Eyes of a Child
Have you ever considered the possibility of other worlds within our own? Children often believe there is so much more than meets the eye. This photography series explores what could be, and the importance of harnessing your imagination like you did in your childhood. Eyes of a Child is a project consisting of photographs and illustrations. All photographs were illustrated using Adobe Illustrator.
The purpose of my project is to create discussion around childhood imagination and how it is often lost as we mature. For my project, I focused on taking photographs in mundane places and challenged myself to see beyond what objects are and discover what they could be. Media such as Spirited Away and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends inspired me to fabricate this new world that blends into our reality and makes us appreciate the way creativity can make even the dullest aspects of our world “sparkle”. With this project, I hope to influence others to keep their imagination alive and connect to their childhood.
Underneath It All
This gallery focuses on invisibility and mental health. Some people can seem the happiest, yet they have so much going on below the surface. Many people often feel alone with their thoughts and feel that they cannot talk about their emotions. The hiding of the face portrays that we never truly know what is going on inside someone's head whether they are our best friend or some stranger.
The pictures are mostly taken at night with no other people in the frame to emphasize the loneliness that can come with mental health and the feeling that no one can understand what you are going through. This project is really important to me because I really struggle with my mental health a lot, and I wanted to portray how hard it is to suffer in silence. For those struggling with mental health, I want them to know that it is okay to ask for help because not everyone can see past a smile; sometimes you need to reach out for people to truly see what you are going through.
Portraits
In this gallery I am exploring the value of portraits and the element of lighting. Portraits are used to capture the essence of who a person is, so I made an attempt to really capture my subjects and the relationships we hold with each other. I really enjoyed this project and hope others enjoy this piece as well!
Evidence of Humans
When discussing humans, I feel that mother nature is an extremely important topic to bring up, since the planet was here long before any humans were. For this shoot I decided to focus on the effects humans have on nature and the evidence that will be left behind long after we are gone.
I came up with this theme because I hold high regards and sympathy for nature and believe that humans have harmed nature more than helped nature; this is not to disregard that some people have done great things for the planet such as picking up trash off highways and planting as many trees as possible, but rather to encourage and push others to think about the harm they have done and how they reconcile they connection we have with our planet.
I also wanted to take on the challenge of capturing trash but in a way where it "becomes" a part of nature. With a city like Boulder that considers itself pretty eco-friendly, I wanted to defy that claim and see if I could find examples of areas that are not as eco-friendly.
I am hoping with this piece that it really pushes an environmental perspective and influences anyone who sees it to reconsider how they are helping this beautiful planet we live on because I believe there is a lot still to be done to correct the mistakes we have made to this place we call home. We need to take care of Earth, so the planet can take care of us!
Spiral of Time
Within the concept of motion, I really wanted to explore lights in terms of mechanical items because I have not really photographed moving vehicles before; I was very excited to see what colors I could produce from taking pictures of moving vehicles.
The theme of this piece is about the amount of time people spend traveling. Day by day does not seem like a lot, but when you think about travel over the course of a lifetime it really adds up. We find ourselves questioning where all the time has gone when, in fact, it was spent mostly on traveling rather than the destination.
I chose this theme because it is not only personal to me but also to almost every person out there. I do not live super far from my work, but I started to think about the motion and process and time associated with getting back and forth to work. I usually take buses or cars, hence the focus on buses and cars within my piece.
I am hoping this piece brings reality to the audience in the same way it did to me. I did not realize the amount of time I just spend traveling almost every day and how I cannot get this time back.
Landscape
In this gallery I am exploring the nature around me while trying out various editing techniques. Within my photos I wanted to play with angles and different perspectives that you would not normally see or consider when looking head on.
