Which
project do you consider your most successful? How did you develop your craft
with this assignment? What tools, methods and materials were essential to your
success with this project? What ideas, feelings or meanings did you want your
piece to express? How did you go about expressing it?
My most
successful project was my "A Room of One's Own" project, where I made
a book called "Through the Dark." I developed my craft by beginning
by being inspired. I went outside to
take pictures one night not even thinking about this project, but because I
wanted to. I take my best photographs
when I am taking pictures of something that I like, and I want to be
there. I develop better photos when I am
taking photos for myself rather than a specific project, but in this case,
these two aspects overlapped. The timing
that I took photographs was essential for my success with this project. A few days during time were very foggy, so I
was unable to take photos of the nonexistent sunset. I wanted my piece to express the hope from
looking through the darkness. These photos
had a transcendental feel because I was surrounded by nature, and there was consistently
one central light. I expressed my
feelings by taking photos where the sun was hidden slightly behind a cloud, or
behind a mountain. Overall, this project
was the first project I found to be truly successful.
Which
project was the most challenging? Look at your brainstorming or original
intentions for this project. How does the final work(s) resemble your
preliminary sketches or plans? What changed? Why did you make the changes that
you did? What problems emerged in the creation of this project? How did you
solve the problems?
The most
challenging project was the high key and low key project. My final work was unable to achieve my hopes
of taking photos that demonstrated these concepts. My ideas of finding an area where I could
take a high key or low key photo did not work out, and it was very difficult to
find a location that suited my needs.
The inability to find a location that allowed for me to take high key
and low key photos was a problem that emerged in the creation of this
project. I solved this problem by
constantly trying to take photos in different places, whether it was inside my
house, outside my house, or at Branson.
Overall, I struggled with this project.
Please discuss
three new strengths you've discovered or deepened this year. One formal
strength (your ability to work with things like composition, balance, rhythm et
cetera), one technical or media-specific strength (working in a specific medium
or honing a specific skill) and one conceptual strength (your idea development
in the specific project).
One formal
strength I discovered was my ability to take a photo with good
composition. I love the concept of dividing
the frame into three sections, and explored with this concept throughout the “Exposure
triangle/shutter aperture,” “A Room of One’s Own,” “Off camera flash,” and “Mind
map” projects. One technical strength I
developed was in the dark room. I
learned how to look at a test strip I developed, and know how many seconds I
needed to add, if I needed a filter, and if I needed to change the
aperture. I loved being able to become
more independent in the dark room, and toward the end of the year I spent a lot
more time there. One conceptual strength
I developed was the ability to let go and take pictures of what I wanted toward
the end of the year. In the “Mind map”
project, I placed a bunch of random objects that are important to me in my map,
and the end result, although strange, is a work that I am proud of. In addition, I learned how to work with a
holga camera. The photos I took in
Chicago with the holga camera were my favorite photos I have taken this year because
I was able to let go thinking about shutter speed, aperture, and many of the
technical aspects, and simply click a button to take a picture with the
holga. Although this contradicts a lot
of what I have learned this year, I enjoyed taking pictures with simplicity.
