In my photograph, the main object is a dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher is meant to represent discomfort through dreams and aspirations. Dreams, whether they are goals for life or simply dreams that we have when we sleep, can be very uncomfortable. People usually don’t see a dreamcatcher as something that would bring discomfort, so I wanted to paint it in a different light—how our dreams can make us feel trapped due to discomfort. The dreamcatcher is hanging from a fish hook, and hovering over a chalk circle, as if it is trapped inside of the circle and stuck to the hook. I chose to shoot the photo in my garage, because it’s a messy and uneasy place to be in, which is what I was going for with this photo. I also shot the photo with artificial lighting to give it an eerie and an uncomfortable light, rather than using warm sunlight that could make it seem more pleasing.
The dreamcatcher hanging on the fish hook and over the chalk circle represents the feeling of being trapped in a comfort zone and the difficulty in trying to escape from a comfortable mindset. When we do things, or have ideas, that are uncomfortable, we often feel trapped in those ideas and find it hard to be able to overcome these ideas.
In Adobe Photoshop, I learned how to play around with contrast and lighting to give the image the feeling that I was going for. I wanted to add more contrast and make the photo more dramatic—I changed the tone by adding a slight green tint to make the photo seem even more uncomfortable and to make the lighting cold rather than warm.
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