Category: Story Telling

 My self-portrait doesn’t have me in it. Who am I? A student? An artist? Freestyle Academy has been one of the most impactful experiences in both my academic and artistic life, which is why I decided I had to include it within my portrait. I also think the future is important, but not as important as the Freestyle stole in my retrospective self-portrait, which is why it is in the background, slightly out of focus. 

One of the great inventions of modern convenience is vending machines. So, when I heard this prompt, I thought of these two old machines at a local elementary school. I think it is interesting how this kind of commercial technology has made its way into every facet of our lives, even schools for little kids. I think it’s pretty insane how vending machines are allowed and promoted in not only an educational institution but in one that doesn’t have a student over the age of 14. I decreased the saturation of the photo to give it a more sinister tone as well, as to draw a seriousness to the issue of commercialization of education.

One of the deadly sins that I particularly relate to is gluttony. I’ll admit, my diet is probably not the most healthy, so I decided to take a picture of my dinner from this day. I personally would not call a simple meal a “deadly sin”, but it does fit the category description. 

I thought that using a dark window as a mirror for this Film Noir prompt was a pretty interesting idea. I think self-portraits are very interesting forms of photography, because who better to capture someone’s essence than themselves? Film Noir particularly piqued my interest because of how much emotion these dark portraits conveyed – and I tried to incorporate that into my own Film Noir self-portrait here.

With this image, I wanted to take a picture of the aftermath of a storm and show that no matter how hard it rains, hails, or snows, the stars will still glow, the sun will still set, and the Earth will still turn. I think this metaphor for life is very important because it is very motivational in that people can go through experiences, but instead of letting them tear them down, they take it and keep going.

I don’t think seasons are just about the weather. Sure, some would argue that winter as a season is the time of snow, hail, etc. Growing up in an area where seasons were a difference of twenty degrees and slight weather changes, I differentiated seasons by the traditions. Every winter, my family, along with hundreds of millions of other families worldwide, celebrate Christmas. This season has become more about Christmas and seeing my family than it has been about some frozen precipitation.

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.

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.

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.

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.