The opinions expressed in this essay are the author’s own.
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About the PhotographerMax Amos-Flom is a teenage photographer born in Russia. He is a street, portrait, and documentary photographer. He has been using the camera for a little over a year. Max currently resides in Allendale, New Jersey, where he is a student at Northern Highlands Regional High School. |
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This project is called “My Life,” and it’s about how the pandemic affects a teenager in high school. It focuses on the issues of depression, drinking, social norms, the Black Lives Matter movement, and daily life throughout the pandemic.
The five photos of my twin brother focus on his battle with depression, as well as how the social norms of high school, like applying yourself into the popularity race, make you want to do harmful dumb stuff like drugs and alcohol. "Sneak Peak" shows how he is trapped in a society where people don't care what you are dealing with and just want to be mean to you. The light in his eyes represents the hope that he has. The "Red Lips" photo represents a deeper meaning where anyone can wear makeup if they want to. The fourth photo in the set is called “Drunk Driving” because alcohol affects your visual perception of the road. It's also about teens that come home from parties after drinking all night. The last photo, called “Clouds,” represents how my brother recovered from depression. The clouds represent his recovery from depression and making the best out of his life.
The five photos of my twin brother focus on his battle with depression, as well as how the social norms of high school, like applying yourself into the popularity race, make you want to do harmful dumb stuff like drugs and alcohol. "Sneak Peak" shows how he is trapped in a society where people don't care what you are dealing with and just want to be mean to you. The light in his eyes represents the hope that he has. The "Red Lips" photo represents a deeper meaning where anyone can wear makeup if they want to. The fourth photo in the set is called “Drunk Driving” because alcohol affects your visual perception of the road. It's also about teens that come home from parties after drinking all night. The last photo, called “Clouds,” represents how my brother recovered from depression. The clouds represent his recovery from depression and making the best out of his life.
"Sneak Peak." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Depression Takes Over." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Red Lips." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Drunk Driving." © Max Amos-Flom
"Clouds." © Max Amos-Flom
The second set of photos are about the Black Live Matter protest in my hometown. “Eternal Hug,” the first photo, is about how a child clung onto her mother's arm crying for 25 minutes. She was hugging her and crying about the hate coming to light and spreading across our country over the course of quarantine. I wanted to frame the photo on their faces to demonstrate that you can show emotion in a photo even though they have masks on. The second photo, “Young Kids and Politics,” represents how children support a movement when some people don't agree with it, and it shows how their little minds have a bigger intellect and knowledge about the world than some adults. “Black Lives Matter,” the third photo, most influential to me, represents how after the Civil Rights Era we still have much to change about what racism has become. This photo of mine inspired me to become an activist and to become a photojournalist because of how connected I felt to the world of photography.
"Eternal Hug." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Young Kids and Politics." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Black Lives Matter." © Max Amos-Flom
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The last set of photos are about street life when the pandemic first began. In the first photo, “New York City,” the smoke represents Covid-19 sneaking through the heart of NYC. This photo represents people having to pass through it without the vaccine and only a mask. This is under the photojournalism genre. The second photo, “Life Awaits,” represents how a taxi driver is doing his everyday job and figuring out where life takes him. He’s one of many front-line workers who took on this pandemic. The fog has represents covid secretly taking over NYC. The last photo, “Repetition,” reminded me of something that we did before Covid, when everything we did was the same. Covid was a wake-up call telling us to stay on our toes and never get too comfortable doing stuff over and over again.
"New York City." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Life Awaits." © Max Amos-Flom
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"Repetition." © Max Amos-Flom
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