I have been taking pictures, mostly with film, for 30 years. In recent years, I have introduced my students to film photography through an intensive darkroom class and camera club.
As a foreign language educator, John Piazza sees photography as an extension of his daily efforts to encourage his students to communicate who they are through stories. What began as a childhood hobby, and then family documentation, has gradually evolved into a larger storytelling project which includes family, friends, students, colleagues and strangers. John has been influenced by the environmental and documentary styles of Mary Ellen Mark, Tina Barney and others who use the ephemera of life and work to enrich the sympathetic narratives they tell about their subjects.