Student’s photography career thrives over summer break

photo by: Rebecca Devereaux
Hannah Altman, junior photography major continues to make waves in the photography world. This summer, Altman’s work was shown at Runaway Studios in Bloomfield, Pa.

Hannah Altman continues to make headway this summer with her photography career since her last project “And Everything Nice” was published by many news outlets: Buzzfeed and Cosmopolitan.

The junior photography major spent her summer photographing documentary photos in Israel as well as showcasing a project at Runaway Studios.

“The past couple of years have definitely been a whirlwind, and I’m very grateful that people are paying attention to the work,” Altman said.

A common theme in Altman’s photography is women and the effect today’s society has on them. This summer, she has followed the same theme in her project “How To:” at Runaway Studios in Bloomfield. She has also strayed from this theme to pursue documentary work in Israel.

Altman spent two weeks in Israel traveling the country, documenting the life of its citizens. Her Jewish heritage granted her an opportunity to participate in a travel group. This is a birthright trip which gave her a free flight as well as a tour of the country.

“The only news we get about the Middle East is a lot of violence and a lot of conflict,” Altman said. “We don’t really get to hear about the lives of the civilians.”

Altman’s goal was to portray the people of Israel to the media in a respectful manner. Altman did this by becoming personally connected with many civilians.

“I was photographing quieter moments, like I went to one of their houses for dinner, and moments that wouldn’t normally make the news,” Altman said.

During her travels, Altman became personally connected with a man in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). The IDF is Israel’s army, and everyone is required to serve three years. Altman says most Israelis serve directly out of high school. Altman was invited into the man’s home while he was home on leave.

“It was really interesting that we were the same age and got along really well, but we were living completely different lives and it made me really interested in the culture,” Altman said.

Altman plans to return to Israel within the next few years.

Runaway studios presented one of its last installations, entitled “How To:” created by Altman, Co-Director of Runaway Studios Sadie Shoaf and photographer Katie Krulock. The project included photo, audio and live action. The project wanted to give commentary on female aesthetics and traditions and the importance placed on them by society.

“It was kind of like a haunted house where you walked to the stairs and I had a bunch of prints lining this long hallway,” Altman said, “…and it was all the same picture so I kept setting them on fire, each print more and more and getting progressively burned, and then the end piece is just a bunch of charred paper.”

The photographs were meant to give a message to women about the enormous pressures placed on them. One side of the wall was lined with images about feminine hygiene.

“The other side of that [were] two older women sitting on a very rich looking couch in a rich looking living room, and they start to burn from their stomachs out, trying to signify the family values, and how you’re pressured into having a family,” Altman said.

Altman worked with Krulock on the photos and videos for the project.

“It’s cool to work with another photographer, let alone another female photographer because I feel like photography is so accessible with digital cameras anymore,” Krulock said.

The inspiration for the “How To:” project came from YouTube videos aimed at women.

“Me and Katie always send each other back and forth ridiculous youtube videos and makeup tutorials like how to contour your face, how to contour your nose so it doesn’t look crooked, like really unintentionally offensive things,” Shoaf said.

Shoaf expressed interest in working with Altman due to her involvement on the internet. Since the project was inspired by the internet, Shoaf and Krulock wanted to collaborate with Altman.

“All of the performers were behind a clear screen just like people on the internet are,” Shoaf said.

Altman is now working on a new project about sexual assault. She is photographing a variety of women of different ages, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

Their stories will remain anonymous, but the emotion on their faces will show the effects of sexual assault. Altman is taking her time on this upcoming project.

She said her inspiration does not come from a singular source.

“It’s kind of like what I’m taking in from society and ref lecting back and I’m showing what I think is weird with it or wrong with it,” Altman said.

photos courtesy of Hannah Altman: