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| Something Round |
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| Indescribable |
These three abstract photos were all taken at school, and can be found at various locations throughout the campus. I will not disclose the identity of the objects to help foster the imagination of audiences. I chose to photograph objects with a multitude of lines because the lines create seemingly endless pathways for the eyes, bringing the eyes across, downwards, upwards, and around with no real ending destination. Concurrently, the lines also help to create no true origin in the picture so the eye does not begin at a certain point but rather, the eye begins wherever the viewer chooses to look. The multiple pathways coupled with a seemingly nonexistent origin and destination create the illusion of abstracted photos. One of my goals when shooting these objects was to show how ordinary, everyday objects could be transformed to be something totally different. I assuredly tell audiences, that these objects are regular, ordinary and plain. They are not special objects nor are they particularly interesting. This nature of being ordinary while having the ability to be complex makes the pictures all the more successful. I believe the last picture with the deep red hue is especially successful because no one can exactly tell what the object is unless the person is well acquainted with the school grounds.
PORTRAITS
portrait numero uno
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| Derek Ybanez |
Before commencing this photo shoot I had a brief interview with young Derek Ybanez so that I may be better acquainted with him. What I discovered was that he was not exactly fond of smiling and that's when I realized what I had to capture in this portrait. I had to capture a smile from him that was one of a kind. During this photo session I continually helped him relax until I was endlessly trying to entertain and humor him, and I was triumphant as he rewarded me with laughter and big beautiful smiles. Ybanez also had a special love for music so to help him become comfortable in the shoot and to help him open up more I asked him to listen to his iPod. Ultimately, I was trying to convey something not usuallys seen by the crowds. I wanted to show people something rare, something special and something beautiful.
portrait numero dos
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| Kellie Beck |
Meek, shy, gentle, amiable, quiet and softspoken are words that can be used to describe young Kellie Beck as I discovered from my relationship--dating back to the 7th grade--with her. Although Beck is shy and quiet she had the potential to also be energized and outgoing. Like the session with Derek Ybanez, I continually entertained her with jokes to be rewarded with loud and boisterous laughter--if I was lucky she even gave me snorts--and glimpses of pearly whites. The reason I was trying to make her laugh--and Ybanez as well--is because real laughter and smiles are some of the truest expressions of happiness and because I was trying to really bring out the burning souls of people. Despite Beck's bashful disposition, I was able to draw out a glimpse into her inner being which is all about smiles.
STUDENT CHOICE
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| Rare, Elusive |
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| Common, Conspicuous |
The young woman in these two photos is none other than Abigail Evans and there's a reason why the two photos have a contrasting difference: her smiles. In my short interview of this unique young woman, she explicitly told me it was hard for her to conjure real smiles when prompted to so I did my very best to make her laugh and I succeeded every time. On a deeper level, Evans has almost a bi-mind. This means that she has two sides to her but a person needs to observe her closely to realize this. She's tough and strong-willed while simultaneously possessing a very feminine side. In this photo shoot I tried to capture these two sides of Abigail Evans and I believe I am successful.
SELF PORTRAIT
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| Strong for You and Me |
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| Break Time |
These photos are self portraits of myself. In this photo shoot I'm wearing a white mask and I'm wearing a maroon formal button up shirt made in the Philippines called a barong. In my church, barongs are very elegant and formal and ultimately symbolize a man who recognizes the importance of and respects his duties and obligations. There is an organization in my church that consists of baptized youths between the ages of 12 and 17 unmarried and I am the upcoming president of the organization. As the president, one of my duties is to always appear strong and happy--even if I don't feel this way inside--for the sake of my fellow brethren so that I may help them to remain strong and happy. In a sense, I am the stronghold that must remain in tact at all times in order to protect what's inside. So I am the stronghold that protects my brethren. However, I am only human and at times I also experience sadness and suffer from the hardships of life. This is what the mask symbolizes, emotions deep inside that I cannot allow to come out so that my weakness doesn't affect those around me who I care for. In the second photo I am taking the mask off to show that there is a breaking point where I need to find release and at those times, I turn to God for strength and endurance. This picture is a success with the help of my peer Abigail Evans and my teacher Ms. Miles who understood what I wanted to convey with this photoshoot and gave me an approach.
COMMERCIAL
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| The Cookies from Down Under |
This is a photo of Australia's favorite cookies called Tim Tams, and a mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. The fabric underneath is a rich deep red embroidered with floral designs. I used a pure white serving plate to provide contrast for the cookies, and to balance the white mug. I used a deep red fabric to give the photo another level of warmth. I chose to shoot a food commercial photo on Tim Tams simply for the reason that they are very delicious and have the unsurprising ability to adorn people's faces with large satisfied smiles. For my final Senior Exhibition, I plan to produce a body of work consisting of numerous photos of desserts. This photo will be used in my exhibition. During depressing moments in life I truly believe dessert, or food in general, has the ability to provide people with a moment of happiness and bliss. I experience this bliss every time I am able to eat a package of Tim Tams and drink a sweet mug of hot cocoa, and I want to share what makes me happy with others to inspire them to find what makes them happy.
SELF STUDY 1
SELF STUDY 1
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| Vitamin D |
In this self study photo is Abigail Evans. I wanted to try my hand at fashion photography as another alternative of fashion photography. I shot this image with the intentions of establishing a lookbook.nu account for Abby. Lookbook.nu is a website full of numerous fashion images from various individuals across the globe. The pictures on lookbook.nu constitute mostly natural lighting and quirky poses. During this photo shoot I instructed Abigail to pose naturally to hopefully extract some dose of quirkiness. The individuals on lookbook.nu also dress peculiarly which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to use Abigail as my model. She has an equally peculiar style of dress that is easily identifiable with Abigail Evans.
SELF STUDY 2
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| Boots! |
This second self study image is a continuation of the first. Similar to the first, I asked Abigail to pose naturally to achieve some level of quirkiness. And again, her outfit for the day could easily be identified as Abigail Evans. At this point, I am able to observe that Abby loves to wear boots, blue or grey denim jeans, jackets and simple t-shirts. I tried to shoot her in a softer light than the previous photo shoot because the lighting condition for the first photo shoot was harsh and bright.
FINE ART IMAGE 1
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| Too Much Schoolwork. |
Her name is Lovica Warner and she's slumping backwards from the plethora of schoolwork assigned by her seven teachers. Her backpack is large and she's facing horizontally and parallel to the camera. My intentions for this photo was to show the adverseness of having too much schoolwork. Not only does it cause students to have bad posture but it also causes students to stress and lose valuable time which could be spent resting. I wanted to show the world that assigning too much homework could prove detrimental to the health of students. I also wanted to show that students are weighed down by schoolwork most of their young adult lives. If Lovica were assigned any more work, the backpack would snap her back backwards and paralyze her.
