Photography

Photography has been one of my passions for many years. I was very involved with photography in high school and my senior year culminated with a "Senior Show" where all of the AP Photography students gave a lecture about their work. This is a copy of my artist's statement and a few pieces from my concentration:

It is difficult to pinpoint the precise inspiration for one’s photographic images, although many people consider their photographs to have a deeply symbolic connotation. I, however, find a more simplistic connection. Even though there are some exceptions, I feel my greatest inspiration derives from traveling. When I travel, I am really able to immerse myself in a certain location and capture a special moment which I will forever be able to cherish and remember through the image I take.

My favorite place in the world, which I consider to be my second home, is Aspen, Colorado. I feel a deep emotional connection to this unique mountain hide-out. Every time I am there, I feel almost as if I am in a magical and idealistic place where I have created some of my fondest memories with my family and friends. This love I have for Aspen led to my AP Concentration. I am attracted to nature photography and of course, in Aspen, the beautiful Rocky Mountains are breathtaking in every season. A particular subject that has been a focus of mine is the white-bark Aspen trees that line the town with their glimmering green leaves. My favorite photograph of this compilation is an image shot on Independence Pass in a forest of Aspens just after a summer rain shower. I particularly like this image because the damp bark enhances the lushness of the photograph. I also try to capture the town, people and activities from unique perspectives as in my picture, Water Balloon. This picture captures a favorite activity for children in Aspen where they place colorful balloons in the fountains and watch them rise above the water. I used my telephoto lens to zoom in on the balloon at the top of the fountain where the individual droplets of water cover the image.

I consider myself to be a simplistic photographer in terms of the equipment I use and minimal manipulations I perform on my images. The first two years of photography at ESD I primarily used my Canon Rebel SLR camera with 35mm black-and-white film and developed my images in the darkroom, which I still do today. However, in the past year or two, after receiving a Digital Canon SLR, I have begun to do more and more digital work. I still consider myself to be a traditionalist though, because I am not a huge advocate of manipulations in Photoshop.

This past summer I attended a photography workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado instructed by a former assistant of Ansel Adams. This workshop was a wonderful experience in which I learned the process of turning digital prints into black and white negatives and then developing them as contact prints in the darkroom. The class consisted of classroom instruction as well as field trips with specific shooting assignments which really helped me broaden my mindset as a photographer. This mindset compliments another form of photography that I love to create, which are portraits. Perhaps my favorite portrait, which has received awards, is a portrait of my grandmother titled Grandmama. It is a simplistic portrait in which only her face is shown, but through her vivid eyes her inner emotions are revealed. I feel this portrait portrays my emotional connection to my grandmother.

The techniques and experiences I have gained over the past four years in photography are innumerable. Photography has become a passion of mine and something that I will be able to pursue for the rest of my life.