What Photographing Afropunk 2014 Means To Me

Brooklyn punks do it way better. But why don't I feel comfortable taking a picture?

Anyone who's been to Afropunk knows that along with the great food, performances, and vibe... there are always the great fashions, and this year surely did not disappoint. in fact, the 10th anniversary of this festival had every festival-goer giving their A-game and every fashion vendor selling it. Although this is my third year attending Afropunk, in many ways it felt like my first. Not only is this my first post-grad Afro-Punk *gasps*, but it was the first time I had a camera to take pictures of others at this festival. As a woman of color often with different color hair, I've walked down the streets of Manhattan with non people of color asking to touch my hair or photograph me for no apparent reason other than for their "personal collection." #creepy Afropunk has always been a cornerstone event for me because along with the musical inspiration, style inspiration, and "hair-spiration," it made me so happy to see so many confident people of color be themselves. In an effort to keep this space, I never photographed, touched, or sometimes even approached who I thought was dope. I only remembered. There are people attending that just want to enjoy themselves, sporting their unique style like do every other day. In this way, photographing Afropunk can be seen as an invasion of privacy, a competition for better "looks," and a voyeuristic way to "experience" and/or own a person's personal expression.

On the other hand, there are definitely people who come to be seen confidently rocking their style at Afropunk, and photographing each individual's pride in their looks is inspirational in itself. When I looked around this past weekend, I was overwhelmed with joy to see so many beautiful brown faces and their personal styles. In a time where caraicatures of black womanhood are portrayed for profit and hyp on a bi-weekly basis, it's awesome to witness the grace, style, and just swag boiling over at Afro Punk. In this way, photographing Afropunk is both an extreme compliment, and something that does its best to capture how beautiful AfroPunk really is. When I got the courage to approach someone, and they responded warmly, I felt very proud with what I captured. I guess in the end, asking permission to photograph goes without saying, but being conscious of how often you ask and in what ways are important ways to go with Afropunk, and in photography practices in general. With all that being said, here are a few shots I took at Afropunk 2014!

and my favorite...

hands up, don't shoot.