Learning to See Riverdale
Riverdale High School, photographed on black-and-white 35mm film. An unedited and previously unpublished scan from my early attempts to photograph the familiar places that shaped my understanding of Riverdale.
A sidewalk in Riverdale leading toward a narrow bridge, photographed on 35mm film during one of the walks that taught me to notice the town’s everyday landscape.
For most of my life, Riverdale was simply the place I called home—not somewhere I thought to look at closely. My hometown felt extremely limiting, and the only thing I could think about was “escaping.” However, photographing Riverdale and later revisiting those images made me see Riverdale in a new light.
My early appreciation for nature came primarily from my mother’s gardening and nature in general, rather than from Riverdale’s agricultural landscape. In my pre-teen and early teen years, I constantly overlooked our surrounding landscape. I thought our streets were dingy; I hated the agricultural fields and dairies; and I was simply uninterested in any of our surroundings. I felt like I couldn’t pull inspiration from my hometown and instead felt like I had to leave Riverdale in order to be able to continue shooting. These feelings persisted for a few months after I began my photography journey in January 2025.
On an ordinary day in early June, I had the spontaneous idea to take my camera with me on my walk to my job. As I walked to work, I occasionally paused to take pictures of canals, trees, sidewalks, and street signs. One of the first pictures I took was of this sign. It wasn’t a new sight; I would walk past this same sign on my walk to school and work.
When I got to that point in my walk, I felt like this moment was worthy of photographing. I felt like this scene captured life in Riverdale pretty well: the quiet road, empty sidewalk, and neighborhood homes. Taking this image made me realize how much I had overlooked my hometown.
The following picture was of this canal further along the walk. This canal was also familiar, yet I never paid it much attention. When I passed it on this walk, I decided it would be worth it to take a quick picture of it. I was interested in the canal’s long dirt walls and how they cut a line right through the trees.
A canal way in Riverdale, photographed on 35mm film. This unedited and previously unpublished scan captures one of the ordinary landscapes I began noticing differently through photography.
Slowly, my hometown’s landscape was becoming much less ordinary in my eyes, and I began appreciating it a lot more. After this walk, I began trying to take more pictures of Riverdale. I began taking pictures of my backyard, front lawn, high school, and more. Some of these photos can be seen in the Riverdale Gallery, such as the firework image, the pink clouds, and the two black-and-white photographs.
In the future, I want to photograph more of Riverdale, but I also want to change how I approach it. Instead of waiting for a moment to catch my attention, I want to look more intentionally for the beauty I once overlooked.
