Artist Statement

This is my Digital Photography Portfolio for my first semester of the course. We have done many different projects that furthermore sharpen our art skills. Most of these photos express who I am and I think I’ve done well on them.

I feel very confident in my work. I can really tell I’ve gotten better as the class went on but overall I really like my work. I have learned so many new things in this class. From compositional tricks to Photoshop editing, my newfound technical skills are incredibly useful. The quality of my photos has improved dramatically because of this course. I feel I’ve been most successful with my latest work on the lyrics. It was an interesting project and after being photoshopped, it turned out pretty cool. My creative ideas have improved as well. I now know what specifically makes up a good picture. I struggled with choosing just one idea for each project because I had so many that I wanted to do. It’s hard to put together a photo with every aspect of your idea when it can be expressed in many different ways. I’ve definitely seen improvement in my Photoshop skills. I used to have to refer back to my packet but now I have memorized most of the tools.

Digital Photography this semester has really opened my eyes to what can be done with a camera. You can capture not only moments but then turn them into art. If you have a head full of ideas and you know what you’re doing, there’s not telling what you can come up with.

Lyrics

The lyrics I chose for this project are, “When You Were Young” by The Killers. “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman…sometimes you close your eyes and see the place where you used to live…we’re burning down the highway skyline on the back of a hurricane that started turning when you were young” I chose these lyrics because they sort of connect with my daily life. It’s hard to find a song that spot on relates to your existence. I chose them mostly because I think they depict someone looking back on their life and appreciating what they are doing now. It makes me feel pretty cool knowing I can relate.

Social Issue

My social issue is titled, "Lies Seduce You". My piece is supposed to convey how someone in my life seduced me with her lies, which I believe happens too often. Women have the ability to draw men closer to them with lies that most men are too naive to see. This picture expresses what is really going on when I am showing true affection.
I chose this statement because I could relate to it and it happens on a regular basis. My photo showed an accurate depiction of what really goes on and the statement is just the cherry on the sundae. It perfectly explains what can happen to anyone.

Haunted Chavez

This project was called Haunted Chavez. We had to choose and area on campus and transform it into a place of horror. It needed to include ghosts, zombies, and yourself. At first I was going to use a different room but then this one turned out much better. The darkening of the picture was the harder part for me, but I asked for help and figured it out. I think I did well on the zombie. It was an overall fun project, I just wish I had more time.

Critique: Parkeharrison's "Guardian"

This photograph includes a man crouched in a bird-like position with his arms spread out. He looks contemplative as he looks down. Twigs and sticks formed into wings are attached to his arms. He is standing on two tall, thin sticks which are on top of a stump. This position seems to lift him into the air. The ground is filled with dirt and broken brushwood. The soil also contains dark browns and blacks all against a beige, distressed background. The two tall sticks lead you into the photo and he being in the middle attracts your eyes; he is the emphasis.
I think it portrays how we all want to break free from the torn, dark, distraught, troubled earth. He is trying to break free and fly from where he is. I like the photograph because he is showing what we all want to do and what we all are capable of.

Scary Expressions

When I look at this picture it makes me think of the monster's we all contain. The inner cruelty we all share. The internal being, which we all can be sometimes, is on my external appearance.

When I look at this picture it makes me think of how ugly I look. The zombie look doesn't work well with me. It is definitely scary and disturbing. I enjoyed creating something out of the ordinary, though. Its cool to make something crazy every once in a while.

When I look at this picture it makes me think of a movie. I picture myself jumping away and being horrifically surprised to see the ghosts. I liked this project for the simple fact that we were able to portray an emotion in our art.

The Scream - My Interpretation

My interpretation of “The Scream” is the painting has a simple meaning. A man is screaming because of the surroundings. The world is full of intensity and different sights that aren’t always attractive. The surroundings are full of brilliant colors with wavy brush strokes that give off a sense of melancholy and despair. I believe that man is screaming because he is alone on a bridge in the middle of this extreme environment.

Creative Me

This project was an opportunity for us to put the tools we have learned to use. We were to take one of our portraits, and change it creatively using the following: selection tools, layers, adjustment layers, layer styles, blending options, paint brushes and opacity.

I like how the black and white clash with the bright colors we had to use. I like how the magnetic lasso works perfectly with selecting objects. I am pretty confident with my Photoshop skills so far.

Self Portraits

For our Self-Portrait project we were to take three self-portraits. They were all to be in black and white, and they were all to capture a mood of some sort. We were also challenged to be as artistic as possible, and stay as far away from normal, cliche portraits that we see on personal pages etc. as possible.One had to use the rule of thirds as the base for the composition; One had to incorporate leading lines, and one had to be taken from a more extreme angle.

The process included us photographing something that expresses who we are, yet use the compositional tricks. It was difficult to mix the two but I think they were successful. I like my extreme angle photo the best but I should have worn something different. Overall I liked this project because it was more of our own.

Contact Sheet

I feel that my contact sheet turned out to be more than what I expected. I feel every picture is expressed in the best way it should. I think that if I had arranged the pictures in more ways, I might have found something that looked better. The macro pictures turned out the best in my opinion; the macro trick is my favorite to use.

Compositional Trick #5: Crop

Cropping is a trick that photographers do all the time, even if they don't realize it. Every time a photographer chooses to cut something out of his/her frame, before they snap the photo, that is in essence cropping. We also have learned tools on Photoshop that allow us to crop an image after we have taken it. When cropping in Photoshop it is possible to improve our composition or change it completely.

My original photo had the pencil in the center of the photograph and now that it is cropped it makes the picture look better. It looks better because its off-centered and the lines lead you differently. I cropped half of the left side off and I made the edges smaller.

Compositional Trick #4: Extreme Angles

I had to sit on the floor under the rope near the JROTC room to take this photograph. I like that it seems semi-symmetrical with the two poles and the rope in the middle. I think that extreme angle pictures are cool because they show you a different perspective of what you would see from an everyday angle. I chose to do this because it seemed different.

Compositional Trick #3: Macro

The Macro function on the camera focuses and magnifies on any object of your choice. Depth of field is how close of far your focused ofject if. A deep depth is focused background, and shallow depth is something close focused. Macro would be the compositional trick of choice because it makes your photo interesting in the sense that the viewer knows what to look at. I like both of my pictures because they both show their intended purposes very well.

Compositional Trick #2: Leading Lines

Leading lines are special additions to a photograph that make it more visually pleasing. They can lead you into the photo, guide your eyes through the photo, and lead you into the emphasis.

Compositional Trick #1: Rule of Thirds

Rule of thirds is the guide in off-center placement of your object. It can make your picture more interesting. I used it to place the apple core more to the left off the picture, rather than in the center.