I decided to do the photo safari at my house. It seemed to be the easiest place to manipulate items and get the desired photos. Additionally, I thought it might show more about me. This wasn’t exactly the case. My home, while full or random stuff, has very poor lighting. Even with bright lights on, the home is dark. Shadows are few, and usually cast on one wall of the home. That happens to be a wall that is not great photographically. Overall, I think I could have put more thought into the photos, but I don’t think I truly understood the assignment until it was complete. Then I thought, “Hmmm, maybe I could have done this better or that better.” I definitely wish I could have used this assignment to tell more of a story about me. In the end, it’s just a bunch or random photos rather than any comment about myself or my life.
The photos which gave me the most difficulty were something futuristic, making an inanimate object look alive, an object that represents joy, converging lines, an abstract which doesn’t look like a photo, appearance of movement. It’s not that I couldn’t do these things. I just couldn’t do them well. It required extra work, props, or other ability to manipulate items, which I was lacked. Additionally, I don’t usually manipulate items when taking photos so this was a new experience for me. Normally, I look for the perfect photo to appear before me, requiring me to only adjust lighting or whatnot. It was good to try something new. I certainly learned a bit from the failures.
The photo I most enjoyed taking was at an unusual angle. I decided to get down to ground level on my patio and take a photo of the grass at the edge of the patio. It turned out really great. These are the kind of photos I usually enjoy taking. In normal life, my perspective is slightly altered from others. I see things, photographically, that others don’t see. On group trips and such, I often get compliments on my pictures because they look professionally done. I don’t work super hard at it. I may take 2-3 photos of an object, adjusting the lighting, angle, etc. and then keep it moving.
The most difficult part of this assignment was the 15 minute time limit. I felt rushed, even after spending time thinking about what I might photograph in my home. The short time made it difficult to be creative, think about alternatives, try various setups, etc. I did take 5-10 extra photos during the time limit, but those didn’t make it to this post. Some of them weren’t too bad though. None of my photos were very inventive, however, I did like the one where I had to look through an opening. That was something I hadn’t considered before.
In conclusion, this was a great assignment to teach me about photography. Even without a professional camera, I could use some of the concepts mentioned in the readings and videos. I’ll continue to experiment with more creative photos. More importantly, I will begin to look at my finished photos critically and learn from my mistakes.
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