Statement of Style

My Artistic Statement:
I am from a small town in Missouri but am aware that a much larger world exists beyond these borders. I do not let my small town morals and opinions hinder me from searching for something better and different. Thus said, I believe that I have a great appreciation for both the simple and abstract things in life, and if forced to choose I would prefer the simple. I enjoy both color and black and white photos and I do not think that I have any sort of 'genre' to my style, it is rather random. Basically, I like all things beautiful and to sum it up that is what I strive for in all aspects of my work.

Just tried to spice this up a bit. I could see this photo angering most critiques... but I like it.


This is one of the photos used for my final project. My final project is a collage of black and white images of my family members and will be glued to a canvas. This particular picture is of my niece, Lillianne. I manipulated the color but did not make it black and white. This particular photo has more of an antique feel, rather than plain and simple black and white. I feel as if it goes well with the colors in the photo as well as the demeanor on her face.

Lighting

This photo was taken without a flash in natural lighting. My intention was contrast and shadow.

This photo was taken without a flash in natural lighting and then converted to a sepia/ almost black and white. I blurred the edges of the photo to make more of an abstract piece as opposed to a standard photo frame.

Denise McGill = "Priceless Souls"

Denise is a very interesting photographer with a wide array of passion. She has accomplished many feats and brings attention to some very admirable causes, such as autism and suffering third-world countries. In this photo she captures the inner beauty of an autistic child. Autism can be a very lonely and hurtful disorder that many do not know much about. I like this photo because of the contrast between the dark and light. It is almost as if I get a feeling of a light at the end of the tunnel as the light comes through the window. Also, the juxtaposition of the boy's body, his arms spread out and open, makes me feel as if he is or yearns to be freed. The background materials make me think of intelligence, which most people think autistic people lack, when really most of them are very skilled, talented, or knowledgeable beyond the average person in at least one way.

Citizen Jane Film Festival

This is the most recently edited photograph. I enhanced the levels of red, increased the levels of black, took some of the grey out, and adjusted the lightness. I think that this photo may be the best of the three, though I am still wondering how I can make it perfect. I love how she, her daughter, and her installation are the bright, focused objects in the picture and the background acts as such through it's darkness. She looks eccentric and alive.


This photo was the outcome of the first trial/error photoshop session. I greatly enhanced the black and especially the blue levels, almost too much of the blue. I think it is good for an abstract approach but not really for a portrait.

This is my raw, unedited photo for Micaela's portrait.



This photo was taken at the Citizen Jane Film Festival. This was the film/art installation portion of the festival and I photographed filmmaker and artist Micaela O'Herlihy and her lovely daughter. In the left portion of the photo is her creation which is a film creation that she used 16 m.m. film for and was processed completely by hand. Her intention is to stay as far away from laboratory and technological approaches as possible.

Event - Concert

... This was my weak attempt at photographing an event for practice.

Photo Using Aperature and Shutter Speed

With this photo I tried to create more harmony within the photo. I intensified some of the color while softening the contrast between the leaves and the white from the intense lighting. I'm not sure what I should do next but I think I will play with this one a bit more- even though there is not much to alter.

First, unedited photo.

This assignment was difficult! We felt like we were thrown into a raging sea with all of the unfamiliar manual control buttons! Honestly, since this was kind of an experimental thing, I do not consider this photo of the highest quality, but I do like it. I love the sun and it's angelic tone.