la gente 9 by Larua Ochoa
I discoverd black and white photography 3 years ago, and quickly found that, as an art form, it was the best expressive medium to tell stories. When I pick up my camera I want to tell the story of every face I take a picture of. The Facing East project was a perfect opportunity for me to tell the story of "La Gente," the people of the Latino community that live on the south east side of Austin. I started my 48 hours at the local bars of East Sixth Street. I found the people and the atmosphere to be very unique and interesting so I continued to take my photographs in this area. Some of the people that are shown I had the pleasure to engage in conversation with. Most of the people were pretty gracious and were willing to tell me elaborate stories of their life. This project was a very rewarding experience for me and I had a great time. My influences as a photographer come from Bill Wittliff, Nan Goldin, Diane Arbus and Paul Strand. My vision is to try to document life as I see it.
Laura Ochoa was awarded Best in Show by the Facing East Jury