100 Photos Summer Project
Our end of the year project for Junior year, transitioning into Senior year, was to capture 100 photographs consisting of some intention, tone, theme, or composition. In addition, we were to complete two hand-made projects, either paintings, drawings, or sculptures. Below I have included photos in sections, each with a theme or purpose relating to one another. The date is provided and an explanation will be at the bottom of each set. I tried to mainly focus on nature, humanity, and the relationships formed through and between man and wilderness.
Beginning nature photos
For these first few photographs I took, I wanted to experiment with light exposure and color with natural elements in nature. I was curious to see how sunlight affected the look of objects within a photograph. The first photo I took on June 3rd, was slightly blurry because I had positioned the camera in way where the phone was almost directly facing the sunlight, which resulted in a slightly blurry and bright photograph. However, when I had shifted my phone slightly on an angle towards the left, I found it was easier to get a more clear picture with the grass being in the foreground of the picture, my leg and foot in the middle ground, and the sun in the background. These elements within the photograph also created lines, which lead your eye from one point to another in photos.
When you are taking a photo, it is important to make straight lines in order to make your photograph both unique and interesting because it will be more appealing to your eye, than a photo that has no lines or shapes.
Lighting I found, was also very important. Using the flash in photos often leads to too much exposure which can wash out some colors to the objects in the picture. I learned this while taking my photos in the cave of the mounds (bottom three photographs). It was quite dark so I had to use the flash, as there is no natural light within the cave. I found that the exposure from the flash had an affect on the nearest objects in the photo, anything the light could touch without shadow had created a highlight. Sometimes this can work in your favor and pose as an interesting technique to the components within your photographs, however, when shooting something up close, it is best to work with natural light, as it works better visually.
With my photographs I began taking, I found that I was really into creating bright color values in my photographs. I was excited to shoot photos that I knew would have both line, and vibrant color with natural lighting. Getting into nature and exploring different locations was important in taking and finding places and scenes to photograph. I took all the things I had learned while shooting my first fifteen photographs and used it in my next series of shots.
When you are taking a photo, it is important to make straight lines in order to make your photograph both unique and interesting because it will be more appealing to your eye, than a photo that has no lines or shapes.
Lighting I found, was also very important. Using the flash in photos often leads to too much exposure which can wash out some colors to the objects in the picture. I learned this while taking my photos in the cave of the mounds (bottom three photographs). It was quite dark so I had to use the flash, as there is no natural light within the cave. I found that the exposure from the flash had an affect on the nearest objects in the photo, anything the light could touch without shadow had created a highlight. Sometimes this can work in your favor and pose as an interesting technique to the components within your photographs, however, when shooting something up close, it is best to work with natural light, as it works better visually.
With my photographs I began taking, I found that I was really into creating bright color values in my photographs. I was excited to shoot photos that I knew would have both line, and vibrant color with natural lighting. Getting into nature and exploring different locations was important in taking and finding places and scenes to photograph. I took all the things I had learned while shooting my first fifteen photographs and used it in my next series of shots.
Blue series
I wanted to do a blue series of photographs by experimenting with the color values, light and brightness, and contrasts while taking photographs. Before I would take the photograph I would adjust the lighting or how much brightness would be in my photograph by using the brightness bar on my phone. I have a Google Pixel 2, which has a great camera for smartphones. It offers high-dynamic-range imagining. Basically, what it does is it allows you to take better quality photos, and allows you to adjust things like color, saturation, warmth, contrasts, highlights, and overall lighting. It allowed me to capture these photographs and adjust the color on them to bring out the blue tones that were originally in the photographic, even if not noticeable. I made the photographs with a blue hue by decreasing the warmth in the photograph, increasing the deep blue, and slightly adjusting the saturation accordingly. I would then increase the color in order to make the blues really stand out and pop in the photo. I found that if I increased the lighting too much it would wash out the photo and make it less clean and clear, so I often decreased the lighting and brightness in the pictures to make sure they had the best quality possible.
I also wanted to try my best to include a foreground, background, and a middle ground in my photos to make them more appealing. The photograph for July 3rd at 12:21 pm features a book that is in the foreground of the frame, a tree that could be considered in the foreground but is mainly in the middle ground, and of course the forest in the background. I found that photos that had unclear elements of focus and line lead to an unappealing image. What I love about the photograph taken on July 3rd at 12:19 pm is that there is movement in the photograph, due to the page of the book flipping. This makes it lively and interesting to the viewer. Overall, I am happy with the way the blue series had turned out. I wanted to have it inspired by Picasso's blue period since that is one of the focuses of my comparative study.
I also wanted to try my best to include a foreground, background, and a middle ground in my photos to make them more appealing. The photograph for July 3rd at 12:21 pm features a book that is in the foreground of the frame, a tree that could be considered in the foreground but is mainly in the middle ground, and of course the forest in the background. I found that photos that had unclear elements of focus and line lead to an unappealing image. What I love about the photograph taken on July 3rd at 12:19 pm is that there is movement in the photograph, due to the page of the book flipping. This makes it lively and interesting to the viewer. Overall, I am happy with the way the blue series had turned out. I wanted to have it inspired by Picasso's blue period since that is one of the focuses of my comparative study.
