FINAL PROJECT!

So I couldn't make it to our final critique for personal reasons :( I was so bummed!  What I decided to do for my final project was a combination of self portraits and the night photography I did for my previous project.  For this project I used a 30 second exposure again with my fstop either all the way open or all the way closed.  This project though I took everyone's advise and tried not to show my light source.  My whole thought behind this project was trying to portray a feeling of being trapped and then coming out of that.  I have been having a hard time these past few months because of a variety of things and I felt like this project was a final way to express how I have been feeling.  I have been feeling for so long that I have to walk on egg shells around certain people and that I have to keep my mouth shut and not say how I feel.  I think I have been holding my feelings in for so long and I finally realized that it is ok to be myself and you don't always have to let other peoples opinions and feelings on you affect you in a negative way.  I just haven't felt like myself lately and this project helped me branch out and breath in a way.  I know that some of the images aren't in focus or they may not be as technically good, but I think in some they work to get the feeling of stress and confusion.

I really enjoyed this course and am so glad I enrolled in it this semester.  I had never taken digital photo at a college level and I feel like I really took a lot from it.  At my past schools the students in my courses weren't anywhere close to how talented everyone was in this course.  I think being surrounded by a totally different and unique group of photographers really opened my mind.  I wish everyone the best and hope everyone keeps pursuing photography! :)

Final Project

My order got messed up in putting them on the blog.  I will put up my artist statement later.  My whole concept was kind of a coming into your own kind of thing... I'll add more info later.

Finals

Final Project Contacts

Conceptual Project

In class the other day we had to shoot a bunch of pictures and make it into one picture.  I went out and shot some nature ones but then I realized I had a whole series of pictures I had never used for anything. 

I also had an image kind of similar to my latest project that I wanted to show Julee.  I was printing in my darkroom one day and started to clean a print of mine.  I noticed that the image in my sink looked like my friend was drowning, its' pretty
 creepy!

Favorite Artists

Paul Strand, Dan Eldon, Annie Leibovitz, Mark Romanek, Tokihiro Sato, Lois Greenfield

Social Landscape Finals

For this assignment we weren't allowed to look up the definition of "Social Landscape."  I toyed with a bunch of ideas of what social landscape could be.  I was thinking maybe my personal everyday life could be social landscape meaning my friends, my environment, and my everyday activities.  Then I decided on a personal approach with images of my boyfriend that no one would ever see.  I decided finally that social landscape's definition is indefinite.  There are so many ways to portray some sight of social interaction.  The way I developed my images was to shoot strictly at night (which I have never done before), with either an aperture of 2.8 or 22, and a 30 second exposure.  I didn't want people in my images but I wanted to elude to the fact that my subjects were places where people are everyday without showing any people.  I really loved how a lot of my images turned out to look like day time even though it was late at night.  I definitely want to start doing more night photography.

Social Landscape Contacts

 

Favorites but not finals (social landscape)

Middle of Social Landscape

In the past few weeks I have picked up my camera and shot a million times.  I have been brainstorming and trying to figure out a direction to go in.  I finally came to a conclusion, I will put up the contacts and seven favorite tomorrow.  I do have some other contact sheets of my Social Landscape adventures.

  

Social Landscape starting contacts

Photoshop lessons

Morphing!

I had fun doing this project... I tried to make it look perfect but than I realized it was much more interesting if it was quirky :)

I started working with Amy's photo first.  The beginning is Amy's face, then Caitlyn's nose, Alex's left eye,  Michelle's mouth, the right side of Jenna's hair, Topher's hat, Brian's eyebrows, Katrina's lip piercing, Sarah's ear, Annie's freckles, Patrick's right eye, Shannon's left cheek, the left side of Marley's hair, Kristen's jacket, and Sam's necklace.

9/11

I remember I was in sixth grade in English class.  The principal walked into our class to talk to our teacher. I just remember it being really quiet and she suddenly got very upset.  She left the classroom for a while and our teachers assistant had us silent read.  When she got back she seemed somewhat relieved and she had a stack of papers that she handed out.  I remember reading it but honestly not fully understanding what it meant.  All anyone really knew was that we were getting dismissed early.  I later learned that my teachers husband work in one of the Twin Towers but he was fine.  Even after my parent's sat me down and tried to explain it all to me I don't believe I fully grasped what had happened until I was a little older.

This is probably one of the most moving and famous photograph from September 11th.

Weekend Photos

I had one of those weekends where I had to go home, I left my digital camera at school, and then I had car troubles so I couldn't get back until now.  I was forced to shoot film (even though I prefer film still :-) ) but my film got stuck in the C-41 processor at work and totally messed up my roll!  Even though it got messed up I still think my shots turned out kind of funky.

Why do people photograph? What do you want to take photographs of?

Why do people photograph?
To capture time, emotions, feelings, memories.  People photograph so they are able to save a moment in time.
What do you want to take photographs of?
I want to photograph everything I possibly can.  I want to photograph to get a reaction.  Whether it is confused, pleased, aroused, angered, upset, happy, warm, whatever.  By getting reactions from people that just helps me improve my work and move on to bigger and better things.  Today in class when we watched the documentary and the photographer had an awful newspaper review.  Mostly everyone in class had the idea that it is better to be talked about even if it is negative rather than not at all.

Major Influences

I am inspired by other artists but honestly my major influences in my work are the direct people in my life.  I find a lot of times when I shoot I get into another strictly creative state of mind.  I think I have always used photography as a way to express my emotions.  My family life has always been rather off but in a weird way that has helped me produce a lot of my work.

Creative Process

My creative process comes from all over the place.  The only way I am able to start developing my work is if If my mind is stimulated by television, movies, museums, others photographs, drawings, paintings, etc.  I find that I will get into "photo funks" where I won't pick up a camera or edit my pictures because I feel negatively about what the end result is going to look like.  All I need is a little creative spark from somewhere else that makes me start producing art.  Once that happens my mind gets rolling and I can't stop  shooting or thinking of new ideas.  

7 Deadly Finals

I kind of goofed on this assignment.  My pictures didn't flow together at all.  I tried to hard to be outside the box and do completely different pictures.  I think individual though I produced a few decent shots.