House Project

This is my collaged images that i used for my house project. Through this experiment, i found it to be super inspiring. I went to my friends house because their house is made for this project. The walls ae covered with papers and projects and drawings and clutter galore. I used my own camera for this project and i used my flash for the lighting. I found myself taking pictures of almost everything, even the toilet, which has little drawings inside of it aswell. Although the pictures i took of the grey water system in the bathroom, was almost too disgusting to post for my house project. Through this shoot, i found beauty in the smallest little dirty thing. Even an old sink with rust, could be inspiring and beautiful to me. Not only did i take pictures of the inside of the house, but i also took pictures of the outside as well, an old car, sans the wheel was rusty and was nice among the tall grass. As well as the occupant's bicycles that were laying around against the fence they share with the neighbors. I loved this assignment and im excited to finish the actual house.

The first picture is a really crappy picture of my finished assignment that i took with my iphone. It doesn't at all capture my work but i figured since Ms. Miles (you) are already able to see my house in real life. I really enjoyed this project and the middle slide is probably my favorite. I used copper wire, beads, misscelanous rusty/grimey items from my garage, hot glue, as well as xerox transfers to embellish my house. By creating layers with the transfers, it made my house more intriguing and believable.

Environmental piece

Location: Old Town, San Diego

Model: Ileana

For this shoot i wanted to show the inner self of the model, from my perspective. I feel like these pictures really show the model as she is. She wants to start modeling and so she throws herself out into the wilderness and is vulnerable to every little thing anyone is capable of saying about her and her integrity, which creates alot of insecurity within her mind. These feelings of insecurity may not always be on her face but it always seems to shine through. She definitely uses her sexuality to comes across as confident but it is usually very vulgar and makes the viewer feel like this 18 year old has lost all innocence. I manipulated all of these pictures in photoshop to create either more or less contrast to highlight the nature around the model. For the lighting i used the natural light around the environment, like the sun, when the sun was going down as well as my flash when we were in darker areas of the trees. These pictures work for me aswell as the model because i like the way she is shown and she likes having more pictures for her portfolio. 

ओउत्सिदे failure

Location: SDSCPA

Models: vivianna, dia, justin
For this assignment, students ventured out to the back of the classroom to take shots practicing depth of field, using multiple people as well as props. I manipulated this shot in photoshop by changing the hues in the shot to black and white and increased the contrast so that the viewers eye immediately goes to justin's ultra white beanie. Although he is not looking directly into the lens, he is the most important part of the shot. Dia, wearing the nixon mask is looking directly at the camera but her face is masked by an alternate identity.  Vivianna is wearing a purple gypsy mask but she is just standing there, not attracting attention. We tried multiple times to get her to jump in the air, so that the shot would capture her looking at the lens and jumping in the air with her body twisted and her legs bent, completely exposed and not hidden by justin's body, like how she is currently.  For me, this shot doesnt really work but i feel that is wasnt a complete waste of time because i was able to  practice this technique as well as encourage everyone else to try the technique.

Art through Activism Failure

Models: Ms. Alvarez and Amber

Location: Studio

For this assignment, Art through Activism, I really struggled in the beginning stages. I had no ideas for what to shoot and i didn't have a clear understanding of what to convey. I didn't want to make people who do have aids feel negatively and i also didn't want my models, who do/don't have aids feel uncomfortable being shot or being portrayed as having aids. I decided to do a series of the stereotypical person who would have aids. My ideas were to do a shot of a mother with aids and left her child behind, a transgender person struggling with having aids but is still a powerful person, as well as a homosexual male who had aids but still embraced life and love. The red chair would be apart of the shot and would symbolize the aids that they live day to day with. This shot worked really well for me, but it was also becoming too literal and straight-forward. So for this assignment, art through activism, i will be working on other social issues, not just ids o convey activism through art.