People and Places
I chose to photograph people interacting with one another, and to photograph portrait shots. I really liked the way Chuck Close had captured interesting photographs by taking shots of people that weren't traditional necessarily. He caught people off-guard and took 'ugly' photographs of his subjects for his pieces. The photos taken on June 10th were inspired by Chuck Close. The photo taken at 8:02 pm and 8:04 pm were the best in my opinion. I wanted to make sure the pictures had good lighting so we went around the time that the sun was going down, so that it would give the appearance of that 'golden' appearance. I tried experimenting with depth and focus in the series of photographs, as well as lighting. I found that the best lighting for photographs was either really early in the morning or during sunset usually towards dusk. The photos taken on June 26th were one of my favorites. I really tried to get the correct highlights and shadows in the photo as well as contrast in order to make it appear as if its an aged photo. The black and white really give the photo an old fashioned feel. In the photo, my grandparents are in the foreground, the end of the road is in the middle ground and the sky is the background. Overall, I am happy with the turnout of this series and I experimented a lot with the different techniques and lighting of photography.
Miscellaneous
Close to all of these photographs don't necessarily follow any common themes, and the ones that do aren't quite strong enough to be a series of photographs on their own. Some of the photos do have things in common, like placement of objects in abnormal places. The photo taken on July 28th is an example that fits that description. The various coins were placed based on the square pattern on the stone table. Another example would be the photos taken of the chair on July 25th. I felt it would be an unusual photo to have a chair simply placed in the setting of a field or park. It seems out of place and makes the viewer curious as to why a chair is there. The photograph could have multiple meanings based on the perspective of the viewer. It could give off the feeling of isolation or loneliness because the chair is the odd object placed in a setting where it does not belong.
The photos taken on July 29th of the sunflower was one of my favorite photographs I shot. I love how the light hits the sunflower's pedals and how it illuminates the flower because of the light coming through from the window. The sunflower I had used was almost dead and the pedals were dried up, which I thought would make an interesting photo. I also like the lines from the window in the background that form shapes. The photos taken on June 21st and July 24th were experimentation with condensation and water, as well as light in each of the photos. I was curious to see how well my phone could pick up imprints of my hand from the steam and condensation from the shower. Overall, I tried to darken some of the photograph and use the highest quality HDR in order to have the imprint be seen. I had taken the flame photos at the bottom because I wanted to see how the flame moved, and how well it could be captured on the camera of my phone. When you have a brighter object of light in the focus of your camera, it darkens the background of the photo, and since it was dark outside, it nearly turned the background black. I liked the affect it had to the background because it gave the main focus to the flame itself, rather than have a busy background that distracts the viewer.
The photos taken on July 29th of the sunflower was one of my favorite photographs I shot. I love how the light hits the sunflower's pedals and how it illuminates the flower because of the light coming through from the window. The sunflower I had used was almost dead and the pedals were dried up, which I thought would make an interesting photo. I also like the lines from the window in the background that form shapes. The photos taken on June 21st and July 24th were experimentation with condensation and water, as well as light in each of the photos. I was curious to see how well my phone could pick up imprints of my hand from the steam and condensation from the shower. Overall, I tried to darken some of the photograph and use the highest quality HDR in order to have the imprint be seen. I had taken the flame photos at the bottom because I wanted to see how the flame moved, and how well it could be captured on the camera of my phone. When you have a brighter object of light in the focus of your camera, it darkens the background of the photo, and since it was dark outside, it nearly turned the background black. I liked the affect it had to the background because it gave the main focus to the flame itself, rather than have a busy background that distracts the viewer.
The Bacon Series
Francis Bacon was an inspiration for this series of photos. I am researching Francis Bacon for my comparative study and found that he often used gore and pigs in some of his paintings. He would look at photographs of butchered pigs and other animals for some of his paintings. Bacon was used to this, as he grew up on a farm, relatively around lots of farm animals, and was used to it, unlike those who grew up in an urban setting. I found that although some may find the photos disturbing or disgusting, there is an appreciation for some of the beauty captured in the photographs. The organs especially are my favorite photographs because of how unique each one is in shape, size, and color. My favorite photograph from this series is the one photographed at 5:21 pm. It is the inside of the pig, showing the ribs, spine, and half the heart. I was excited to photograph these photos because not a lot of photographers that are well known have done this before, partly because it is gory and disturbing to some, however I thought that it would be great inspiration from Bacon since he loved to push boundaries and paint things in a light that he saw best, no matter how gory others perceived it as, which made him a uniquely talented artist.
Paintings
Exhibition Text
I was inspired by the acrylic print by Pedro Tapa called 'choose your own path' in order to create my pieces detailed designs surrounding the female figure in order to relate to humans relationships with the earth and the environment, and how connected we become when we are aware of our intertwining relationship with the Earth.
Exhibition Text
In this piece, I was inspired by Jo Van Hattem Koster's 'Portrait of a bearded man smoking a pipe'. I wanted to use the photograph taken on August 4th as the subject for my photo in order to expand the abstract technique Koster often used in his pieces in order to create this acrylic painting. Jo (van Hattem) KosterJo (van Hattem) KosterJo (van Hattem) KosterJo (van Hattem) KosterJo (van Hattem) Koster