Radiate: A Senior Surreal Photo by Eleanor Thomas (2015)

This subject of this piece is a girl who I photographed using an infrared effect, to give her features more definition and contrast. I used a filter to turn her hair bright orange and purple and blended the colors to give a dream-like feel. With HDR photography and an infrared effect, I was able to give two flowers a glowy look and place those over her eyes as the most surreal part of the photo. Last, I placed her behind a wall of bricks to add texture and dimension to this piece.

From learning about Surrealism at Freestyle Academy, I often thought about the idiom of how one can see the world through a pair of rose-colored glasses. This means seeing things as better than they actually are or having a positive outlook on situations, which I why I used flowers as her eyes. I've always thought about optimism as a very powerful mindset that needs to be spread around from person to person constantly. My subject has a positive perspective on life and her optimism radiates from her mind through her colored hair. It also has helped her to overcome obstacles, which is why she has broken through a brick wall. This piece represents a lot of what I am experiencing at this point in my life because I have many new and exciting experiences coming soon, but must keep a positive and open mind in order to keep from being overwhelmed.