Joseph Rodriguez

Joseph Rodriguez is a renowned American narrative photographer. He seems to be on the inside of the peoples lives that he is photographing. He writes, "Photography too often confirms preconceptions and distances the reader from more nuanced realities. The people in the frame are often depicted as too foreign, too exotic, or simply too different to be easily understood."
"I continue to tell stories that have had an effect on my life so that we can diminish this distance and develop a better understanding."
Below are some images from one of his most recent projects, "Reentry in Los Angeles"
 Rodriguez himself served time in prison as a young man. He managed to turn his life around by becoming a successful photographer - he often likes to say that his life changed from one of shooting drugs to shooting pictures. His sentence informed a life-long personal interest in prison experience, and inspired his work documenting families on the wrong side of the law.