Colin J. Cooper

Photography Portfolio

I believe that media has the power to transform the way we look at the world around us and can empower us to create positive communities that allow us to thrive socially and creatively.

Street Photography

Initially, created for Saint Joseph's University's digital photography course, this series seeks to capture scenes from the heart of Philadelphia spanning the course of just one day on November 23, 2022. All photographs taken on Nikon D3200, Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G

A photograph of a street in Chinatown in Philadelphia, PA. A homeless man sits on the sidewalk in the center of the frame with his head buried in his arms and a cardboard sign requesting the help of pedestrians, who are visible on either side of him. Motion blur makes the pedestrians indistinguishable from one another and demonstrates the ways in which they are walking past the homeless man without so much as looking in his direction. Behind the homeless man and pedestrians is a chain bubble tea business with an open sign in the window that is lit with rainbow lights so that each letter is a different color.
A photograph of the front of a market in Philadelphia, PA. The market has produce outdoors, and as people people browse the inside and outside of the market, two men look down toward a haphazard pile of crushed grocery packaging, including white cardboard produce boxes, plastic bags, styrofoam, and more. The pile is on the street, against the curb of the sidewalk.
A photograph of two men setting up Christmas decorations on the sidewalk in front of a concrete building. There is a large blue Christmas tree ornament next to a large nutcracker statue in the left part of the frame. On the right, A ladder is setup, with a man crouched underneath it and a man on the top of the ladder. Both men are assembling a large circular decoration.
A woman stands at the counter of a newspaper stand on a city street. Surrounding the stand is scaffolding with yellow tape wrapped around its poles reading <q>Warning Tripping Hazard.<q>
A photograph of a carousel in a building courtyard during the daytime. The carousel isn't in operation and a two men holding hands walk towards the carousel on it's left side with their backs to the camera. A man stands to the right of the carousel, just in front of it, facing the camera looking to the left with a hand in his hair.
A photograph of a park in a city with concrete sculptures that resemble upside-down cones. A man sits on the left on a part of a sculpture. A woman leans against an hourglass-shaped sculpture in a portrait orientation. A woman sits next to her on another sculpture with sunglasses on, facing the camera directly. An older couple stands close to the camera on the right side of the frame, just next to a <q>SIGHTSEEING TOURS TICKETS SOLD HERE<q> sign.


Portraiture

Inspired by a love of the traditional realism paintings Edward Hopper, these portraits portray a similar sense of existential solitude and melancholy. All photographs taken on Nikon D3200, Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G

A photograph of a white stucco building at night. There are two doors with staircases leading up to each individual door. On the staircase closest to the camera, a woman sits on the edge of the landing and swings her legs, with her hands on the railing. Above each door is a spotlight shining down through the night. Above the woman a sign is illuminated that reads <q>SHIPPING & RECEIVING.<q>
A close-shot portrait of a man on the left side of the frame. Only his face is in view. He is blowing smoke out of his mouth. On the right side of the frame, the face of another man can be made out, obscurred from the smoke and further in the background.
A man waits at a bus stop. This side-portrait shows him crossing his legs and arms and looking down towards the ground. On the street in front of him, a Brinks truck drives by.
A photograph of a dog standing on the edge of a red porch. He's facing the right-front of the camera, looking off into the distance. He is framed by the red railing with white supports that runs diagonally from the top-left to the bottom-right of the image.
A portrait of a man sitting at a table in a bar. The photograph shows the back left-side of his head as he props it on his hands, gazing out through the window to his right.
A mid-length portrait of a woman standing in the outside lobby of an old theater. She's framed in the middle and looking down at her phone, her face illuminated by the glow of the screen. To her left is a maquee with the coming attractions of the theater. To the right are double doors that lead into the theater.