Genre Photography

Even though I am focusing on Travel Photography for my genre project, I am also interested in Fashion Photography. Below are some beautiful fashion photography photos!

The contrast between the girl's face and her fan really draws the viewer to this photo. The texture and progression of contrast of her hair adds depth to the photo.

 

The simplicity of this photo and use of depth of field make it interesting. Also, the use of rule of thirds keeps the viewer's eye moving from the subject and the objects in the grass.

 The use of angles in this photo makes it interesting. The contrast between her red hat and black dress emphasize her position. She is bent in an obscure way, making her the center of the photo.

 

This candidness of this photo adds a personal touch and also emphasizes the girl's natural beauty. The grain, which is partially out of focus and partially in focus adds depth to the photo, but also makes her in focus contour stand out. The contrast between her red hair and her blue shirt also makes her the focus of the photo.

Ubiquitous Circles

I was excited to find a shape in different places and shoot it. I realized that circles are everywhere and in some strange places throughout my house. Below are some photographs from my circle adventure.

 I thought that this would be relevant photo during the Holiday season. There are clearly other things going on in the background; however, the color and the placement of the ornament emphasize its shape and center it.

 I have been baking during homework breaks today and thought that this was a fun and relevant picture not only because the bowl in the center of the picture is a circle, but also because there are various circles and parts of circles throughout the photo. How  many can you find? To name a few... there are the circular specks of sprinkles in the cake batter, the smaller bowl next to the bowl in focus, the eggs in a carton, and the bottle of olive oil.

 This is definitely my favorite picture and something that I would consider "artsy" due to its obscure angle and depth of field. I was lying on the floor when I took this photo of our Nerf basketball hoop. The hoop is in focus in the background, while the light and buttons are out of focus. The contrast between the white strings and the orange rim emphasizes the circular manner of this hoop.

 This photo also shot from  an obscure angle plays with the element of color. The area around the doorknob is fairly light, but as you get farther away from it, the color darkens.

 This photo taken of the lids of Jif Peanutbutter, Hershey Hot cocoa mix, and nutella defines my life. I also like how the shelf with the lids consists of mainly circles, while the shelf below it contains rectangular bars.

 This orange picture plays with depth of field. There are three oranges on the table in a pyramid shape and then in the background there is a whole clear bowl of them.

Lastly, I felt the need to shoot a picture of at least one type of ball because they are clearly circular. I like this photo because the color contrast adds to the simplicity of the picture and the ball is in the center of the photo.

Pinhole Camera

We began to construct our pinhole cameras during 1st quarter and will be shooting with them during second  quarter! I am ambivalent towards this project. I am nervous because I have heard Pinhole horror stories from upper class men about the multitude of light leaks and the minimal photos produced. But, I am excited for this challenge and opportunity to see the magic work with such a simple camera. It is actually eye-opening that just a cardboard box is sufficient to produce pieces of art. Below are some photos that I found taken with Pinhole Cameras from the website http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/25/the-showcase-of-beautiful-pinhole-photography/ :

This photo was taken by Andrew Watson and titled The Calmness of Blue. This photo  really does a great job of contrasting different shadows of blue to highlight this idea of calmness. The lights in the distant of the photo add an element that is especially aesthetically pleasing the the viewer and provide a shadow over the water. This photo encompasses both sides of a city. The calm, blue water shows a relaxed element, while the bright lights in the distance show a busy and lively element. The idea of placing the lighted part of the city in the back may show what the photographer feels is the most vital element of the city, adding a sense of precedence.

 

This photo was taken by A. Wallis. The symmetry of this photo is what makes it so aesthetically pleasing. The obscure angle of this photo adds a mysterious sense to this photo, which intrigues the viewer and makes he/she want to look at it more to figure out this mystery. 

This photo was taken by  Mackenson. The photographer's use of blur adds a sense of illusion and makes it almost dream-like. If you look closely, it looks like a road with grass on either side and a mountain in the far distance. The white lines on the road are what draw the picture together and get narrower as the photo gets more distant adding a sense of culmination. Although he used fairly similar colors, they complement and contrast each other very well.

