11/03/2025
When I think about my work as a scholar and artist, it's always been about black people. Particularly those that are on the margins of the margins. Seeing people that have been alienated because they don't "fit" neatly into proper presentations of their identifiers is one of my great joys and commitments. I was reading about how when black people create something it tends to become marked as a "black thing" in the sort of pejorative way that is meant to designate inferiority. I don't mind this though. I want people to know that what I do is black. And nerdy.
As a black woman photographer who specializes in the nerdy and awkward, walking into the con space always fills me with a bit of uncertainty. Though I know many talented black women photographers personally, I am frequently the only one I see in the con space. I don't carry my lights, I'm usually irritated with big lenses so I work with a single prime lens, and I dress to inevitably end up on the floor to get my angles. I usually feel self conscious and find many people surprised when I asked to photograph them. There is usually a tone of "she's just a hobbyist" or a person with a camera. Then there is the shocked "Oh!" when I turn my camera around. Discouraging? Yes. But I also know that my skills and experience speak loudly, even though I don't.
