May 4 - News

Joseph Rodriguez – The New York Times

Joseph Rodriguez documents Puerto Rico’s financial crisis in a series of black and white pictures accompanying the article ‘Staying Put Amid Puerto Rico’s Economic Crisis’ on The New York Times.

The pictures focus on those who haven’t been able to leave the country to work elsewhere, mostly pensioners relying on income from the government. This work coexists with his other piece about struggles for the middle class.

The images were taken on a medium format film camera, which obliged Rodriguez to spend more time setting up a frame and become a more integral part of his surroundings. From this process, and his personal connection to the island, the photographs adopt an intimate perspective of Puerto Rico, “Oh, this is how my people look. This is where my father was from,” Mr. Rodriguez recalled. “I used photography to go out and learn about my own roots.”

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