Robin Bowman – It’s Complicated: The American Teenager

The American Teenager project is a collection of portraits and interviews from adolescents. Robin Bowman, the photographer, used her old polaroid camera and analogue recorder to capture everything. Between 2001 and 2005 she traveled 21,731 miles and interviewing 419 teenagers of diverse social cultures. Many of the people she encountered had very sad stories but it was not despairing. She finds hope and strength showcasing the real stories of young people as they struggle.
Robin Bowman has been a freelance journalist for 28 years. She earned a degree in anthropology at Wheaton College and studied photography independently. It eventually led her to become a professional photographer. She was published in many major magazines and newspapers. Eventually she started The American Teenager project and published her book.

                                   

I like the idea of the project. She photographed real people in their real lives. I like that even though the people are posed they are in their own environment. This is photojournalism because the photo tells a story. Its not just a photo. They all have a backstory to go with it. Its different because its based on each person and it is posed. A lot of photojournalism is taken in the moment and not posed.