"The Lams of Ludlow Street"

As we all age, our lives take unexpected twist and turns. "The Lams of Ludlow Street" shows how one family’s life continues to unfold in a 350 square foot apartment in New York City’s Chinatown. This project originally began in 2003 and continues to this day. As of 2018 Steven now lives in the Bronx while Shirley continues to be a home health aide and mostly living at her patient’s home. Michael is in graduate school hoping to go to earn his PhD if the opportunity presents itself. Cindy is a college sophomore and wants to study English and is excited about this new chapter in her life. Meanwhile, Franklin still lives at Ludlow Street and is looking for a job. Even though I have been involved with photography since the age of fifteen, I never expected to become so close and emotionally tied to my “subject matter.” I grew up the son of a travel and nature photographer who would travel constantly so the idea of falling in love with and being emotionally tied to a specific photography project was not on my conscious. But thankfully there are no universal life plans. I am who I am because of my family history, while the Lams are who they are. The questions I have always had regarding my Chinese half were ultimately addressed in a completely different experience than I originally envisioned as I began to understand the Chinatown life I never had.