Reflection

Today was my last Monday class for my first semester. Overall, I enjoyed these past few months, but I am so glad to have a whole month off. I am proud of the work I put in especially in the digital photo one class. All of the projects were interesting and allowed me personally to explore what I liked to do most. When I first entered the program, I thought I wanted to be a strictly landscape/nature photographer. I still enjoy photographing that but now that I am at the end of the semester, I have found that I really enjoy portrait work. For my final project, my theme was environmental portraits. I contacted some of my friends and we went to various nature trails and beaches. I wanted to portray through my images of my subjects connecting with the environment around them. I am really pleased with the out come. It was everything I hoped it would be. I was thinking of continuing the project beyond just ten images. I am visiting my family in Tennessee over break, and all eight of my cousins plus the rest of my family will be there. So I was thinking I could use them to continue the project for my own personally enjoyment. However, I was also inspired by one of my professors today. In photography seminar, Professor Keener and Professor Cyr shared their career stories and their projects with the class. I was inspired by Professor Keener's work of documenting his parents. Even though he only showed two images of them, it caused me to hatch an idea. I was thinking maybe I could start a whole new project when I am in Tennessee and document my family. I feel that it will be even better since it is going to be a huge family reunion, and I can document the excitement. If all of this goes well, I will post the outcome. For now, here are some of my final project images as mentioned before.

Reaction Paper: Janelle Brooke

Yesterday in my photo seminar class, we had a visiting photographer named Janelle Brooke. She and her friend/assistant are mainly wedding photographers, but just recently got into the new born photography side of business as well. Her presentation was very professional with a sweet spark. I loved how genuine she was when she was expressing her joy for what she does. She expressed that through her introduction video, which is found on her website, and when she was presenting her work to the class. I also really enjoyed how thorough and informative she was when she was explaining her business methods. She showed how she did some of her edits, her pricing chart, and what services she offered. I also liked how she showcases her images for viewing. She uses this really cool company to make her picture books that contain her sample photographs. It was also really cool that she literally started out of her own dining room. She gave some really great advice that has inspired me to get started with a possible business of my own in the future. She said that even if you don't know where to get started, just get started. Even if it is something as small as starting a facebook business page, just start building a reputation. All in all, even though I don't necessarily aspire to become a wedding photographer, Janelle Brooke gave some really great advice and pointers regarding starting a business. I am really glad she came to speak. To conclude, her is a picture of hers that I find really sweet.

Embracing Our Differences

In photography seminar class, we were assigned a project with the theme, "Embracing Our Differences." The concept of it says it all in the title. As I was brainstorming, I wanted to stay away from the mainstream portrayals of this particular theme. In my opinion, when someone would hear "Embracing Our Differences," they would think of something along the lines of racial issues or sexual orientation issues. I came up with the thought of how everyone has different dreams and hopes for the future. I am not entirely sure how I will show that in an image, but I am determined to find a way. I do not want it to come of as too literal, but I want it to have a symbolic essence to it. I have attached some images in hopes to help me come up with some ideas.
(All credit goes to those that created these images. I, in no way shape or form, had anything to do with the creation or production of these images. I am simply posting them for brain storming purposes.)

Favorite Images

This week we are to chose some of our favorite images, print them out, and share them with the class. We are permitted to submit 6-50 of our favorite photographs. Of course, I am not going to attach 50 photographs. This assignment, I think, is to explore what we are as photographers personally. It's to see what we like to photograph the most, what our style is, and what themes we gravitate more towards. As Iv'e thought about what my style and themes were, I found that I enjoy natural elements. Whether it's nature itself, or people in their natural environment, using their natural faces. I find that I also really like colorfulness. A fellow student in my digital photography class pointed out that my midterm submissions were all very colorful. I was glad he mentioned that because then, I wasn't really sure what type of photographer I was. Here are some of the images that I am considering submitting, and that I am particularly proud of. I hope you will enjoy them as well.

Landscape Assignment

Last week my digital photography one class had a Landscape assignment due. These were my final prints that I chose to submit. Although the class didn't receive their grades yet, I feel pretty good about what I shot. I went to a local hiking trail to capture these images. As you can see in some of these photographs, there were some very interestingly shaped trees. I especially enjoyed that because I love to photograph trees. My favorite out of these four picture is the one with the two trees looking up. I like the perspective of the photograph and the colors of the leaves in the sunlight.

A Day in the Life

I recently got a new project in my Digital Photography 1 class. It's all about portraiture. My professor showed us some example images to give us an idea of what to photograph. He explained that we didn't have to just photograph the person head on. He said we could photograph different parts of the body and we could photograph the person from many different angles. This information was very useful to me when thinking about how I wanted to approach this project. I'm thinking I want to do a day in the life shoot with one of my friends. Basically what I would do is follow one of my friends wherever they go and photograph them doing their daily routine and/or tasks. I think this method of photographing would provide many interesting photographs because there would be a wide variety of angles and diversity in each photograph because each would be taken in a different place. I am excited to see how they turn out. I will post photographs in the next blog post.

