Category: Inspiration

Over spring break, I got to know fellow teammates through the impromptu badminton socials that we held! We brought racquets and birds, basketballs, frisbee, a soccer ball, and even decks of cards to do a variety of different activities. This photo, taken at an aperture of 4.6, shutter speed 1/320, and ISO 100, is a memento of our social at Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School. I think it relates to the prompt of “telling a lie through the camera” as a result of combining several different elements that normally are seen in different niches in society. The marked grass field in the background suggests athleticism. The subject is holding a Rubik’s cube, which is associated with brainiacs and intellect. Her outfit resembles what teens might wear on a beach day to a party. This photo shows the “lie” that these elements can’t exist together in one person to be true in real life, which combats the stereotyped social barriers. Finally, this photo is also compositionally interesting because the background consists of two separate halves of different colors: green tones and gray.

I think sunlight always helps to create a calm, happier ambience. Nothing is more peaceful for me than sitting on a tree branch high up and feeling all the warmth shining down. This photo captures my mood in this scenario. The chairs seem empty, but the brightness creates an inviting environment that ensures they won’t stay empty.

A classmate (Kayla) wrote her haiku about photo filters and “liquid gold”. This is the phrase I thought about when I saw the gorgeous golden light at Palo Alto Baylands during a short solo trip to destress. This photo is unedited, showing the natural reflected light filtered only by my hand in the corner blocking the blinding rays of whiter light. The showing of the hand, slightly blurred at the edges but solid, is one of my favorite components of this photo among many.

I meant to take a photo of my mom at the far right, but including this family of four (five, if you count the dog!) complete strangers in the photo made for a much more interesting composition. I like how while the viewpoint is held in a fixed alignment with the man at the center, there are other figures that draw your attention and place your focus over a flexible range. There is an element of one-point perspective along the path, leading to someplace behind my mom’s head. All of the subjects’ faces are turned in the opposite direction, which together with the monochrome style creates anonymity.

What some see as trash, other may consider to be beautiful. This home close by my neighborhood created a tree from a variety of types of bottles, even matching holiday colors. I took the original photo at shutter speed 1/125, aperture 5.0, and ISO 100. I edited the photo in Photoshop by using the magnetic tool to create a new layer of the bright bottles and placing this layer over a multiplied (100%) blend mode layer of the background.

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The subject and angle in this photo makes me think of Thumbelina at rest; though, of course, Thumbelina would have arms. Although the subject in the center is the porcelain woman, I also love the in-focus poppy flower and stem from the sidelines. I used the Tungsten light white balance, which altered the composition completely from the natural orange sunlight. I think the Tungsten lighting, together with the subject being slightly blurred, helps to create a feeling of mystery and calm.
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I took a walk on a sunny Saturday and came across this magnolia seed pod. I always thought they were a type of pinecone! I’ve never seen one with as many seeds hanging from it as this one, and I chose to post this photo because I think the subject is very eye-catching. If you’re like my mom, the pod might catch your attention right away by creating an uncomfortable feeling: you want to remove the seeds and pick them off, but it’s out of your reach on the screen. I took this photo using a low aperture to create more focus on the subject and have the background as an afterthought.

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Below is another view of the seed pod in color:

I edited this photo in Photoshop with using the Multiply blend mode at 45% opacity. I think that both the monochrome and color photos have impact on the viewer, and this color version creates more clues to the context of season. Emotion can be more vivid with colors (see John Logan’s Red!).

When I saw this display while window-shopping in Half Moon Bay, I snapped a photo for the design of the lamp. Having a felted bird connected to the lamp makes me imagine it to be alive and swinging around its post, like a whimsical gadget. With the lighting and the pale green background, I think the photo creates a playful, hopeful mood of colors against a pale day.

I used an ISO of 400 together with a shutter speed of 1/125 to take this photo, with an aperture of 5.0.