My Pursuit Of Photography

What fascinates me much, much more than anything else in my métier is the portrait, the modern portrait . . . I should like to do portraits which will appear as revelations to people in 100 years time."

Photography has a rich history, and I engage my students to research the photographers of the past as well as the contemporary scene as part of their learning. An understanding of the history of photography and contemporary practice inspires them to refine their artistic goals and to articulate their own ideas. Students are also encouraged to experiment with different techniques and to challenge themselves on a variety of subject matters.

It took a long time for me to come up with any ideas for my pictures. The first inspiration that struck when I was trying to find

I was, of course, too young to understand the attributes of a good photography at age fourteen, but I would still flip out my phone at all times of the day and snap pictures of anything that seemed interesting. As time went on, I started to understand what made a good photo and what didn’t. I learned to shoot people in the shade on sunny days to avoid strong shadowing, to leave “breathing room” for objects not facing directly towards the camera, to use grid lines in order to balance a photo, and so on. Photography became the first passion I had for learning more outside of school, and I longed to learned as much as I could. I soon became even more excited about travelling because I knew there would be brand new landscapes and cities to capture. I came to see that there was a specific patience to taking pictures in new places. I would always be twelve steps behind my family as I would continually pause to raise up my camera and quickly set up for a seemingly good

As a child, I placed my finger on the shutter release of my curiosity and heard two simultaneous clicks, one for sketching and the other for photography. They changed me; they caused the pitch-black display of my individuality to fade into a beautiful mélange of colors, each one representing a new creative spark. These sparks then swathed the waters of my consciousness like fire across paper, seamlessly integrating into my skills, passions, and eventually, my

I am willing to try something over and over again until I can do it right. Therefore, I know the incomparably amazing feeling of watching something that seemed impossible become possible. For example, I take AP 2D Design, a photography course provided by my high school. A couple of weeks ago, I was assigned to do a piece on showcasing color. I could do whatever I wanted, as long as it portrayed “color” in a creative perspective. I came up with dozens of ideas within a day, but it was my mission to make those ideas a reality. I decided I was going to go to the quirky and overlooked parts of NYC. I went around Little Italy, SoHo and more taking pictures of graffiti and art around the city. I decided to comply these pictures into one major project- but I wasn't sure how. The little perfectionist in me, didn't let me give up. I tried different tools in Photoshop to incorporate the pieces together. After a few failed attempts, I finally did it- six pieces perfectly merged together to create one composition. I felt a strong sense of pride and accomplishment when I presented my work to my fellow classmates. I thought it would never be done, but I worked to the best of my abilities, spent countless of hours working on it and I achieved the vision I envisioned.

“Every time you dream at night, the dream has holes in it. You have to do something to fix those holes and make the dream become a reality,” my father often told me. Although I was very young when my dad passed away, he provided tremendous inspiration and encouragement to pursue my passions that continue to influence my life and my future endeavors. As a child, one of my favorite pastimes was acting; I would routinely act in videos with my friend while my dad filmed us. Later, I assumed responsibility for filming while my friend would act. I instantly fell in love with videography. I was enthralled with how videography could capture my point of view of the world, which prompted me to try photography. Once I began photography, I knew I wanted

“Once you find your passion, and enjoy doing what you’re doing, then you never have to work another day in your life” (Atwood). Many people see photography as just a career, and while technically it is a job, it’s also a form of art. It’s all about capturing moments and making people feel emotion.Some people find self-expression through taking photos, almost like therapy. The feeling I get when I get “the” picture is unbeatable. Each and every person has the power to create, and it all starts with a camera. Although it doesn’t need much of an education, photography is a very unique job; the industry is just now starting to grow although it’s been around for quite some time.

