. The community suggested that his photo’s should be used for the local news paper when the gangster culture became part of the public eye. Being dyslexic

left and right side are movie posters, one titled El Aguila Blanca (The White Eagle) and

In “Why We Take Pictures,” Susan Sontag discusses the increase use of technology and its ability to impact the daily lives of mankind. Taking pictures is a form of self-evolution that slowly begins to shape past and present experiences into reality. Sontag argues how the use of photography is capable of surpassing our reality by helping us understand the concept of emotion, diversity, and by alleviating anxiety and becoming empowered. Moreover, according to her argument, people are able to construct a bond between the positive or negative moments in life to cognitively release stress through reminiscing. Therefore, Sontag claims that photography itself can help with reshaping individual’s perspectives of reality by being able to empathize with the emotions portrayed through an image. Thus, giving

Girls who gave birth while still in high school only 38% of them graduate. The reason the rest of them drop out is since they are forced to work in order to support their child. Nearly all cannot manage parenthood, school, work without family or friends help. With teenage mothers “Their children showed reduced educational attainment, had more emotional and behavioral problems, were at increased risk of maltreatment or harm, and showed higher rates of illness, accidents and injuries.” (Dennison P. 6) Just in the state of Texas, in 2012, there were 44 births per 1,000 girls’ state wide. Nationwide 50% of pregnancies are accidental in 2006. Teen parents also are a financial load to society, According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, in 2004, all together taxpayers paid more than eight billion dollars to help support health cares designed to help the 420,000 teenage mothers who gave birth in that year. “results from economic analyses suggest that implementing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, expanding access to Medicaid family planning services, and utilizing mass media campaigns to promote safe sex may reduce teen pregnancy and save taxpayer dollars.” (Without the help of drugs like Plan B or any type of birth control, a large amount of teenage girls will become unplanned mothers, making more of a financial burden to society.

The name "Photography" comes from the Greek words for light and writing. Sir John Herschel, was the first to use the term photography in 1839, when he managed to fix images using hyposulphite of soda. He described photography as "The application of the chemical rays to the purpose of pictorial representation". Herschel also coined the terms "negative", "positive" and "snapshot".

What is a photograph? The simplicity of taking a photograph leads many to ponder its artistic value. Yet, it is undeniable that there are some photos that cause an emotional reaction deeper than simply observing a recorded point in time. Surely, there are photographs that cause more reaction than some modern art pieces. There seems to be two types of photographs. The first classification is the ‘time capture’ photo – an image with the sole purpose of recording a particular event or point in time. The second nature of a photo carries a ‘deeper meaning,’ which has the ability to change the observer’s mood and cause a reaction. But what distinguishes these two varieties? There are a