Hero's Journey

     Generally, I begin my process as an artist by sketching or researching ideas that I may be interested in pursuing. However, I usually spend more time shooting and experimenting with Photoshop and editing in order to refine my conceptual intentions. With this project, I began by shooting objects that traditionally allude to fairytales and storybooks. I took photos of a necklace, books, a candle stick, and several more objects on a white and on a black backdrop. The photos of the necklace and the book on black backdrops were most intriguing to me, and I decided to incorporate both of these objects into my project.

     I then went out and shot these objects in nature. I took many photos of nature alone and human hands and feet interacting with nature as well to diversify the series. When I came back to edit these photos, I decided that I wanted to display them in a book because I wanted my viewer to get a sense of fairytale. Though I typically associate my voice and style as an artist with use of photoshop and lightroom editing, I chose to focus more on the quality of my individual photos for this project in order to broaden my horizons and step outside of my comfort zone. I haven't produced a series of photos for a project in a long time, so I decided to go back to the basics of photography and take an extensive series of 30 photographs. Though I felt my voice emerged in a different sense in this project, I felt that the connection with nature as well as the macro photography style made these photos distinctly my own, which was intriguing to me. 

     I had many different ideas about how to use my photos to portray the hero's journey, but I eventually decided to arrange my photos to create a plot for my storybook. I tried to emulate the cyclical nature of the hero's journey throughout the book. The series begins with photos of a book and a person reading a book, indicating the discovery that comes before the hero sets out on his / her journey. Next, I portrayed the journey with photos of pathways and human connection to nature to portray self-exploration and adventure. Along the way, nature aids in the quest of self-discovery. As the series progresses, the hero uncovers pieces of a necklace, which represent the realizations made and knowledge gained along the way. In the end, the charms come together to form a full necklace, and for the last photo of the series, the necklace and the book are placed together, indicating the completion of the journey and the return to a certain starting place, making the adventure itself cyclical. 

     In hindsight, I would not use different mediums or materials, as I think that I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone by not using photoshop and instead relying upon the quality of my photos. Also, I think that challenging myself to take so many photos helped me to explore and grow as a photographer. Though I would have liked to order the book earlier so that it would be here for critique, I would not have changed my approach to working. 

Hero's Journey: Interim Critique

My group members liked the idea that I presented of creating a book for my photos in order to present a fluid storyline. They suggested that I bind the book with ribbon or string or in some other interesting way that would evoke the fantasy and fairytale that I am trying to capture in my photos. They suggested that I put the photos together in a way that creates a story that is easy to follow, and I plan to do a bit more shooting in order to fill the holes in my storyline. They also suggested that I begin and end the book with photos of the same object, so as to portray the circular nature of the hero's journey and to create unity to ground the story.

My Creative Practice

     Generally, the concepts that I tend to explore when creating compositions are related to the world around me and to the process of experimentation and discovery. I like to explore the natural world and photograph the natural world, but I also like to use Photoshop to manipulate natural elements and create a composition that is more complex and thought-provoking than a photo alone. Formally, I rely upon my use of Photoshop and I think that my use of line, color, and texture in Photoshop help to create my distinct style. I habitually draw lines on my photographs and use masking to superimpose photos upon one another. Also, I like to work with vibrant colors in an aesthetically pleasing manner. When taking photos, I tend to use a very open aperture because I love the way that a shallow depth of field brings out details that are otherwise difficult to see. I enjoy playing with focus and depth in my photographs. Moving into the rest of the year, I'd like to experiment a bit more with film photography and work on communicating conceptual intentions through photographs. I'd like to get to a place where I can take photos that instantly communicate a larger, more important message that I'm trying to get across. So, I plan to work on the methods that I employ to communicate my ideas to my viewers.

The Hero's Journey: Planning

For the upcoming storytelling project, I plan to move away from my use of Photoshop and instead shoot on location this upcoming weekend in a setting reminiscent of fairytales. I would like to find a wooded area or go to a lake or river to shoot these photos. I'll bring a friend or two with me who I will include in my photographs, and I will bring several objects that speak to the fairytale theme. I'm thinking of using a key, a watch, a clock, and any other antiquated objects that I can find and photograph in an interesting way. This week, I will spend time photographing objects that I can find in a variety of lightings and settings in order to figure out the type of compositions that I aim to produce in my series. I will also research several common fairytales, stories, and myths to see whether or not there is one particular story that interests me that I would like to use as inspiration for my series.