Shallow Depth of Field

Model: Stephanie

Location: SDSCPA

For this assignment, Stephanie and I partnered to explore a shallow depth of field photo assignment. This assignment was mot easy for me and at first i was kind of skeptical because it was fairly new to me to have a model in the shot but very blurry. It was almost like she was a ghost entering the frame by accident. The pictures i chose from the shoot are very particular and have a certain kind of mood. Instantly, an emotion strikes you as you gaze upon the photos. We used the morning sunlight to our advantage and didn't utilize any of the studio equipment to create this shot, except the camera of course. I used the intricacy of nature around the school to enhance the shots and create texture and a point of focus. All of the shots are focused on the plant or tree and unfocused on the model by using a shallow depth of field. The color of the elements, for me, really make these shots. For example, the pink in the flowers contrast with the model's darkish skin and the flowers really pop. This assignment, although started difficult, became easier and i feel that i came away from it with a fe really good shots. success!

Test with Flat Panel Flash

Because my senior portfolio may be taken outside of school, i needed to practice with a flat panel flash, this was the test.

Senior Art Studio Test Shot

Test Shot

Models: Steven & Fishbone

Location: Downtown, San Diego

For This Test Shot, we were testing our concepts for our Senior Portfolios. For my Portfolio i want to highlight the people who get swept under the rug shamelessly by many city council members and citizens of society. By highlighting the struggles of these human beings i hope to bring awareness and compassion back to the streets. These two men were sitting against the wall and i approached them to take their picture. I didn't use any special lights or effects in this image. 

Art through activism

Westboro baptist counter protest 

Stop-LocoMotion Reflection

For period one, our first assignment was to do a stop-action video. The purpose of this assignment was to learn to work together and create stronger relationships with others in the class. Although I believe our project came out good, the relationships between classmates didn't really improve. Olivia and I were the two director/photographers in our group and i believe that the scenes we shot together worked well because we played back each one carefully to make sure that they were in focus and that they looked good. For me the biggest problem with our group was motivation within the group. Stephanie and Nathaniel, our groups models were always prepared which definitely helped the group because we were able to shoot everyday but some people in the group weren't always prepared or just sat at the middle table and didn't do anything which was extremely frustrating. Kane's illustrations and animation worked well to create a contrast between the girl character and the boy character. Melissa and Clarrissa did an amazing job editing and adding music to create a finished project. Overall i felt like this assignment had alot of dragging feet, but your only as strong as your weakest link so hopefully by the end of the year more people will be willing to compromise and work together.

Summer Essay Book Balogna

Summer Essay Book Cover

Location: School Studio

Model: Justin

      For This assignment, i needed to execute a photograph that ran parallel to the summer essay we were all assigned to write. Although the essay i wrote spoke of an image that consisted of Vaclav Havel, who was the president of Czechoslovakia with a mirror he saw himself in, aswell as his wife Olga strolling through a courtyard just outside the window. Obviously this was no easy task, so i pulled away the main points of my image and had a model, with a mirror he saw himself in which represented the theme of the novel i read, self-realization. 

      I really liked the mirror i borrowed from our schools drama/theatre department. It is wooden, free-standing, and very dusty and fit good with the concept of my picture. I had my model wear a cardigan and a long sleeve shirt-all will neutral/dark colors. i wanted his presence as well as the mirror to be the focus points, not his clothes. I used two hot lights, one on either side of the model. I also had stephanie aswell as lexi hold the black sheet behind me so that the reflection in the mirror was the model and black behind him, not the red couch and k-arts supplies that was in the studio. This shoot was successful and actually didnt take long at all. i was satisfied with the outcome.

Alter Ego

    Alter Ego

Photographer: Olivia

Location: sdspa

Model: Myself

For this shoot i was assigned to come up with an alter ego shot as well as an everyday shot, where a contrast would be seen of myself. I wasn't sure what to do for an alter ego at first because i felt like my personality is very straight forward and i didn't want to portray myself as something Im just not. Everyone in the the class wanted me to be "preppy" because it would be a good contrast to my everyday life. I decided that if i was "preppy" or even just a bit more dressy i could manage it as long as it was in a natural scenery. So i decided for everyday and my alter ego to be in the same general area and minor differences in the body shape. For my regular shot, Olivia and I had small issues with lighting at first but we solved it easily and the shot was easy and quick because i pretty much had the image in my head and directed her on my preferred angle. For my alter ego, which we shot second, i was a little skeptical as to how close we would get the angle in comparison to the first shot but with a skilled photographer anything is possible and it came out very well. I took both shots into photoshop and mirrored the alter ego shot to make it look like my alter ego was on the other side of the tree. I was really happy with the way this assignment came out and I believe other people liked it aswell because even my dad said it looked like i had a twin.