Fail

So far, I have enjoyed my time at Suffolk. I like my classes, I am doing pretty well in all of my classes. All except for one. My digital materials and processes class is a massive struggle for me. It's not like the work is impossible, it's just that there is a lot of it. I feel as if my professor demands a little much from us, his projects are doable although he does not clearly express what he wants in our papers. A large amount of people in our class are in the same position as I am grade wise. I am literally dying! However, he's not so bad because after class he decided to give me a chance to get everything in because he seemed understanding that I had other classes to worry about. He said that if I give 110% from now on, I will be able to pass the class. Thankfully, I still have a chance and I have friends that can help me kick it in to gear.

My Friend Came Home

Today one of my close friends came home from a two week vacation in California. I was very excited to see her again because I missed hanging out with her and having her as a companion as I went out to shoot assignments. After class was dismissed, I went to run a few errands before I went to pick her up. When I arrived at her house, she let me in as they were eating an early dinner. She told me that she had something for me and handed me a plastic sleeve with a cute little turquoise bracelet inside. I was so happy because I had something for her too. It was a picture of her that I printed in my Digital Photo class right around the time we began printing. She was so excited and she showed the rest of her family members. Everyone else was thrilled as well. I presume that they will frame it and put it somewhere, but it is up to them. It felt nice to have done that. I enjoy giving people things. Here is the image I printed for her on my instagram page. It doesn't look exactly the same, as I did do some retouching before I printed it. But it is relatively the same picture.

Image (also self promo..):https://www.instagram.com/p/BKtdzXuDkMF/?taken-by=mels.photography__&hl=en

Shooting Spontaneity Project

Today, my friend and I went out to shoot a project for our digital photography class. We went out to Bayville after school and visited many of the beaches and parks in that area. The project required us to stick around various areas and basically observe what people were doing around us, and capture those moments. It's the idea of spontaneity. One of my favorite things that we shot was when we went to a beach when the sun was in the process of setting. People on the shore line turned into really nice silhouettes with this warm glow from the sun around them. I captured an image of a father with his son while he was pointing to something out in the water. In my opinion, the image gives a sense of closeness while observing and contemplating the bond between a father and a son. It's very heart warming. Another image I particularly enjoy is of a man playing ball with his dog on a dock. The man would throw the ball off the dock and into the water and his dog would go running after it into the water. The man would then follow suit, and they would swim back up together and do it again. This is also a heart warming image, seeing a man and his best friend spending some quality time together. After the sun had set, my friend and I decided to go into Huntington for some dinner and a coffee at Starbucks. We relaxed up until 9:30pm and then we went home. All in all, it was a very eventful day, and I am proud of what I captured. I look forward to going to that area again, as I was particularly fond of it.

Reaction Paper Two: Jim Lennon Studio Visit

Today My photography seminar class and I went to visit Jim Lennon's studio. I thought he was a very friendly individual who really explained what goes into keeping a studio very well. He had extensive knowledge in the business side of photography and provided many stories and experiences. However, I found myself become slightly intimidated. After leaving the studio, I began to ponder over whether photography is the profession for me. Of course I love photography, and I still want to do it know matter what, but I'm not sure if I would be capable of making a living out of it or turning it into a business. Maybe I'm too hard on myself or too cautious, but maybe not. In addition to the experience, I was expecting to see more of Jim's studio and how he does things rather than having him talk most of the time. I found myself getting restless from standing for so long, and a bit bored. All in all, the visit to Jim Lennon's studio was a good one because I got a lot of pointers out of it. It also gave me an inside look on what a real photography studio looks like and what it entails. Lastly, I also enjoyed browsing over his work that was tastefully hung around the studio.

Reaction Paper #1: Albert Maysles

A week ago, I watch a video in my photography seminar class regarding the photographer, Albert Maysles. Albert Maysles was a unique photographer in many ways. Firstly, I admired the fact that he used a regular point and shoot camera to photograph his subjects. This showed that he cared more about the people and their emotions rather than the quality of the photograph. I believe this made his photographs more real and personal. Second, I loved how friendly and out going he was with his subjects. He made them feel comfortable and good about themselves so that they were willing to have their pictures taken. I could also see the joy he had when he was photographing. He had started to take pictures at the young age of ten, and first started out by photographing his parents and other family members. Based on an interview, Albert stated that he had taken one of his early photographs of his brother sleeping. It displays a great deal of tranquility in my opinion, and gives the viewer a sense of peace. Furthermore, I also thought it was interesting that Albert had studied psychology prior to launching in the photography and film making field. The transition from psychology to photography seemed to be an advantage for him because he could get a sense of what the subject was feeling based on a gaze. This he has learned from his wife. His photography, I believe, is even better because it gets the viewer to think about what that particular subject is thinking or feeling. As stated before, it makes it more real and appealing. Unfortunately, Albert had passed away in May 2015. However, his work will continue to hopefully inspire others. He has surely inspired me.