Final Reflection

One of the most memorable experiences of Photo III was when I created my first big black and white print. I was planning on putting a black and white print taken at Grand Central Station in the Clayton's Art Show, so I got to use the big, fancy, delicate printing paper. I was super careful during the entire printing process, making sure my hands were completely dry and I didn't dent the paper while transporting it. When the print was finally done, I was proud of the work that I had done. Seeing my print blown up so much larger than I had ever seen it before got me really excited to continue my work in the darkroom and inspired me to make more large prints!

Another memorable experience of Photo III for me was going to the Capa in Color exhibit at the International Center of Photography in New York City. The exhibit was showing the work of photographer Robert Capa. Capa is widely known as a black and white photographer, but began working with color film in 1941. His photographs were absolutely striking. The colors were incredibly vibrant and stood out to me as the highlights of the photographs. This inspired me to begin to play with colors in my own photography, though not my film photographs. I used tools on iPhoto to adjust the colors in my digital photographs, especially those that I took in New York City.

Lobstering

The whipping wind
and
my hair do not get along.
Nor
do my nostrils
with the stench of
fermenting
bait.

The whaler sloshes
up to the buoy and he reaches
out to grab
it. Wondering
what
he will discover
when
it finally reaches the deck.

Salty hands
and
salty boat
and
salty sea.

Clayton's Art Exhibit

"Brooklyn Bridge"

"Jump"

"Grand Central Bustle"

Having my work on display at the art exhibit at Clayton's was a new experience for me as I have never before  been involved in an art exhibit. From this experience, I learned about the process of putting on a successful exhibit. The most important thing I learned from my participation in the Clayton's art exhibit is that the pieces cannot just be thrown up on the walls; instead, they have to be strategically placed in a way that allows them to compliment each other. I didn't realize how much work it would take just to organize the pieces in an eye-pleasing manner. My biggest challenge relating to the art exhibit was definitely picking which of my photographs to hang. Of all the hundreds of photos I have taken this year, picking just two was quite difficult. I kept in mind that my work would be hanging alongside everyone else's, so I tried to pick the photographs that I thought would be original and unique to me. I didn't want to choose photos of popular subject matters that would look similar to other people's work, because too much similarity would take away from the exhibit as a whole.

North Carolina

The cool breeze whispers
through my hair,
somehow sweet
and salty at the same time.

My eyes focus
on the fiery orb,
then on the reed,
letting the setting sun
melt into the horizon.

The subtle click
of the camera
punctures
the peaceful silence.

Self-Portraits

Sun shining,
Leaves flying,
Hair swaying.

Sleeves bunching,
Eyes staring,
Toes pointing.

Up in the air,

Frozen in movement,

Frozen in time.

Darkroom

        

I have spent the past few weeks working in the darkroom. So far, I have successfully printed three photographs. I began by processing, drying, and cutting my film. I then printed contact sheets for all of my film. Finally, I picked the photographs with the best exposure and composition to print.

Since it had been a while since the last time I worked in the darkroom (in Photo II), I had to briefly review the developing process. Over the past few weeks, I have learned that if my initial timed test strip (from 5 seconds to 25 seconds) does not produce any acceptable exposures, I should change the F-Stop on the enlarger. I have also learned to "burn" parts of my photograph that are too light by placing my hands under the light to cover the part of the photograph that is dark enough.

My goal for the next few weeks is to print at least three still-life photographs. I also hope to become more efficient at the whole developing process so that I can print my photographs more quickly. Finally, I hope to become better at judging my test strips so that I can minimize the amount of test strips that I have to print.

Portraits

While doing this assignment, I felt like such a professional photographer; I had time slots booked for a bunch of different models. I used a portrait lens and a very low f-stop (1.8, mostly) to create the blurred background effect that makes the subject's face stand out as the focus of the photo. I tried to not just photograph classic, smiling faces. Instead, my goal was to capture emotion through varying facial expressions.