Description
Striking street portraiture of a contemporary American subculture of young Travelers
Lost & Found documents a contemporary American subculture of young Travelers through raw, striking portraiture and intimate storytelling. These Travelers abandon home to move around the country by hitchhiking and freight train hopping in a nomadic, transient existence outside of mainstream society. Along their personal journey driven by wanderlust, escapism, or a search for transient jobs, they find a new family in their traveling friends.
The high of freedom, however, does not come without consequence. The black and white portraits are made in public, on the street, using natural light. Individual stories, as a collection, form a greater narrative. Over ten years in the making, Joseph's portraits reveal the human condition. They capture courage, tenderness, and determination in his subjects that have been largely ignored and unseen.
About the Author
Michael Joseph is a photographer who documents subculture through street portraiture. Raised just outside of New York City, his inspirations are drawn from interactions with strangers on city streets and aims to afford his audience the same experience through his photographs. His portraits are made unplanned and up close to allow the viewer to explore the immediate and unseen.Joseph's portraits are held in the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana and private collections. He is a 2016 Photolucida Top 50 winner, 2020 Photolucida Finalist, and LensCulture Portrait Award Finalist. He is a recipient of the fellowship in photography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and a grant from the Peter S. Reed Foundation.