I have always had somewhat of an obsession for photos. The walls in my room are plastered with photos, so much, there isn't really any room for anything else. I love the idea that a moment can be captured forever, and it is always there. One picture can speak a thousand words. I wanted to learn how to capture those moments better. How to get what you're trying to say inside of an image. To create something beautiful that anyone can do, and anyone can appreciate. Something so simple and yet so complicated. I have learned that photography is a lot more than just pointing a camera and pressing a button. It takes thought. It takes effort. It takes consideration. You have to consider the light, the setting, what's in it, and what you want people to get from your image. What am I trying to say and can I convince people of the same thing. Photography has helped me learn about what I see and who I am. It has helped me notice things that I would never have before. The way the flower's colors compliment each other, or how the water drops on the leaf stand out and create a reflection. The way the grass actually looks rather than just a green patch of plants over dirt. A challenge for me this semester was finding the right setting for my photos, and thinking of ideas of how to create them. The lighting in my house is very yellow for some reason, and the cold and I aren't really friends. But, it has also taught me how to manage my time better and how to pick the exact timing of a photo. I really enjoyed the macro project, sabattier, direct/side light, unusual point of view, multiple exposure, dramatic night light, levitation, planet, light writing, portraiture and the self portraits. I think my all time favorite was the macro or self portraits. If I could re-do a project it would be the macro or the motion blur. I would do the macro because now I have such a better understanding of it and I want to do a better job of representing it. I would re-do the motion blur because, I think that was my worst project. It wasn't thought out, or done very well. The only good part of that was the photo shop editing.
Most of the photos I did had the symbolism of what society is like for a teenage girl in the 21st century. Every day, we are expected, by ourselves or others, to get up early and paint our faces in order to look what we believe is better. We must look like we have no flaws. You must act and look perfect at all times. I did a photo where I photo shopped parts of a doll's face over mine to symbolize how fake we are expected to look. I also did one where the prominent face has make-up, my hair is done and my teeth were whiten. In the background faded out is my face without make-up and my hair is not done. The prominent one is what everyone sees and what people want to see. In this society, no one wants to see the real you. And the last one on that note, is where half of my face has make-up and hair done and the other does not. On a brighter note, on one of my photos, I photo shopped myself into a bubble because, I think I'm a pretty bubbly person (pun intended) also, I have always imagined what it's like to fly. The next one I did was of my face and then purpley clouds over it. I did that because I love the color purple and blues. But, I also love the sky, and the stars and how it looks and why and all of that. So, it seemed fitting that at least one of my pictures involved me in my happy place. The next one is of a sheet of notebook paper that has a cross on it and me jumping in the middle of it. I realize that people may not agree with my beliefs which is completely fine. But the cross symbolizes God and He has changed my life for the better. He and the religion are a big part of my life and who I am as a person. Further down, I did one with like a sadish look on my face with words over it about depression and anxiety, etc. Those are things that I have struggled with and continue to struggle with but, are getting better. Anyways, the one with me and the grass and the flower crown, is because I love the beauty of nature. How it looks and how it is. The walking on water one is semi-for religious reasons, but it is also because imagine how cool it would be to walk on the water. It has always been a dream of mine. And lastly, the one with the book page over my face is because I have always have had a love for reading however, sometimes all of the words and ideas get jumbled up in my head and it's hard to decipher which thoughts are mine and which are simply from someone else's world.