For the entirety of the fall semester, I took on a project to create a three-page layout for a fictional campaign in National Geographic magazine about endangered species. The goal was to create different content for my portfolio, challenging my skills in photography and photo-manipulation. I transformed people into animals and used gel lighting and Photoshop to create my artwork (see Appendix A figure 1 & 2). At the end of the semester, I reviewed my completed pieces and two theorists best fit my creative process, Julie Burstein, and Teresa Amabile. Julie Burstein discusses the best way to foster creativity is by ‘letting go’ she outlines this in four lessons (Campbell and Dubois, “Artist Best practices” 25). These lessons include experiences, challenges, limitations and loss (Campbell and Dubois, “Artist Best practices” 25). While Teresa Amabile discusses how the theory of creativity is fostered through her componential model of creativity (Campbell and Dubois, “On theories of” 14). These include domain-relevant skills, creative thinking skills and motivation (Campbell and Dubois, “On theories of” 14). Both of these theorists go hand in hand providing me with the framework for my best work. This essay will discuss how Amabile’s theory for intrinsic motivation and Burstein’s lesson of experience and loss, align in my creative process to be conducive to my work.

“Writers and travelers are mesmerized alike by knowing of their destinations,” (Welty 44). These words written by Eudora Welty are relatable to me because I understand the awe and mesmeration that writers and travelers feel by knowing of their destinations. This is true when talking about a long car ride to a favorite vacation spot. In the car, you are constantly dreaming about your destination and counting down the hours til you get there. I love to create art and to paint, so this quote is relatable in this aspect because at the beginning of a work of art you have a vision of the final product, of your destination. Throughout the whole process, you work toward creating this finished piece that you’ve envisioned from the beginning. Finally,

My personal journey of creativity has led me to find a career that I hope to love, and it has given me an outlet not many have that allows me to express myself in a unique way. Hard work and creativity have led me through life and hopefully will continue to as I grow

Many people can pinpoint the exact moment that influenced them to follow a certain life path. For me, becoming a photographer has been an innate part of my life. I have always been drawn to the camera. Capturing a moment that could otherwise be forgotten captivates me. I entered my first photography competition in the third grade and have been lusting over the big city longer than anyone can remember. Although I am unsure where this plan stemmed from, everything in my life has been geared towards this goal. I have been extremely honored to be chosen to enter the New York University community, and in addition to taking advantage of the multiple opportunities New York City has to offer, I plan to become one of NYU’s global citizens by studying abroad and learning more about the world through hands-on experiences.

When living in Seattle, WA with my mother, things were not going well. I moved back to Atlanta with my father when I turned 11 years old. Ever since then, many blessings have come into my life. I attained the hobby that allured to me the most which is photography. My love for photography started five years ago. In seventh grade, I used an old digital camera to take photos of casual subjects such as animals, nature, and portraits. In Eighth grade, my parents bought a professional digital camera for the family, but I ended up using it way more than intended. That was when I built up the quality of my work and my photography improved. I consider myself as a bubbly person and If I am passionate about something, I will work for it. My extracurricular activities inhere of photography, marching band, and soccer.

From a young age, I knew art was what I wanted to pursue. I’ve had a love of photography since I was a little girl, and my older brother, who was a photographer at the time, nourished this passion. He taught me how to use a camera before I had even graduated elementary school. I took every chance I could get to take photos. From the moment I bought my first DSLR camera in seventh grade, it never left my sight. My mother called it my ‘security blanket’ and everyone at school called me ‘camera girl’. It felt like a dream come true when I was accepted into the Digital Arts program at Stafford Technical Center; it was like opening a door to another world, one that understood how deep this passion ran and how far it really could take me. In Digital Arts, we study all types of art. Although my adoration for photography lives on, I ended up falling in love with graphic design also.

While others claim that photography captures the inner soul of a person, or deliberately defines it as painting or writing with light, but in my case, it is just simply a newfound love hobby. I undeniably adore and look up to expert photographers I encounter down the road may it face-to-face or the other way around. In my heart, I silently desire that someday, with hard work, determination, and perseverance, I will become professional and famous as they are. Since my husband bought a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) as an anniversary gift, my penchant for photography commenced and ignited. Let me detail the essential truths behind my passion over photography.