I am Justyn Diaz, a 16 year old New York City Sophomore at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering. I have always really found interest in photography versus other artistic mediums because, pre-editing, image-taking is the true representation of a subject. Finally owning my own DSLR at 15, I really started photography. Since then, I have photographed my surroundings, focusing on the streets of New York, which is where this project stems from.
Living in a society that looks to the future, we often do not see what has survived history to make it to the present day. In a city that transforms as much as New York City does, we only admire the new things, the new bike paths, the new skyscrapers, but the aged infrastructure on which this city lies is part of daily life although it is often overlooked. These photos all have a sepia tone to them and it represents what each subject would have looked liked photographed when they were relatively new. Editing a photo to show this is something photography allows for, which is why I choose photography as my artistic medium. Inspired by my Global History professor Lynn Tiede, who often reiterates the fact that history affects daily life, this project exemplifies such history in New York City. She wants everyone to understand how humans have made it to where they are today, not to simply take life as it comes, but to understand what lead to and caused present day events. This project is a visual representation of New York City’s past, allowing a viewer to see what brought New Yorkers to where they are now.