Interim Unexplored Territories

What We Notice
- leading to central point of focus, something important
- small shapes inside larger pieces draw attention - conjure images of roads, networks leading to central destination
- contrast of angular vs. organic
- contrast of manmade vs. natural

Intentions
- maybe roads or lines leading to central purpose, intentionally representing something important or something frequently visited
- representing California in the way I see it, different views of different parts of California
- natural
- tension between man and nature

Unexplored Territories Project

On Monday, I began by doing a daily practice outdoors. I used dead pieces of pine to create a linear pattern with a direct sense of movement. I spent about 20 minutes carefully arranging the pieces in an arrow-like pattern, trying to achieve the linear and directional sense that many maps often have. I become interested in the idea of repetitive detailed pattern and I hope to use repetitive detailed patterns within my map. I am drawn to detail and to organization, so I hope to create an aesthetic that is uniquely mine with this map.

Inspired by my daily practice, I began sketching a map of California. I used major highways to divide the state into several portions. Then, I sketched different repetitive patterns within these sections. In my final piece, I plan to use Photoshop to layer two photos, each of  on top of one another. Then, I want to use masking with the second photo to erase parts of the photo strategically, creating a pattern accentuated by the photo underneath. I hope to incorporate map-like geometry and organization to create a digital collage that pays homage to maps in a non-traditional fashion.

Self-Study Reflection

Conceptual Intentions
     I used photoshop to superimpose several photographs together, creating a complex and multidimensional piece. I addressed the idea of a self-study using dark, calm colors to portray a sense of concentration and contemplation. The final product is a self-study because it shows my connection to nature but also emphasizes my fondness of urban spaces, and the movement in the images illustrate show my mind often works, moving in stages or layers and building upon previous ideas. I wanted to make the image detailed yet cohesive so as to represent the complexity of the human mind. The project was meaningful to me because it allowed me to intimately explore a more thoughtful side of myself. I enjoy using photoshop and multiple images together to create one unified piece, so this project allowed me to further develop my authentic voice as an artist. I am also fond of clean lines and symmetry, so I combined these elements in my self study.

Stretch and Explore
     At first, I wanted to use film and long exposure techniques in natural spaces to create a sense of motion. However, due to time constraints and issues with film development, I switched my focus to digital photography and then to photoshop. Instead of using long exposure photography, I layered several photos of myself on top of one another in order to achieve a similar effect. Once I began layering images of myself, I began to see the piece coming together. I used black and white tones to achieve a film-like effect, and I used an out-of-focus light photograph to put more of an emphasis on shadow and to incorporate a more urban feeling to contrast with the natural background. Having completed this composition, if I were to go back, I would begin initially with digital photography and photoshop so as to give myself enough time to really flesh out the image. I would clean up some of the edges of the photo and perhaps increase contrast given what I know now and what I encountered during my artistic process.

Understanding the Art World
      I was particularly inspired by Francesca Woodman's photographs as well as Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills. Francesca Woodman's work had a certain unexpected, almost eerie quality that I hoped to channel by layering my photos and playing with opacity to create ghostly figures. Also, her work did not include her face, and I wanted to try to portray my personality and emotions without having to use my face. Her work was a good example of how object placement and surroundings can influence figures in a photograph. Cindy Sherman's were very raw and expressive with a variety of different backgrounds. I was inspired by how she used lighting to design the mood of the photographs and how her backgrounds complemented the figures in focus, and I tried to use both of these techniques in my final piece.

Reflect
     The critique provided me with new insight as to how my viewers saw my work and how their interpretations compared to or differed from my intentions. I intended for my viewers to get a sense of thoughtfulness and contemplation from the colors used and the positioning of the figures in the photo, and many did. Also, other viewers commented on the natural vs. urban contrast and on the movement of the figures. Benjamin mentioned that the movement and opacities of the figures mimicked the human thought process and that the layers could represent the process of understanding concepts and ideas. My classmates also noticed that the diagonal horizon line challenged the general notion that horizon lines should be straight. In future processes, I will take into account these kinds of elements and think about how details work together to communicate ideas that may be deeper and not as immediately obvious. I was able to give my peers insight into how the emphasis that they put on certain elements of their projects played out visually and the messages that I received from the emphasized elements. I was also able to help my peers decide the best organizational strategies for series of photos and to decide whether their works truly communicated the points and qualities that they were aiming to emphasize.