Jamie Johnson Research Paper

Photography is a form of art, the ability to capture moments that we share and experience throughout our life. Moments that we can share and show others, moments that can show the expression, emotion, and history. Photography has literally shaped how we see the world and the people in it. It has given us the opportunity to keep records of historical moments that will forever remember and it has given us the chance to show other how life varied for everyone in this world. That is what photographer Jamie Johnson shows us through her work such as Vices and Irish Travelers.
Johnson is a photographer, attended the New York University and a proud mother of two. She has been featured in many exhibitions dating back to 2012, however recently her works have brought more attention to her craft. Johnson has shown through many of her works that she enjoys documenting people. People vary in shape, ethics, religion and the way they are raised and she shows that through her documents. The ability to show others that we are all different even though we all live in the same world is what I believe is her intention with her photos, especially in her work Irish Travelers.

In Johnsons work Irish Travelers she was invited to attend the Ballinasloe Horse Fair and Festival by a fellow photographer.

The festival is usually an infamous private event mostly for travelers from Ireland and Europe. Thanks to a good first impression she was welcomed into the event and given permission to document the life of those who attended. As she documented these people she found a sense of connection and gained a new family, throughout her adventure with them. She would take pictures of the children and the task they performed and even allowed the kids to try out her camera. Through her time with the travelers, she could experiences and witness for herself the prejudice that the nomadic Irish travelers received from their own

culture.
Throughout Johnson’s work, we can see how different the boys are treated than the girls are. The girls wear provocative clothing and wear makeup while the boys wear spiffy clothing and walk with respect. The girls are taught at a young age to be this way as it is part of their culture. Being taught to be beautiful to catch attention from their possible future husband all the while never breaking the rules of their morals. While the boys are taught to be like men and to work hard so that they may be suitable husbands. The moral is to never have sex before marriage, to marry young and they are not allowed to socialize alone with the opposite sex to avoid female chastity. The event is a huge celebration for the nomads to come together to sell ponies, connect and to marry off their children. Although this may sound like a hard and tough lifestyle it is only hard for those who don’t understand this life, these children, however, understand that that is what they are supposed to do and take pride in it.
The Irish culture is a very proud culture, full of people that respect God and family. Thanks to Johnson’s work the world is able to have a closer look at what goes on in Irish Travelers lives. It is full tough children that take pride in building their own families one day. To be able to penetrate a relatively recluse people and to be accepted and wanted is a huge accomplishment. Her photography gave her a new aspect of life and new friends, this is the power of photography. The ability to communicate and connect with people without words and to expose truths onto others.