Author: lleytonb

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Color without Color – November 11

The first question I asked myself when I read this prompt was, “What is something that you could take the color out of, and people would still visualize it in color?” A few answers came to me quickly. The ocean, the sky, grass – but while I was making a mid-afternoon snack, the answer came to me. I stopped in my tracks and rushed to get my camera because the object most intertwined with its color is its own namesake – an orange. When I edited this photo in Adobe Photoshop, I felt iffy about it, as it looked slightly off to me. However, after toying with the black and white brightness tools, I finally found the balance I was looking for. When I focus on that orange, I can imagine the color seeping back into the photo, which is exactly how I wanted to answer this prompt.

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Who Inspires You – October 24

As I often do, I took this prompt in a very general way. There are many people who inspire me. Athletes, successful business people, political figures – they all have their ups and their downs and inspire me in various different ways. I wanted to encapsulate all of the people who inspire me in an image, so I decided to take a picture of this statue of a soldier in the American Revolution, with the American flag billowing behind it. Generally speaking, I am not the most patriotic person – but I can always appreciate someone who stands up for their beliefs.

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Fill the Frame – October 17

I think filling the frame of a photograph is often overlooked as a technique of photographic composition. Artists often try to provide context, myself included, by backing away from the subject and taking photos of it in its surroundings. However, sometimes it may be beneficial to take things for what they are. This sign doesn’t have to be a sign. Maybe it’s just a graphic advertising Seafood To-Go! Not everything needs to have a context, not everything needs to fit into its environment – oftentimes, things should just be taken for what they are, rather than analyzed and criticized for how they interact with what’s around them.

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Friends and Family – October 10

In this image, I wanted to represent what is not necessarily the best of friends and family, but the truth. While my mother and sister on the screen may not visibly appear to be having a great time – their mostly straight faces don’t convey any strong emotions in this frame – they are enjoying each other’s company, even if they may not realize it. One day, they may look back at these small moments, sharing a screen or just everyday conversation, and find that they miss them and that this state of peace and calm was all they needed in life.

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Your Habits – September 23

I did my best to broaden the topic of “your habits” to the “habits” of humanity. As we have heard and seen time and time again, history repeats itself. Every time people come to a new area of the world, at least new to them, almost always there is a mismanagement of resources and overcrowding as the masses all begin to pile into the new environment. I tried to bring this message across in my photo of crowded Half Moon Bay harbor, which is mostly very busy with various crab-ing and fishing boats.

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Facial Symmetry – September 16

Facial symmetry is very interesting to me. Why did we need symmetry? Why isn’t the human nose on the left and the mouth on the right? Almost all animals and even plants have elements of symmetry. Trees trunks are symmetrical, leaves are symmetrical, and almost all creatures’ faces are symmetrical, from leopards and lions to ants and spiders. Symmetry often resembles and symbolizes balance – scales are balanced when they are symmetrical, for example. Symmetry is everywhere around us, and it only takes the smallest of efforts to notice it.

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Your Culture – September 9

My mother was born and raised in China before moving to the US for university. Since we were young, she has taught my siblings and I about Chinese and especially Shanghainese culture through food. When I was very young, I would often stay with my grandmother, who would cook traditional Shanghainese foods at home. Sometimes, when food tastes particularly authentic, I remember those times with a feeling of nostalgia.

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Exit – May 24

The first thing I thought about when I heard this prompt was this very unique, intricate gate. In addition to the gate itself, I wanted to capture this trapped feeling that is very common when people see locked doors – a lack of an exit, essentially. I really feel like this picture is almost like a “light at the end of the tunnel” type of metaphor, because of the vignette making the foreground seem darker, and the area behind the gate seem lighter. I also felt it important to increase the contrast in order to emphasize this feeling.

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Geometry – May 17

I have always been fascinated by architecture-based photography – the different shapes and angles that are formed by buildings is incredibly unique. I really enjoyed this particular photograph because of repetition of shape in the windows, the different angles that the buildings were facing, and the leading line that the wire provided. If I could have changed one thing about this photograph, though, I would have tried to get a different perspective to not include the building on the far left – I think this photograph would benefit a lot from some negative space in that area.

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Freedom – May 10

Personally, I think freedom is an ill-defined concept. What is more important – physical or mental freedom? This is the question I attempted to ask with this photograph. The serene look of this goat struck a chord with me when I thought about it in the perspective of freedom. Even though he was trapped within this cage, a relatively small area, his face showed that he was mentally free, and he seemed as though he was in a different place altogether. As for the composition, I really wanted to emphasize the negative space in the top right area of the picture, and I also wanted to include the lighter brown foreground to frame the photograph.