Wednesday, June 11, 2014

End of the Year


  • What do you know now that you did not on February 1st?  
I learned how to use my camera better. When I got the camera for my 15th birthday, my dad told me he'd be willing to teach me. But we both got busy and I continued to take my photos with my old camera. It wasn't until this class that I really picked up my camera and got to know her. 

  • Which project is your best work? Why? 
 I think I liked my portraits and self portraits the best. They turned out just how I wanted them to and I was able to work with black and white, which I love. It was a lot of fun to work with my friends to make art that I'm actually good at for once. I loved to make my own self portraits because it gave my a chance to express myself free of judgement from the others around me.
  • What type of photography and processes are your favorite? Why?
I enjoyed working with black and white photos the most because I feel like it expresses something in this world that color just can't. It makes me feel new. I loved to take portraits and nature photos. With portraits, I could capture how everyone else around me was feeling and make it known to others. I could take already beautiful people, and make them prettier. With nature, I was able to capture things that are hard to see with the naked eye, like a bug flying by the flowers or water droplets on the petals. It made me feel like the world wasn't all technology and people, like there was something much simpler.  


  • What did you learn about yourself? 
I learned that I love photography! It makes me happier inside and out. I can express myself like everyone else does but with art. It has helped me to see the world differently and to look at everything as if I was seeing it through a lens. I don't just have to dance it all out anymore, I can practice perfecting something that not only I'm proud of, but also what makes my dad proud of me. I can see just how happy he is when I take a good picture. 

  •  What were your challenges this semester? 
It was really hard at first to become creative but over time, it got easier and easier. 

Self Portrait Final Project

This photo represents a little bit of each person I've become 
during my high school experience. There's the me I've always been 
who spends her time reading books. There's the me who watches television
because I have nothing else to do and no one will try to tell me it's wrong.
 There's the me who is super awkward and feels alone in the world 
some times and would choose Hank Green over normal people. 
There's the me who isn't afraid to be herself and will gladly lay 
on the table for the perfect photo. There's the me who wears sun glasses
because I'm "too cool for school" as my father would say. There's the me 
who chooses to cosplay to express who I am within, not on the outside.
And then there's my dog who I am slowly becoming because I like to lay
on the floor and sleep for hours with her and the cat (more importantly,
she refused to leave so she's in all the pictures). 

 This photo represents feeling alone in a world where everyone
is exactly the same. You try to break free but there is no escape
from who they want you to be. This causes you to really think
about who you want to become in life. Everyone expects so much
 out of you and thus you break down and go into solitaire to think
about what you want, not what they say you want. If you always
listen to what others want for you, how can you become yourself?

This represents being the only lively and colorful thing in a world 
of black and white. My colors may just be white and red, not that
you can actually see that my eyes are red, but my colors are still
far brighter then all the other surrounding me. This is because
I'm not afraid to be myself and express the goofy side of me. I may 
be extremely shy, but once I find something that makes me happy, 
I don't care what others have to say about me and how I'm acting.
Lots of cars may have driven slowly past me so they could stare
at the small child with the white hair and reds, but I just smile
and nod my head. They don't bother me, not anymore. 

This represents breaking free from the dark times and letting
your true colors shine, even when it feels impossible.

Two girls fight for their spot in the spotlight or in this case, a
bathroom mirror as they get ready for school. Too often do we
shove others aside to get our own turn in being the best. If
everyone took the time to share, we could all be better friends.


 They say that if you go out more, you'll make friends. My
whole life I've been told, "Good job you made one friend, how
about we go out and make some more. You can never have too
many friends". While this may be true for some, it is not for me.
I'm happy with one or two close friends that I can trust and
depend on. Sometimes my closest friend may be my cat, but
she makes me happy and won't leave me when she finds
someone better. I'll always be the one and only person out
there for her and that's all I need at the end of the day.

 Being left out of the world you feel you belong in, sucks. But
what if you never really belonged? What if your whole life,
you've been waiting for someone to show up at your door
to whisk you away on a thousand adventures? You'd visit far
away galaxies and learn new languages. You'd no longer reach
for the stars, you'd be touching them. And for a thousand years,
you'd feel as if nothing else mattered but traveling the stars.

In an attempt to reenact one of my favorite movie scenes, I 
realized something about my life. 

A young child is locked out of everything that comforts them. 
Does this change that child? Do they feel lost amongst the stars
for the rest of their life and feel as if no one can ever really 
understand them?