"Three Times a Charm"
This photograph was taken during a session of Painting with Light photography. I used an extremely slow shutter speed in which the lens stayed open for an extended amount of time and had the camera set up on a tripod. This allowed me to move about in the photograph using only the light of my iPhone to illuminate my figure. I created the image of myself in three different places by holding the light to me, then covering it and moving to a different location, repeating this step every time. I used this skill in order to create an intense and eerie photograph that leaves viewers wondering the nature of the image. I chose to set up this photo head on and a bit farther away in order to give myself room to move about the frame so I would be in three different places. Using this photograph, I wanted to evoke confusion, curiosity, and apprehension.
"Perspective"
This image was part of the Shadows and Reflection unit this year. Taken in Allentown, Pennsylvania, I saw the lake and wanted to capture the reflection of the park around it in its surface. Using my phone, I crouched down near the ground and angled the camera so it would catch as much natural sunlight as possible and a small sliver of the ground in the shot. When I uploaded the photo however, I found that it had reversed itself by 180 degrees, flipping completely upside down. With the photo arranged this way, a sense of versatility was created. Now the image and its true form was a matter of perspective; what was sky and what was water? The reflection created a balance of colors and the branches of the willow tree coming up from the bottom of the photo use the rule of thirds.
"Against the Grain"
This photo is a close-up of a boardwalk in downtown Providence, RI, shot during the Providence Flea Market. I used this image in my Pattern and Texture assignment. The texture of the grain of wood was what I focused on, trying to capture the years of wear and tear that weather, water, and humans had on it. I used natural lighting to illuminate the boardwalk and lied across the boardwalk to capture it from the correct angle. A sense of depth was created, as the one board in particular came clearly into focus. Using a close-up in this scenario seemed the best option in order to capture the texture perfectly. With this image, I wanted to create an interesting point of view on an everyday object, in this case the boardwalk.
"Look"
I purchased this vintage camera at the Providence Flea Market the same day the picture above was taken. I used the camera for the Point of View project we completed in this class. I used all natural lighting and focused on the lens of the camera, in which one looks down into to see what is being photographed. A type of "frame within a frame" takes shape as the image of windows and the trees beyond them come into focus in the square lens of the vintage camera. Taking the photograph from this angle was important to the photo, as this way I captured the angles of the lens and the reflection in it. I wanted to use this image to ask the viewer to look a little closer and deeper at both the photograph and the world around them.
"Split Personality"
This photo is another of the few I chose for the Painting with Light unit. Much like the other photograph in my portfolio, I used a slow shutter speed and only the light of my iPhone to create the image. This time, I brought the tripod closer and instead angled the camera to face one of the wooden pillars. I then stood to one side of the pillar and held the light on the top half of my figure there. Then I covered the light and switched sides, peeking out from the other side and shining the light once again on the top half of my frame. With this image, I wanted to capture fear, uneasiness, and dread.
"Heavy Heart"
This portrait of my classmate Amy was taken during the Studio Portrait unit. Using the black background and a single light, I illuminated only one side of her face. I chose to photograph her from the shoulders up to show the shadow that the light created on the opposite side of her face. The black background is very important to this portrait, as it makes Amy the focal point of the photograph. With this image of Amy, I wanted to illicit the idea of her being deep in thought and leave the viewer wondering what's on her mind.