‘Flower Child’

Written and photographed by Nia Tyson.

I first picked up a professional camera I was in 8th grade. I was always told that I had an eye for things that made me want to expand my knowledge of what I can do with a camera. I started talking more and more class and fell in love with what I saw through the lens. I loved how I was able to express myself through the many pictures that I have taken throughout the years. I liked the challenge of finding new ways to show the world what I see and how I can express them. My photography means a lot to me because for a while I didn’t have an outlet to help me handle my emotions. With my photography, I try to think of new and creative ways to show my ideas that I come up with in a way that no one has done before. I like taking a different approach to things and show people what’s inside my mind.

This series is called ‘Flower Child’. I named it Flower Child because I wanted to take a different approach to how African Americans are seen. I thought about the flowers and how simple they are because they always had a natural beauty to them that I think all African Americans have as well. I wanted to take something like a flower that is so pure, and vulnerable and connect it to a softer side of people. When I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for a series this was my first thought because there is a lot of hate in the world and I always try to find the good in things. I wanted to show the simple and beautiful side of African Americans in this series which is why I chose to have flowers with them in the pictures either holding them or putting the flowers around the person. Men and women aren’t always seen as vulnerable so I created a place where they can be free to be who they are. I wanted this to show a representation of no matter how light or dark you are that you are still beautiful.

My main goal as a photographer is to make my audience feel something. I want them to have emotion when they see my work whether it is good or bad. I am inspired by a lot of different photographers Sally Mann, Eli Reed, Amy Arbus, Vivian Maier, Vik Muniz, who are all very different at what they do with heir photography. I want to be a documentary photographer but have been working on a lot of portrait art lately which I also enjoy. Being a photographer has helped me grow and view the world so different because you see the little things that no one looks at. As I grow to be a photographer I want to experience a lot more photography styles to try and show the variety to how I can take pictures. I want to always be proud of my work and so far and I am very happy with what I have produced.