Photo Diary: Jan 9th - Jan 15th, 2024
January 9th: My daily view
My daily view was taken on my way home from school during a late night after class. This shot represents rule of thirds due to the man standing looking at his phone. I used the grid aspect on my phone to ensure he would really be on the line. In the original photo, his bag is very bright, and although it could have been pretty in colour, I tested how it would look in black & white and preferred it that way. I decided to capture and use this photo because this is where I am almost everyday going to school and back home. I constantly see new faces and sometimes old ones which can be refreshing. The black & white also seems to represents the time of night at which this was taken.
January 10th: Childhood
Childhood is a photo of a mask I've had in my room since I was a little girl. It was taken to represent texture for three different reasons. The first reason is because of the ribbon and flower. You can see the texture on it, you can see all the little threads and bumps ; I thought it was fascinating to capture. The second reason is because of the glitter. Everyone knows what glitter feels like and you can see it and imagine how it feels in this picture. The last reason this represents texture is because of the mask itself. It's a ceramic mask and most people can either imagine or remember what that feels like. I tried finding something that represented me, and the moment I looked at the mask hanging in my room, I knew I wanted to capture its beauty. The way I angled the camera makes the mask look like its laying down on a table, but in reality it was still hanging on my wall; I simply placed my phone at a lower angle and tried making it as pretty as possible.
January 11th: The little things
The little things was taken on campus while doing homework with some friends. We were sitting talking about this assignment and what kind of photos we had all taken so far for this project. I was looking around me to find a good picture for this day and saw the janitor sign. This photo represents negative space because of the simple wall surrounding the sign. From a distance, the sign is very small, but from up close for a picture, the sign is enlarged. I probably pass signs like this one at least twenty times everyday but don't pay attention. They may be everywhere in the school, but not many people including me notice them considering their size, minimal colours, logos and titles.
January 12th: Lit-any
Lit-any was taken to represent repetition. Litany or (lit-any as I wrote it) is a term for repetitive series. I thought writing it lit-any would be funny considering I photographed light bulbs... lit... anyways... This to me, represents repetition because of the series of lightbulbs shown. I tired angling my phone to avoid certain posts on the light and to try getting a cooler angle than always having my phone straight on taking pictures. I think the minimal editing done enhances this photo because of the colour I transformed the bulbs into. They look more vibrant while also being dark, I find they add a sort of contrast look to the photo as well. This photo was taken at my boyfriend's house, which is a home I spend lots of time at and always feel welcome.
January 13th: Christmas spirit
Christmas spirit was shot to represent symmetry and the fact that my family and I still have not taken down the Christmas decorations. When I saw this before leaving my house, I automatically thought of symmetry and how similar they look to one another. I used the grid like in my rule of thirds photo to try making this as even as possible, and cropped to make the boarders of the doors even as well. When editing, I tried going for a lighter look by not lowering the exposure and lighting as I normally do with my photos. I wanted to try something a little different especially since this photo is more upbeat than not.
January 14th: Rudolph
Rudolph was taken for the compositional element of contrast. Since we still have our Christmas decorations out, I used a small matte ornament and put it in a flat surface of snow in my backyard. I chose a matte ornament because I knew you would see my reflection less than if I took a shiny ornament. I decided to name this photograph Rudolph because to me, the red ornament makes me think of Rudolph buried in the snow with his nose sticking out. I find that cute and funny. For the editing of this photo, I again tried making it lighter than dark to fit the "aesthetic" of the picture. This might be one of my favourite photos from this project, simply for the creativity I had since I normally wouldn't think of putting an ornament in snow to get contrast.
January 15th: Sweet mornings
Sweet mornings, was taken to show depth of field and the sweet morning I had today. I got to spend some time with one of my friends before class since we got to school and hour and a half early... We got breakfast and went to sit in the cafeteria to do a bit of homework and make sure we weren't forgetting anything. I realized our drinkers were very different (she had a iced caramel coffee drink and I had chocolate milk), which made me think about using those for depth while having my computer in the background as the third piece for the picture. I turned my phone upside-down so my cameras were right above the table to get a better angle of it all and make the drinks look bigger than they really are.
Challenges, achievements, learnings:
During the Christmas break, I took many photos of my vacation while thinking about what I've learned in this program so far to make the photos I take as clean as possible. With that being said, this assignment was really fun because it made me open my eyes more to see everything as a photo, but also see only certain things working with compositional elements. I had fun being creative and trying to show parts of my life. Certain moments were harder to be creative than others while shooting, or looking for potential shots. Another thing I struggled with was coming up with titles for this posting. I asked a family member for their help to try and get an outside perspective. Finding the right items and moment for the photos were also sometimes a struggle. The photos taken at home were easier than the ones at school, or on my way home because those were really in the moment" photos. Other than the challenges I faced, I believe my photos came out beautifully and respecting of the compositional elements chosen. While editing, I also decided to crop all photos to 1:1 to make everything even and cleaner.