haha

Model: Trevor

Location: Balboa parque

finalyish

Model: Nicole

Location: SDSCPA

Finalish

Final-ish

Location:  Cable St. & Ocean Beach Pier

Model: Adrian

Adrian and I went to the Ocean beach farmers market on wednesday, May 3. We stopped by a couple spots near the beach as well as spots near the tents to take a couple photos. I wasnt planning on having some nice shots but I actually liked some of them. The lighting was mainly the flash on my camera and the sunlight that was still out. For the first shot, i really like the way the light hit everything in the photo and how the colors look, it just appeals to my eye. For the second shot, i really just like the intensity in the model's eyes. I guess i might used one of these for the final but i will definitely have more.

Art Show

"Untitled" 

Location: Grandfather's home

Picture of A Picture

Picture of A Picture

Location: San Diego River

Original Picture

Model: Riana

Location: 2836 clairemont

For the original shoot, i took over 300 pictures of the model around my house, walking away with many great shots. This is one of the more serene shots, where the model is under a lush green tree, holding vibrant flowers. It wasn't hard to achieve the look i wanted because the model was willing to pose and express very well. For the Picture of a Picture, I went to The San Diego River, near fashion valley. At first i took photos of a dry print of the shot in a filthy tree.  I liked these photos but the lighting wasn't as good as i wanted it to be. I decided to walk to the river and place one of my dry shots into the water. I took some photos of the picture just floating on top of the water but I just wasn't getting the vibe i wanted. I got a stick and dipped the picture in the water but it just sunk and the current caught so i had to grab it before it just went down stream. I placed the remaining pieces of the paper on a random board that was floating in the water and took a long shot of the photo on the board with the stream in the shot. I have not finished this project yet.

Artist Statement

My work is centered on the experience of living in the city. My work stems from the stench that arises from the underbelly of the city. It's peoples struggles are highlighted as well as the urban landscapes that surround it.

Seeing and being aware of one's surroundings, although possibly hidden, is the underlying focus of my photographs. I find the inspiration I take from the city on a more human level. My encounters with my subjects and the people that are repulsed by them are equally of interest to me.

My products are about being in touch with the level of diversity and off-beat sensations that the city has to offer.

My tools consist of a Nikon D40 SLR camera in which I interchangeably produce photographs with a Tokina fish eye lens alongside the standard lens. These unique lenses have the capability of capturing images that can be very sharp and bold. I also captivate certain emotions and feelings with a 35 mm lomography camera, that allows me to focus on the subject and rely less on the minor details of the photograph.

FRANCiS BACON

Francis Bacon

Model: Riana

Location: 2836 clairemont

For this assignment i was inspired by a certain Francis Bacon piece of an intriguing naked woman on a table with a plain background. During this shoot, i used a hot light at 7'o clock pm. The light i used was too bright for this shoot so i used a dark blue scarf to darken it. To add movement to the shot, i moved the camera very slowly as the shutter speed caught the photo. I at first had the model move but it was hard to move on a table and in intricate poses.

BODiiiES ASSIGNMENT

BODiiiES 

Location: photo dark room

Model: taylr

Prior to this shoot, i wasnt certain on what i wanted to capture specifically. I decided to just go with my gut and what i thought looked best. I had the pleasure of working with a willing model, and for this shoot, that was what i needed. I brought in a turquoise necklace that made the photos. Although it was not planned, the model had her hair curled which looked really nice against her shoulders in the photos. I didnt seem to have any issues with this shoot and it went very well. Since the dark room had orange lights, I decided to use a hot lamp and it gave all of the photos a red-orange hue gradient which worked out very nice.

EXTRA CREDIT: skiiiin

Skiiiin Photoshoot

Location: 2836 clairemont, San Diego

Model: Adrian

EXTRA CREDIT: MERMAID

Mermaid Shoot

Location: Mission Beach, San Diego

Model: Iliana