My second photo challenge started with a thought. It's so rare that people, especially women, want to have their picture taken. Everyone wants to take pictures of themselves, it's a generational phenomenon that so many participate due to the complete and utter sense of control it warrants. Taking a photo of yourself is a vastly different experience than having your photo taken. Being photographed is a vulnerable circumstance, you don't know how you look through the eyes of the camera and speaking for myself, I know that I have absolutely no idea what to do with my face and body. When I worked with Ally, something was different, she still maintained the youthful fervor of a young woman confident in herself. She didn't ask if she looked "good" or fuss with her hair, she simply smiled and stared into the camera with the ease of someone who was unafraid. The set of photos turned out exactly how I had imagined, raw and striking, just like Ally herself.
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For my first photo challenge, I chose a set of photos from a shoot that I did near the end of August. This was the first time I was formally shooting with my new camera and I was anxious about navigating the camera in manual. Because I was just beginning to get comfortable with the camera I decided to shoot with Riley, who I know quite well. We shot in the morning in a field near my house, I focused heavily on the warm tones of Riley's hair, freckles, and eyes as well as the warm morning light. I juxtaposed the warm orange tones with the green of the tall grass that we were shooting in and the blue of Riley's shirt. Overall, I'm happy with the photos but I know since I took them I've become more comfortable with my 6d. These photos are an introduction to what I'm sure will be an amazing year of photography.
My initial reaction to this quotation was disagreement. I don't have a particular reason for taking photos, it's just something I have found myself doing for the past few years. The reason I continue to take photos is simple, I enjoy it, I would have stopped a long time ago if this wasn't the case. When I look back at photos from my childhood, from 2 years ago or from last week, I'm transported back to that moment and what my life felt like at the time. When you look at beach photos from summers past you can smell the sunscreen and the salt water, you remember what is was like to be at that location at that moment in time. Next week, 8 weeks or years into the future I'm certain that I can look at the photographs I've taken and remember what is was like to be 17. Perhaps we're not taking photos to understand what our lives are like at this moment, but to grasp the reality of what our life was like when we were young.
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