artist statement.

In my portfolio you will find photographs captured and creatively designed by me. I have used two very important techniques while creating my artwork in Mrs. Cook’s digital photography class which are Photoshop and just a camera. I have not really had the chance to do as much as I would have liked in photography class but what I have accomplished is worth every struggle that I’ve overcame while thinking of creative effects to add to photos. I feel very good about this portfolio because I’ve put a lot of time and effort into the work that is in it.

Over the course of the semester I have learned more about the tools and effects that I could use while creating a work of art. ;) I feel that I was most successful with the lyric assignment because I actually enjoyed doing this project. I liked this project because we were able to express ourselves through the lyrics we chose. I struggled the most with taking photo’s of the shoes because there was not an actual ideal way to make shoes look creative. This project in particular took a lot of patience and thinking because a shoe was such a random object. Out of all of the projects that I have completed over the semester this one was the hardest to me because it was hard to figure out a good picture for the certain elements. In the future I could improve by actually trying to capture a photo of the original big idea that I think of when the project is assigned, although it may be complicated. I have seen improvement in my Photoshop skills and my creativity based on this years portfolio and last years.

At the end of every assignment all of the stressing and the hard work were worth every second because my artwork came out very unique although I did not have a good time doing all of the assignments. I have learned more about transforming pictures and also giving them certain looks. I had a very great experience over the time period that I have been in Mrs. Cooks Digital Photography Class. I have learned how to make a boring picture look very interesting. This class was a success and I am proud to have taken it.

lyrics.

The lyrics I chose for this project are "Going Crazy" by Natalie Brown.

"Thats right baby I'm goin crazyI need to be your ladyI've been thinking latelyThat you and me, yes we can make itJust ride with me, roll with me I'm in love with you baby"

I chose these lyrics because the picture that I wanted to use reminded me of going crazy because I am pulling my hair. These lyrics mean alot to me because they relate to me and the way I feel about a boy that I have been with off and on for three years. These lyrics make me feel relieved because they are actually saying everything that I am feeling.

social issue.

My Social Issue is on high school relationships. This issue affects me because I am a senior in high school and I have been involved in relationships that I often thought would last forever. I also have friends who have been in relationships where they did actually love the other person but the relationships still don't last. Very few people are still with the person that they were dating in high school. In most cases couples leave high school with the ideal that everything will be like a fairytale which is so untrue.

High School relationships are far from reality although at some points you are forced with real decisions. Like me, in other peoples relationships couples think that they will be together forever which is not true. Forever is nonexistent and that's what most teens fail to realize. A relationship in high school is completely different in the real world which is why I chose the statement "til' graduation do us part" because most high school relationships end shortly after graduation or in college.

self portrait hw

This assignment was my favorite because I got the chance to take a picture of me that actually expresses me. I chose to have the picture captured with me behind the street sign because it made me feel as if I was trying to decide on which way to go. In life you can either go the right way or the wrong way but sometimes you actually dont know which way is right or which way is wrong. At the end of the day we all chose a way to go and as you can see im looking in the right direction which is the right way for me.

haunted chavez.

For this project we were assigned to take a picture including ourselves that was haunted but in the setting of Chavez. My initial idea was to be in the library hiding behind a bookshelf as a monster was approaching. By the end my original idea changed drastically because the library was not open the whole week that we were taking photos. I ended up having to come up with a completely new idea but it still turned out nice. The most difficult decision that I had to make was where exactly I would be in the photo. I faced some problems such as the sizes of each person in the picture looking unrealistic and also the lighting in the picture looking different from each picture. I solved these problems by changing the levels of each photo in the overall picture. I think I did well on making my characters and myself look very bloody. My overall thoughts on this project is that I did very well but I am sure that I could have came up with better ideas if there was a major time extension.

light hw

For homework we were assigned to capture a photo of light. I could have easily chosen to take a picture of something like a lightbulb or a lighted room but I chose to take a photograph of the sun rising behind houses in my neighborhood. This picture looks very natural to me because it is right next to palm trees and I did not change the levels very much. I like this photo because I can actually see it range from darkness by the palm trees to brightness where the sun is. I enjoyed doing this assignment because light is everywhere.

critique

In Parke Harrisons photograph of the Guardian there is a man who looks tied into a tree with no leaves or branches. This dead tree is very skinny but on a very wide tree trunk as if it has been sculpted. The sky in the background is very dark and gloomy and the ground beneath the tree is full of branches. As the man is looking down his facial expression shows a frustration. The lighting in the photograph gives off a look of death and loneliness. The title confuses me because when someone is referred to as a guardian the stereotypical idea that comes to mind is very bright and angelic which seems to be the complete opposite in this case. One who looks at the photo can easily interpret death by the dark colors and the dead tree. This is a very good piece of artwork and the effects used by the artist help you interpret the feelings that the character had.