This photo was taken by Zeb Andrews. The idea of placing the subject to the side of the photo and not centered adds this idea of lack of symmetry, but also shows that others things are occurring at this time and the subject is not the focus of the action. But, the subject succeeds in grabbing the viewer's attention immediately with its array of vibrant and enticing colors. The idea of lighting up the nighttime sky is prevalent in this photo, not only with the Ferris wheel, but also with the street lights in the far distance of the photo.

Lastly, this photo was taken by Danielle Hughson. The center of this photo is of a spider-like machine that I am unsure of its identity, but it is used as a divider and focus of the photo. It separates the contrasting colors of blue and red. The reason she chose blue and red could be anything, but I interpret it as choosing hot or cold. The machine could be some kind of air-conditioning machine or thermal energy machine that can not decide whether to choose hot or cold, so it stands in the middle and lets nature decide.

Color -Red

Throughout the tennis season, the color Red was a recurring theme that followed us through this successful and memorable journey! Tennis Update: We won team, singles, and doubles districts and are State Silver Medalists!!! This was a first in Moravian Academy Tennis History that a team has won all districts and made it so far in states!! Thanks to everyone who supported and assisted us during the season!

The tennis team sporting red warmups and posing after winning District Team Finals!!! The unity of red is intimidating to other teams and shows a sense of team bonding

These are tennis ball cupcakes that I decided to arrange in a flower design! The sea of red is engulfing the single gold cupcake! The contrast between the red and gold and the composition of the photo makes it aesthetically pleasing.

 The red part of the medal strap adds a pop to the medals. It adds a personal touch to the medal because our color is Red, so it shows that the medals tie into that theme. This photo is not the best compositionally but I like the obscure angle. One can see the red part of the court and green backdrop in the back, which adds dimension to this photo that has subtle accents of red.

The contrast of the red, white, and black shirts shows this sense of different colors coming together in unity and can also be used for a world peace advertisement, but the red shirt is most eye-catching! There are also hints of red throughout the picture to add highlights of this important color. Our team has become so close throughout the season and most of us were not as close before this season, but this season brought us all together and now we are inseparable.

Holga

Shooting with the Holga camera is quite the experience. We were able to shoot anything, which made the project more difficult for me because at first I was trying to take artsy pictures and I am pretty sure that most of them did not turn out how I wanted them. But, towards the end of my photo shoot, I decided to not try and pose my pictures as much and try and shoot in the spur of the moment. The Holga camera is not a complex camera, which has its ups and downs. The positive effects of the Holga are that when one is shooting, there is less to think about, one just shoots and rewinds and so on. But, so negative effects of this simple camera are that there are only two light settings and no way to adjust shutter speed. I decided to look at a Holga Blog that Ms. Denis told us about to look at some of the beautiful pieces of art taken with this simple camera. All of these photos came from the website:<http://holga-blog.blogspot.com/>

The symmetry of the trees makes this photo visually appealing. I also like the black corners, which enhances the center of the picture and adds contrast to this photo.

 This photo is by far my favorite. The shape of the smoke and fluid movement make the picture almost come to life. The dark edges help to align the photo and emphasize the smoke in the center.

This photo remind me of Halloween because it is spooky-looking. I like how both of the trains in the distance look like they are moving in the same direction. Also, the scratches at the top give the photo a rustic feel.

Person Inspiration

Many people inspire me and make a difference in my life. But, my grandmother, or Nani as we say it in Hindi, has the most inspiring story. She overcame many adversities and because of her strength and determination became a new woman. She was diagnosed with stage 2 Breast Cancer in 2000 and tried to take as many herbalistic approaches in this process. She had a long battle with cancer and I am proud to say that she is a 12 year cancer survivor. Prior to her cancer, she was very depressed (because my grandfather was always traveling for business), not in great shape, and soft-spoken. Nowadays, she is the polar opposite, she thrives on working out and does so everyday, she is not afraid to say anything whether it is that our outfit is just not suiting us or to tell my grandfather to get up and make his own food, and she is always euphoric and always a joy to be around.

