Off-Camera Flash

I plan to use both natural and artificial light to create complex shadows inside and outside of nature to convey something along the lines of passage of time. I plan to finalize my conceptual intentions during the upcoming weeks, but as of right now, I am drawn to shadows with unexpected light and attention to detail.

Map of My Mind - Reflection and Final Project

Conceptual Intentions

Although I initially struggled to create a piece that communicated my voice as an artist and as a person, I believe that I was eventually able to do so through incorporating photos of places that are important to me along with drawings that I have made and textures that I find interesting and communicative. I found this whole process to be very meaningful, as it allowed me to explore my inner consciousness in a physical project and forced me to find a way to effectively communicate my intentions using photoshop. I hadn't previously spent much time imagining what a physical representation of my mind would look like and it took lots of thinking to create a piece that told my audience the story that I wanted them to see. After hearing the comments that my classmates made regarding my final piece, I realized that I had communicated more about myself than I had even intended simply through the methods I used and the placements of certain objects, which made the critique both interesting and valuable for me.

Stretch and Explore 

Originally, I had placed several photos of nature bordering the entire piece but I struggled with creating a background that felt appropriate and I felt limited by my border. To solve this problem, I eventually removed the photos from the shorter sides of the image and incorporated a background that was very simple. In order to make this background meaningful and evocative of my mind, I made it symmetrical by mirroring the sky over the center line of the photo and place a circle of sky in the very center. The circle ended up being indicative of a camera lens, which was very appropriate for my mind and my imagination. Adding several drawings that I made around the border of the image also allowed me to evoke some final elements of myself and my mind. Despite changing my approach and adding and eliminating several images and drawings, I feel that I successfully represented my mind using photoshop and art that I had previously created. After having spent a few weeks getting to know Photoshop, I have come to appreciate some of its capabilities and the creative license that it allows. If I had been this comfortable with photoshop before starting this project, ideally I would have spent less time experimenting and more time effectively communicating my mind and the ways in which I think.

a room of one's own reflection

Conceptual Intentions

How did you address the idea of A Room of One’s Own (place and use of light) with this work? How did you explore your authentic voice as a visual artist? What made this project meaningful for you? If you did not find the practice and process meaningful, why not?

I addressed the idea of a room of ones own using strategic placement of light to emphasize certain aspects of my photographs and through using light to convey feelings and emotions. I explored my own voice as a visual artist through experimenting with different techniques and settling on uses of light that created dark, complex, or interesting moods with simple objects. This project was meaningful to me because it allowed me to learn about taking different types of photos and allowed me to find a general aesthetic that I enjoyed to take photos of. I explored different techniques and settled upon methods that produced photographs that I found both interesting and personal. 

Stretch and Explore

In what ways did your intentions change over the course of your project?  What opportunities or occurrences led to these changes?

My intentions changed throughout this project as I learned about the different applications and true purposes of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The new knowledge of these factors really influenced how I thought about taking photos and the introduction to long exposure photography was particularly interesting to me. I could influence what I saw in person and manipulate my camera to make it appear differently in photographs, a process which I found to be very fulfilling. 

Given what you know now about your work and your materials choices, how might you have changed your concept or approach to working?

Given what I know now and what I have learned over the course of this project, I would have changed my approach to digital photography. I would have liked to have taken more time to explore with my photographic techniques in interesting locations and experimented a bit more with the same subject in order to discover the most effective techniques for use in different situations. However, I would not change my approach to film photography with this project and I feel satisfied with my selected film photographs.

A Room of One's Own

Light As A Character: Select Photo

I found this photo to be most intriguing due to the contrast of light and dark and the movement of light throughout the photo. The light leaking in from above emphasizes the stark black figure of the napkin holder and then falls softly on the wooden table. Also, the figures in the background are out of focus, creating another form of contrast between soft and hard edges. The breaking of the rule of thirds by the light also creates an interesting and unexpected composition. 

Shutter/Aperture Project

What adjective did you choose?

I chose the word "solitude" to inspire my photographs because I was intrigued by the different directions in which the word could be taken. Solitude could be synonymous with loneliness and imply a sense of abandonment or sadness, but it could also be synonymous with independence and a sense of contentment. I photographed a variety of different objects that stood alone and tried to convey not necessarily a sense of sadness but rather solitude by choice, as the objects functioned by themselves and without the help of other objects. They could stand alone by choice, which I found intriguing. 

