Photo Diary: Jan 9-15, 2024
By: Mackenzie Garon
Recently, I took a photo every day for a week to capture interesting things while I was simply living my life. These things might go unnoticed by the casual passersby, but for me, I look at the world and see a whole canvas of opportunity to appreciate the inconspicuous aspects of life that fly under the radar and don't have their unique beauties fully observed and admired.
Winter (Not) Wonderland - January 9th
January 9th was when this project was started. When I left class, it was very snowy and cold, and there was a lot of wind blowing the snow in all directions, so I took a picture of the atmosphere during my short walk back to my dorm to emphasize how bad winter can get in Canada. Though the walk was short, it was awful, and you can see the conditions reflected in the picture with the hazy filter the wind and snow naturally created, as well as the people bundled up off to the side. The main challenge I faced with this photo was braving the weather conditions to take it.
I used rule of thirds as well as patterns here. There are people off to the side, and the bridge is more toward the top of the photo than the middle. The picnic tables create the pattern, and then those picnic tables transition into a pattern of street-lamps.
Overshadowed - January 10th
In this photo, I played around with shadows and leading lines. It has not been overly sunny lately, and I rarely see shadows when going out, so when I saw the shadows of the trees in the snow, I knew I had to use them for an interesting picture. I like the untouched snow creating a perfect place for the shadow of the tree to stretch undisturbed. Also, my shadow adds to the image and creates a scene. Along with the shadows on the ground, the sky is very dark and cloudy which gives the photo a mysterious, almost dramatic vibe.
Along with the use of shadows, I used leading lines and the rule of thirds in this image. The tree is off to the left side of the frame, and the straight line of the shadow leads your eye through the photo and brings your attention to the darkened sky. While taking this photo, I struggled with getting the right angle to capture the shadow to make it unique and intriguing, and also so that it would lead toward something rather than just being a boring line across the image.
Disoriented - January 11th
This is a photo of a shopping cart that has been flipped over, along with another cart beside it that remains upright. The upside down cart made for an intriguing subject matter, and I captured the moment. Seeing shopping carts out in the open like this is an odd thing to encounter, and it leaves one with some questions: how did they get here, who did it, and what were their motivations for taking the carts this far and simply abandoning them? There's a sense of mystery when you find something like this-- questions that will go unanswered. Living in the city, you see a lot of odd things that you might not be used to seeing, especially if you previously lived in a small town like myself, and these odd things are perfect for photographing.
For this photo, I applied the simple rule of thirds with the carts positioned on the left side of the frame. Additionally, there is a splash of contrast here; the yellow on the handle stands out due to its contrast against the dull neutral colours of everything else in the scene: the white snow, the grey cart and truck, the brown ground peeking out from under the snow. The yellow effectively draws the viewer's eye to the intended subject. While taking this photo, there was a bunch of people walking back and forth since it's at the entrance of College Square, so it was a challenge not to get anybody in the frame. Also, it was a challenge to capture it without people staring at me, considering the fact I was knelt down and pointing my phone at some random carts.
Framed Reflections - January 12th
creativeutilisedome high on the wall in one of the halls. I've always had my eye on that dome and have wanted to take a photo using it since I started the program. I think that this dome could be used for numerous creative shots, and in the one I got, I utilized the reflection of the ceiling and fluorescent lights to create a frame around the scene highlighted in the middle of the reflection. Additionally, the archway in the reflection frames the man walking behind me, and the lines on the floor frame all three people in the shot. The triple framing is one of my favourite things in this photo. Also, due to the angle, the wall serves as a way to lead your eyes up to the reflection.
I struggled to find the right angle for this shot. I tried multiple angles, but the results weren't up to my standards, so I had to experiment and take many photos before finally finding that sweet spot that a allowed for an intriguing image.
The Cookie is a Lie - January 13th
I took this photo while grabbing some necessities at the Dollar Store. I initially only went with a set plan, knowing exactly what aisles I wanted to go down, but as I was finding the aisles I needed to go down, I spotted this pattern of cookie jars in one of them, and even though I didn't need to go down that way, I saw the perfect photo opportunity and took it.
For this photo, I used patterns as well as depth of field to create an intriguing photo. Not only is there a pattern with the cookie graphic, but there's also a pattern with the lights being reflected off of the glass, as well as the holes in the shelf. Additionally, the farther away the jars are, the more blurred they become, effectively creating that sense of depth.
I would like to note that the jars were not set up this way before I took the photo-- some of them were turned in ways that ruined the pattern, and some were a bit more pushed in than others, so I encountered the challenge of messing around with them and setting up the scene without anybody catching me. Though I highly doubt I would have gotten in trouble for doing that, it was still nerve-racking as I didn't want to get questioned or disturb any customers that wanted to browse there. Haste was key for this photo.
Give Me a Sign - January 14th
For this photo, I wanted to get a bit more creative and use a composition method that is not common in my photographs: forced perspective. I love forced perspective photos, but seem to struggle when producing my own. However, as I was walking back from the store this day, I was letting my eyes wander a bit and suddenly had the idea to take a picture of me holding one of the street signs and making it look tiny. So, against the weather conditions, I went back out with a goal.
I faced multiple challenges while trying to shoot this image: the first being the aforementioned weather conditions, and focus. It was incredibly windy and cold this day, so much so that the sheer force of the wind was pushing me around slightly and making me sway where I stood. This made it difficult to keep the camera-- my phone, in this case-- steady. Additionally, since I was using my phone, I was struggling with getting both the sign and my hand in focus. It took many failed attempts, but eventually, I managed to capture this, which I am proud of.
College Life - January 15th
The photo I chose to wrap up the week is one featuring a student here at Algonquin walking across one of the many bridges we have here. Initially, I wanted to just capture a photo of the outside as the cars raced by, but then I spotted someone about to walk past and decided to try and capture them as they were passing by to give the photo a more natural feel. It was stressful to ensure I captured the moment at the right time, since this was not a staged shoot and it wouldn't have the same candid feel if I asked the person to keep on walking by until I got the perfect shot.
There are rule of thirds elements as well as leading lines in this photo. You could also argue that there is a bit of framing being employed as well. The person walking isn't perfectly in the middle of the frame, which helps add to that natural, candid feel. Additionally, the railing and the beams on the window provide lines that lead your eye to the subject walking. The triangular shape of the beams could also be seen as a frame for the subject.
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Though I've always looked at the world through a lens that most average people don't, this past week has really made me look for photo opportunities in everything. This project encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and take photos while there were people around that might stop and stare, and I've also learnt how to take pictures more effectively when they need to be captured quickly, such as a photo in a store.
My style of photography is heavily influenced by my desire to find beauty in the mundane, and emphasize that anything can be beautiful if you look at it through the right lens. Over the past seven days, I believe I have strengthened my style and my overall creative vision and have achieved a deeper understanding of what I want to say with my photographs. Through the various challenges I faced, I was able to overcome them, and my skills will only continue to improve from here.
