Michael Massaia’s photography captures life in a different way. His choice of location for each photograph is unique and has details in each one that relate to human life. Massaia’s unique style of taking pictures during the late hours of the night creates an eerie feeling for many viewers since the colors are so dark. Massaia purposely uses effects to make his photos a darker black and white image. Not only do the black and white colors create an eerie feeling, but he also takes the photographs when there are no people present. The areas where he takes pictures constantly have large amounts of people there, which is part of his message of showing the effect people are having on the environment. Massaia’s lack of colors, choice of scenery, names for his portfolios, and the lack of people being present all aid in creating the argument Massaia is making as an artist which is people are not looking at the future of our society in correlation to the environment.

Massaia takes his photographs during the night, specifically between the hours of four and seven in the morning, because he like the lighting he is able to get from the sunrise (“Interview with”). However, when I was looking through Massaia’s galleries of photographs, I noticed every single picture in the galleries were edited to be an even bolder black and white. When pictures are taken in color, they normally come with a warmer feeling. With black and white, the pictures feel empty and abandoned. For example, Massaia’s image of the amusement park. If that picture was to be in color, it wouldn’t have that feeling of emptiness and abandonment. It would look like an amusement park that would bring joy and fun. Another way Massaia uses the lack of color is to show the environmental factor we are having on the places around us. With the photos being in black and white, the effect gives it a futuristic undertone showing us what the future could look like if we keep treating the environment the way we are now. Life would become boring and lifeless and the environment and our society would suffer. Massaia’s choice to not use colors is supported by the places he picks to take his photographs.

The locations that Massaia uses to take his photographs are all around New York and New Jersey (“Interview with”).  The specific images that he decides to capture are of places that normally have a lot of people around; Central Park, an amusement park, a corner of an always busy New York City corner.  Massaia says himself that the reasoning behind taking pictures in these settings is to “capture the sense of ‘alone’” (“Interview with”). The sense of aloneness plays into his argument of the environment. If the picture of Central Park is looked at more in depth, it looks like all the plants are dead and the trees lost their leaves, almost like everything was left alone and abandoned. Massaia also uses more concrete settings than he does whimsical. With New York City, the “concrete jungle” being one of his main backdrops, he does not lighten the mood the make everyone feel good. He is being honest about what could possibly happen in the future of society in comparison with the areas we live in. Massaia’s choice of scenery goes hand-in-hand with the lack of people present in his photographs. 

Within the three photographs chosen, there are zero people present in all of them. This is the point that I feel relates the most to Massaia’s argument as a photographer. Humans make the environment what it is and he shows how the future could end up if the society continues to treat the environment the way society is now. With so much pollution from our cars and litter on the sidewalks, we are increasing global warming constantly and that could be what Massaia is hinting at. If society ends up hurting our environment, everything will start to become abandoned relating back to Massaia’s lack of color. There would not be a society around to hurt the environment anymore. Massaia could possibly be hinting at a future apocalyptic event by showing what Earth would look like without anybody living here. There could be a complete disaster that is so significant that it ruins our society. Massaia’s choice of no human presence in his photographs leads to unique choices for names of his photography galleries. 

Massaia uses strong adjectives in his names for his galleries. For example, he has words like “Afterlife” and “lost”, but he also has phrases that are more powerful such as “No past, no present, no future” and “It’s in the leaving” (Massaia). None of those words have a positive influence on anyone. The two phrases that stand out the most in relation to Massaia’s argument are “Afterlife” and “It’s in the Leaving”. The word afterlife means life after you died so Massaia is talking about death which could relate back to his lack of people in the photographs. His gallery titled “It’s in the Leaving” leads the viewers to be curious. Is Massaia saying that we as a society are leaving? He does not explicitly have any titles referring to the environment, however it is not necessary. His pictures are able to speak for themselves and have a lot of depth within them. The titles are scary and do not leave a good feeling with the viewers, however they help to bring out Massaia’s vision as a photographer.

Massaia has a clear vision as an artist of photography and his photographs paint their own pictures. If he had chosen to take these photographs in color, they would not have a deep meaning to them. They would just be another landscape image. If he had chosen to take his photographs in different places, they would not have the same effect. The urban locations help to solidify his vision and feeling of aloneness. If he had chosen to include people in his photographs, they would not fit his vision at all. The lack of people helps him show that human activity is hurting the environment. If he had chosen different titles for his galleries, the same emotions would not come out. The galleries could not have joyful names because that does not represent Massaia as an artist. With those four elements in Massaia’s photography, his argument of our society having future effects on our environment becomes solid and clearly shown.