This is a photo of my beautiful grandmother that I took when we went to the beach over the summer. She is all dolled up and ready for dinner.

Over the summer, I went to the gym with my grandmother. This is a photo of Nani with one of the trainer at the gym. 'She works out'

This photo was taken on Christmas Day at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The love between my grandparents is truly heart-warming. Their 47th anniversary just passed and they continue to share many caring moments. After the experiences that my grandmother encountered, they realized that they need to savor every moment because they never know what will happen. My grandfather always says "Carpe Diem" or suck the marrow out of life, which nowadays can be translated as YOLO. My grandparents are avid travelers and remain to stay active in the community.

Although this picture is dark, it clearly exhibits hard work. My grandmother has weights attached to her feet and stays in this position for several minutes.

This is a photo of this frame that lies in the entrances of the gym. They are so proud of my Nani who runs faster and works harder than many young adult members of the gym. The quote "Passion is a force that cannot be stopped" is located above her picture. This quote sums it all up; passion and determination can not be stopped. My grandmother is the epitome of overcoming adversities and becoming stronger. The immediate impact of her cancer was unfortunate, but in the long run, this experience made her a mentally and physically stronger person. She mentors family, friends, and community members who are facing similar struggles that she had experienced. My Nani is my hero and her presence and positive energy have made a huge impact on my life <3

Inspiration- Dolphins

Since I was a young child, dolphins have always been an integral part of my life!! I was obsessed...everything I owned was either blue or dolphin themed! The day that I met these playful creatures at Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas was by far the best day of my life.

Above shows a baby dolphin following her mother dolphin in the dolphin nursery!!

This is by far my favorite photograph that I took on that sunny day! It is a picture of the majestic dolphin with a little fish in its mouth! So cute

 If you notice, both my sister, Jamilie, and the dolphin have their eyes closed in this captivating moment! They are embracing this moment and a sense of calmness is present!

This picture is truly inspiring! It shows the dolphin's smiling portraying a sense of happiness. The ripple in the water that engulfs the dolphin emphasizes the dolphin and makes it the center of attention in this picture! This calming animal gives off a feeling of true happiness to the viewer! Are you feeling happy?! (:

The candidness captured in this picture shows true happiness! The dolphin's intelligence, playfulness, and friendliness are characteristics that make this animals so appealing to me! I am an optimistic person, so its built-in smile and merry-looking eyes are truly enchanting for me.

Installation Artist

After looking at various Installation artists on my own, I ended up going back to an artist that we looked at in class: Cai Guo-Qiang.

 This piece of art was dynamic because we can see this path that the wolves are all following. The portrayal as a bridge illustrates these wolves in the air, basically flying, which is an unusual thing to see. I believe that it shows the idea of the how all of these wolves are leading the a point, but the outcome of the destination is not peaceful. It made me realize that one should enjoy the journey and not just rush to the ending.

This piece of art is very unique and makes me think of what it is because of its obscurity. It reminds me of a sea urchin that is illuminating with the lights. The arrows used by Cai Guo-Qiang emphasize the contrast of the light and provide an aesthetically pleasing piece.

This piece of art illustrated above  shows the power of light. I really like how these stars of lights are going in different directions, which keep the reader's eyes moving. These firework like lights are the first thing that came to my eye, but then i realized that the lights are coming out of cars and shows almost an explosion of the car. It is a very unique piece that is very hard to interpret the message the author is trying to give off.

This picture above is of a wrecked ship. From the outside, it looks run-down and desolate, but there is truly a multitude of things inside this ship. Even though the ship is run-down, it is still full of riches. This idea brings the beauty out of things that would not generally seem beautiful and shows how even though it is broken down on the outside, it is internally full of valuables.

This picture shows the beauty of lights being illuminated. The color at the tip adds a sense of hope/freedom because it helps light up one's path. Also, the conical shape adds a sense of illusion because it starts at very narrow and ends with a wide area full of light. It shows that the end of the path is something bright to look forward to and that wanting to the end is rewarding when the end is full of lights. Colors, to me, make everything more appealing because different colors evoke different emotions.

