Traces:Process

So today in class we were taught how camera's worked in depth and how different artists over time approached photography. After that we were tasked with looking into artists that delved in 'leaving traces behind' in photography and to create our own project of the same theme to practise and develop our skills for the upcoming project.

My equipment consisted of Canon 700D, A stock lens (18-50mm), and my friends Canon 5D Mark 2 stock lens. I took a total of 40 pictures for this as the final curation consisted of 4 photos so I would figure that it would be enough for me to chose from.

The setting for this shoot were a shutter speed of 1/15 and Fstop between 2.8 to 4. The reason I prefer to keep my aperture low is to introduce higher quality photos. This does require lower light and does well with the theme of curation.  Here are the photos:

(Canon EOS 700D - ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/15)

The lens for this photo is my friends 5D Mark 2. This photo showcases who I am in this, my glasses and my rings. They are part of me, it can even be used as a symbol of who I am, all in the palm of one hand, often times we don't realize with but can be simplified in terms of the grand scheme of reality into a single image. The book behind my hand symbolizes who I aspire to be, just out of reach and in the distance.

(Canon EOS 700D - ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/15)

This photo shows a reflection of me, hidden and in reality unsure. Unsure of my own self, who I am, what I want to be. For this my friend ( who looked oddly similar to in apparel that day) chose to pose and took this photo from an angle that obscure his face to give the illusion of me with a hidden face.

(Canon EOS 700D - ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/15)

This photo show me opening a door yet the destination is blurred, unable to make clear of what I'm seeing, where I am headed, truly in a sense lost. For this one I chose to revert back to my lens and took the photo with one hand while the second one opened the door ( not easy to do). I had set the settings before hand (get it) and just took the photo as the door was opened and it was next room was out of focus.

(Canon EOS 700D - ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/15)

Darkness, I sit there in the dark, sitting there I observe the light yet it is far away and maybe in a way, I prefer the dark. For this photo, again my friend posed as me and sat in chair while looking up and out the window of my class. For this one I specifically chose a dark environment to maintain the illusion of me as the subject of the photo but also to go along with the theme of the shoot itself.

I decided to tittle the curation based on the idea I had for the Photos; Traces: A reflection in the dark.

It tells a tale of someone who wanders the darkness looking for himself and a way out. Still stuck and aimless wandering and looking at themselves, unsure of what to do but in odd way comfortable with the darkness that holds them prisoner.

Ultimately from this shoot I learnt who to conduct a photo shoot, adjust my settings on the fly, come up with an idea for a curation. I hope to learn further and be more better at this.