This photograph illustrates "solitude" because I found this bench to be very peaceful and interestingly lit. The photograph is interesting because it shows the bench from an unusual angle and captures the sense of abandonment without looking melancholy. I believe that the light prevents the object from appearing ominous and the peaceful nature of the bench creates a certain solitude. This photo utilizes a somewhat shallow depth of field because the front of the bench is more focused than the back of the bench and both are shown in closer detail than the foreground. The rule of thirds is also employed because the main part of the bench occupies the center vertical third but not the upper horizontal third, creating an intriguing composition. 

The photo represents solitude because although the plant is alone, the sunlight streaking the top of the photograph provides a sense of warmth and calm, bringing the photo from lonely to simply solitary and at peace as opposed to troubled. The background is very out of focusing comparison to the subject, placing emphasis on its details. I used aperture to ensure that the plant was the center of the composition. I think that the light also played an interesting role in capturing the mood of the photograph. The rule of thirds is slightly broken with the placement of the plant, as it is between the second and third vertical thirds, but the light streaking in from the sun occupies the center vertical third to create an interesting contrast. The foreground is far more detailed, but the background is also interestingly lit. 

I find this photo to be slightly eerier than the other photographs yet I believe that the vegetation in the corner provides a more cheerful mood despite the solitude of the iron fence. The fence sits in solitude but not in a way that exudes loss or lack of companionship. There is a shallow depth of field, focusing on the center curl in the iron fence. The fence portions behind and in front of this curl are not as focused, and the background behind the fence is very unfocused, placing special emphasis upon the details of this center curl. The rule of thirds is employed in that the fence does not occupy the left vertical third and there is focus placed on the portion of the fence within the center vertical third. 

This photo demonstrates my theme of peaceful solitude because although the background is dark and empty, the flower lying in the foreground is blooming and alive. The flower does not require other elements and stands on its own in a calm independence that I would describe to be solitude. The flower is placed in the center of the vertical middle third and the horizontal middle third, immediately drawing the eye towards it. The photo has a very shallow depth of field and all emphasis is placed upon the flower petals and core. There is slight activity in the lower background but the foreground is most in focus, relating to the shallow depth of field. 

Pinhole Camera Reflection

Conceptual IntentionsWhat did you find meaningful about the process and practice of this project? Where does your voice and style as an artist emerge in this project? If you did not find the practice and process meaningful or you do not feel that your voice emerged in this work, why not?

I felt the project was meaningful because I was able to actually create my own camera out of household materials and take successful and interesting photographs using very simple technology and creative thinking. I was able to show my voice through varying my use of photograph locations and in designing my personal camera to fit my personal preferences. I was able to take photographs that demonstrated my compositional skills using the camera that I created. 

Stretch and ExploreWhat challenges did you face over the course of this project? what changed over the course of your project?  What opportunities or occurrences led to these changes? Given what you know now about building a camera, how might you have changed your concept or approach to working?

I had trouble with effectively creating my camera so that my photos were not overexposed to light. I had to experiment with various photo locations in order to find those with optimal light and shadow in my quest for a successful photograph. Over time, I chose locations with more light because darker locations did not produce photographs that were as interesting or effective as those with bright lighting. I would have probably chosen a paint can or other cylindrically shaped object because from the experiences of my classmates, it seems that objects in this shape make the most light-tight cameras. I used a box and although it worked effectively eventually, I had to work much harder to create a light tight environment than my classmates with cylindrical cameras.  

Formal IntentionsHow have you deepened your understanding of photography in this project? Describe your pinhole prints. Please upload at least three examples to your blog. 

This project helped me to understand the importance of light and composition in photographs. I gained a better understanding of aperture and how to use it efficiently and successfully. I also learned to take photographs of locations with interesting and diverse compositions in order to take complex and unique photos. In my first two pinhole prints, I took photographs of a darker environment and ended up with lighter and less successful prints. They prints were more blurred and out of focus. After changing my location, I was able to take more focused and contrasting photographs of Maxwell Music Hall. I was more pleased with this location and was able to take successful and interesting photographs.