Final Portfolio

Landscapes and nature are what interest me. It is something that is often passed by without our noticing it, a lot of the times it serves as fillers to our living environment because of their stationary characteristics and so it ceases to catch our attention after a certain period of time. I am interested in photographing landscapes and nature because it is not just aesthetically pleasing, but also at times poignant, able to stir something deeper within us. My project attempts to capture nature in this way that some might not normally see.

When having the time to really take in the scenes of nature, or when it so happens to catch my attention, I have been able to notice things about these scenes that I would not have otherwise seen. Within this pondering, I have discovered that many of the details that draw me in are things that have to do with form, color and texture.

Through looking at works of landscapes and nature from other photographers, I realize it is the role and responsibility as photographer to manipulate viewers to see what I see and feel. In order to fulfill this duty, I use shallow depth of field to highlight the details of the scenes that catch my attention; in this way, viewers are forced to see what I see. I also emphasize textures and color using digital enhancements, deliberately highlighting these details for the viewers’ attention, sometimes causing these pictures to become otherworldly.

My goal for these photographs is to not only illustrate the details I noticed, but also the feelings that they provoked within me. Though the process of Sight (nature catching my attention), Capture (of the scene as how it evoked feelings in me), Manipulation (emphasizing features), and Presentation I hope to evoke feelings of sublime majesty and emotive serenity in nature.

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Google Reading Post 11

I stumbled upon an ad campaign for Novartis' Exelon Patch, which is a prescription medicine for the treatment of Alzheimer dementia. Tom Hussey, with his background in commercial advertising, photographed this award-winning series of eight images depicting an older person looking at their young self in the mirror.
These images were quite interesting to me because it brings a great sense of nostalgia. Before I read the blurb about the series, I just thought these images were the concept of these old people looking back on their younger days of accomplishment. Nostalgia is something that most people have experienced and is something that can really bring a sense of melancholy. These images were probably quite effective in its ad campaign due to their ability to evoke emotion. In addition, these images tell a story. Each tell a distinct story about the life of the old man/ woman in the picture. In some images the older 'self' looks happy and proud, in others, they look sad. In the first image on the website (pictured above), I especially like how the actions of the old man is reflected in the mirror; both his old self and the younger self are stirring something. The younger man is in his lab coat stirring a chemical solution while the old man is stirring passively his coffee. I sense a feeling of hopelessness from the old man, wishing he can be at this proud moment in his life.

The formal treatment of all his photographs add to the feeling of nostalgia through de-saturating the images to have this "old photo" brown tint.

See series here.