House of My Mind

Reflection Questions

2) a)My intentions were to create readable, cohesive photos making use of landscapes, and patterns. 

    b) I think my work reflects my intentions because they are each cohesive individually, and even start to function together.  I really made use of drawing right on the image for my first picture which took a lot of time, but with persistence, I was able to finish and I am extremely happy with the results.  I definitely improved technically in the use of photoshop. Feel a lot more comfortable using it, whereas before I felt like I didn't have the best understanding on navigating it on my own.  Also conceptually I grew so much in my ability to create am image with many different elements and layers to make one united piece of art.  It took me a little time to really submerge myself in this project and imagine ideas that were accessible and do-able, but now that this project is over I have even more ideas that I wasn't able to even get to.  

Transforming Materials

Reflection Questions

a)This project was about making mundane everyday materials look interesting, and to set out to put them in a new light and context. My intentions were to try and think outside of the box that materials such as tinfoil and baking cups are usually constrained to. Of course I tried to focus on composition and attention to detail.
b)My work conveys my intentions, in that I successfully "transformed" each photo's material, although my they shifted throughout the project.  As I sought to experiment with reflections and shadows. Frustration in the earlier stages of the project required hat I persist and overcome the challenges presented.  I stretched myself and explored the different aspects of the project, broadening my horizon of a photographer. As a student of art I think I refined my craftsmanship conceptually.  My most successful photos made use of the reflection on the glassy black piano.

Reflection Questions

I did have some skills coming into this class that have been helpful.  For the second half of eight grade I had photography class once a week, where I learned the fundamentals of composition and different angles etc.  I had absolutely no experience in the darkroom though, because we only worked digitally.  The skill that I've most needed to cultivate would be adjusting my eye to look for specific shots to satisfy specific prompts, not to just shoot randomly.  I cultivated the skill of having a purpose behind my photographs.  Once I developed that skill it was helpful because my photographs started to improve.  Skills that I realized I need to develop in order to be successful in this class would  definitely be working in the darkroom and dealing with challenging negatives.  Steps that I have taken to improve these skills would be just not giving up when something isn't working and following Mrs. Seal's advice of whether to add a more time or whatever she said.  Working in photoshop was also something I had to work on because I'm not technologically savvy what so ever.  Steps that I have taken to improve these skills would be not getting frustrated at myself (or the computer!) and being patient with myself when I don't understand how to do something at first.  I learned to allow myself time to struggle with a concept and then gradually be able to do it on my own.  Something that excites me about photography right now would be just taking more pictures of people specifically and learning more about studio light.  Getting that perfect moment captured into one photograph really excites me. The still life project where we experimented with light leads me to want to explore how the different forms/angles of light would effect the human face.  I learned this year that I love taking photos of people.  That is why the portrait project was my favorite project.  Naturally, my favorite photo came from this project, and it is also the one I submitted to the Marin County Fair.  It is a picture of my little sister Juliana sitting on the brooke ground crossing her legs not looking at the camera.  I just love how the photo captures a moment and I love the composition.  My least favorite project would have to be the abstract project because for me it was boring and not lively or exciting, like taking pictures of people.  All in all this year has been a lot of fun!

still life with studio lighting

 I think this last photo is my best photo because of the composition and lighting.  This was a very successful project for me and I enjoyed experimenting with the different kinds of lighting options.

Abstract Darkroom

My best photo of this project is this last one of the flowers.  This was a really challenging assignment for me because the roll of film Mrs. Seal gave me was already half used so I had limited options, especially because not all of my photos even came out.  My least successful photo is the one of the rock tiles because the negative was scratched and the print is lighter on the top and darker on the bottom. 

abstract digital

Portrait project--Juliana

This was my favorite project by far.  I love taking pictures of people and enjoyed taking them of my little sister Juliana.  I think the third picture is the most successful because of the composition.  I also really love the second picture of Juliana which is in sepia, which i did in the darkroom by soaking it in coffee.

adjective project--Dreary