New Surfers, New Cultures, New Friends

Romina and Chris came in last night from Germany. This is the first time I am hosting since I went surfing in Boston and I already notice a difference in my shooting, the camera is always on me and I am shooting more and it's funny before I was afraid of weirding my surfers out with the camera out but I have come to the realization that if they were not into me shooting and interviewing them that they wouldn't have chose me as a host. So I have already ran my camera battery down in less than 24 hours of shooting and it feels great!

Still Summing it up...

Ok, correction Couch Surfing may not be the ULTIMATE way to connect with people through out the world but... I think it's up there. I think it will be impossible to prove with my thesis that CS is the ultimate outlet.

What I want to try to articulate through my work is how couch surfing might be changing me. I have always been a caring and giving person but the fact of the matter is; meeting people off the internet for say coffee and drinks is entirely different then letting them into your home right away. As open minded as I think I am, the first few times I hosted I was terrified. Not because the people were weird, because they have all been far from but, because I have these ideas in the back of my head that were put there as a child. ( not talking to strangers)

These people are in fact strangers, their is a huge different between making small talk in an elevator and making small talk on my couch.
The moments of awkward silence are what chocked me up the most. I would start sweating and have verbal vomit. Not to mention my shooting went down the tubes.
But, now that I have hosted several surfers and even been surfing myself I can feel the level of comfort increasing. I am starting to own my pictures again as to where in the beginning I didn't even want to put my name on them.

This evening I am going to a Couch Surfing happy hour in Petworth, my neighborhood. I really want to connect with a CSer who hosts constantly. If I can shoot the interaction between host and surfer I think this will greatly add to my work. This is an element that I think is missing from my work and it's one that I think is essential to a successful body of work like this.

Time to Sum it all up.

Looking back on my life I have always been told not to talk to strangers, like many children growing up. My generation "Y" is the first generation to grow up with the internet. Is meeting people off the internet all that strange?

I never thought I would go to the internet to make my friends until I moved to a city where I was completely alone. Couch Surfing has sprung off the idea that meeting people off the internet is perfectly fine, so why not travel or even stay with the people you meet?

Couch Surfing is an ultimate outlet to give people the ability to be connected around the world.

Where do I start?

When thinking about and trying to sum my thesis into one sentence I don't know where to begin. I think it is best to start big and work my way to the root of it.

Topic: Couch Surfing

But what is it about couch surfing that I want to show and how can this be conducted in a photojournalistic fashion?

Elements that appeal to me:

-Bringing the web identity to life identity.

-Human connection/interaction through the internet.

-Talking to strangers... even further... letting them into your home.

-Providing for someone that you expect nothing from, a give-give situation.

-Getting closer to an individual in a small amount of time then you otherwise would given the situation.

- Narrowing the six degrees of separation.

Next is to narrow the 6 elements down to a structured idea.