Through My Eyes

By Amber Michelle

Seven years ago, Morisset and his partner moved to Peekskill from Harlem and his passion for photography helped him to get to know the community. “I consider myself the unofficial chronicler of Peekskill,” says Morisset, a self-taught photographer who has documented many events and people as well as the natural beauty of the town. “When we moved here, I knew no one. I wanted to get to know the community and become part of the thriving artist community.”

Morisset currently runs a portrait studio in Peekskill and is heavily involved in creating headshots and Fine Art portraiture. He has photographed so much about Peekskill and its people and events that he self-published a book of his photography, “Peekskill Through My Eyes.”  He says that his activities in Peekskill are a way of giving back to a community that has embraced him. 

One of the first people that Morisset met in Peekskill was Cynthia Knox, CEO of CHHOP (Caring for the Hungry & Homeless of Peekskill). He learned about the services that CHHOP offers and he wanted to contribute, so he did a photography workshop for some of CHHOP’s Jan Peek House residents. “I had five students. We used disposable cameras which was ok, because when I teach photography, I emphasize seeing before the technical aspects,” explains Morisset, of the course that took place over two weekends. “It inspired the participants and offered them a ray of light in terms of seeing other possibilities in relation to their own circumstances. We went out around Peekskill to take pictures and it was a joy to see them out of the shelter and for them to see themselves and their environment in fresh new ways. It was very empowering for them.”

He notes the diversity of the backgrounds and situations that led each person to Jan Peek House. The group was comprised of an army veteran, a couple who have subsequently gotten married and another person who is fluent in three languages. The shared experience of photography led Morisset to become friends with some of the students and they still keep in touch. 

Black and white street photo taken in Harlem, NYC 2017, Ocean Morisset

While you expect to see a photographer with a camera, surprisingly, Morisset uses an iPhone to take “street” photos and he currently teaches iPhone photography to adults and teens through the New Era Creative Space. “Everyone has an iPhone and people don’t realize the power of the phone’s camera,” he says. 

Morisset says it’s easy to get a good photo with an iPhone and he offers a few tips:

• Keep your photo simple
• “Zoom” with your feet --- get close to your subject rather than using the phone zoom feature.
• Lock focus
• Hold down viewfinder to lock focus

While Morisset has many projects in the works, one of the most important is an ongoing series of candid photos of fathers with children, which he is doing to dispel the commonly held myth of absentee black dads.

Morisset has received a number of awards for his work including the 2018 Peekskill NAACP Mel Tapley Award for his work as a photographer and the 2017 Inaugural Larry Salley Photography Award presented by Arts Westchester. During 2020, Morisset was awarded a Peekskill Arts Grant by local entrepreneur Bre Pettis, who sought artists doing work around social injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement. Those photographs became an art installation in the windows of the former Worker’s Compensation Building in the center of Peekskill entitled “Peekskill Rises Up Against Racial Injustice”. The installation of oversized black and white photos come from various Black Lives Matter rallies that took place in Peekskill and remains on display.

“A good photo is one that moves the viewer. It may not always be a positive emotion, it can be upsetting, but it moves the viewer and tells a story. It educates or uplifts them” concludes Morisset. “As for technique, you can take a photo that isn’t sharp or the composition is off, but if it moves people, that’s a great photo.” 

To view more photography by Ocean Morisset visit his website at oceanmorisset.com

IG: @oceanstide