My Summer

This summer was packed with various activities such as a leadership institute at Georgetown University, an LMFAO concert, beach trips with the family, tennis, multiple fro-yo trips, dreaded SAT prep work, and an internship with U.S. Senator Toomey. Woah...that was a mouthful and did not even cover my whole entire summer! Although I could discuss and post pictures from all of my activities this summer, I decided to focus on the myriad of photos I took at the leadership institute at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. All of the photographs shot below were taken by me (except photos that I am in were taken by nearby friends).

Let the trip begin....

 

When I arrived at Georgetown University, I went to my door room to unpack my millions of bags. I got to meet my roommate, Alina Sinclair. This sounds cliche, but we immediately got along and realized how similar we were. We both were work-out freaks, loved luna bars, had similar clothing styles, and loved the same movies. We would stay up late at night watching Bridesmaids or various other humorous movies. As the week went on, we became closer and closer.

 

 We toured around D.C and got to see the Supreme Court, the Capitol, the White House, and various other D.C. landmarks. Above, I snapped quick shot of the U.S. Capitol Building. I really like the angle in which I shot it in because it emphasizes the dome at the top of the building.

  

As we were touring the various buildings in D.C, this statue of the big lady intrigued us. We asked our Institute Assistant to take a quick pic of us standing in front of the big lady! 

After several days of lectures on how to be better leaders in our schools or communities, it was time to apply what we learned in the classroom to real-life situations. We went on an adventure to the Ropes Course. I was dreading this day all week because I am not generally an adventurous person. They assigned our groups and we had to learn to trust eachother and respect eachother's boundaries in order to be successful in any of the tasks presented to us. My group was working pretty well together and finished the tasks in a short amount of time, until it came to the Mohawk Walk. This activity took some groups 30-40 mins, but my group struggled with this activity. We kept trying and working together, but kept failing. After 2 and a half hours of focus and determination, our guide for the courses told us that we could either stop and just do something new or have exactly one more try to complete the task. After some reluctance, my group decided to try it one more. Although some of us were trembling with fear trying to avoid shaking the ropes, we successfully completed the task. It was the greatest feeling ever. I have never talked to some of the members in my group, but after the successful ending of that challenge, we all had a group huge. Even though we overcame the biggest challenge as a group, my greatest fear was soon to come. I was terrified to do the zip-line because of the extreme height. After some encouragement from my group,  I decided to try the zip-line. Flying down through those trees made me feel free. When I was in the sky, all of my worries faded away. After we had completed all of the activities in one piece, our guide laid various cards with pictures on the ground and asked each of us to choose a picture that we thought represented the day. I glanced at the various cards and then found the perfect one- a butterfly with it wings open. I compared myself to a butterfly who stays in its cocoon where it feels comfortable and minds its own business. But, sooner or later, that butterfly needs to break free from its cocoon and try something new/experience true freedom. Flap your wings now you can't stay,  take those dreams and make them all come true, Butterfly Fly Away!

Welcome to Georgetown Cupcakes! Home of the famous designer D.C. cupcakes! This picture was edited through Instagram. 

 

Day 2 of Cup-caking: After a long day of team building and ropes courses, it was time to go to Georgetown cupcakes! GThese were the best cupcakes I have ever had in my life! I decided to have 3 cupcakes in order to savor this once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

 I decided to make a collage of these delicious cupcakes! SO DELICIOUS!! Are you hungry yet?

 Moravian Academy spirit at the MLK Memorial. Kara Chyung and I reuniting in D.C. After I signed up for the program, Kara found an interest in the program as well, so we drove down to D.C. together! If you look closely, you can see the White House in the background!

 

After an amazing week, I met fascinating people, made long-lasting memories, and learned how to be a better leader! This week was absolutely unbelievable and I am glad that I signed up for this program!  I was near tears when I had to stay goodbye to everyone and the beautiful campus, but Alina, my roommate, wisely stated, "Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." That is a quote that will stay with me forever and is currently the caption of my profile picture on Facebook (haha). I miss my roommate, my role model, and my 'sista from another mista', Alina Sinclair.