Category: Story Telling

Taking photos of people in their natural element is great fun! It’s usually a little awkward to capture detailed close-ups, especially focusing on natural facial expressions, without having the subject notice it, but this photo blog prompt was the perfect opportunity to have fun while going incognito as a photographer. This child was playing in the sandpit with his plastic dinosaur when I was sitting in the grass close by. Lying low on the grass and holding my camera close to ground level allowed me to capture a straight, centered view of the little boy. I think this photo also encapsulates the sense of curiosity and fun that everyone experiences to the greatest level as a child and must fight to maintain as they grow older. I took this photo using an aperture of 1.8, ISO 100, and shutter speed 1/320, using the Cloudy white balance.

It was sweet seeing this couple’s display of affection throughout the event. This elderly couple reminds me of the couple mentioned in Alec Benjamin’s song, If We Have Each Other (check it out!). The photo is also compositionally interesting by displaying the rule of odds in the three picnic blankets spread out across the hill. I took this photo using the following settings: an aperture of 2.6, ISO of 100, and shutter speed of 1/1600. I then edited original photo in Photoshop using a multiply blend mode at 64% opacity.

Through this photo, I hope to share the experience of a hiker. The girl is hunched over, looking up to face the stretch of hillward slopes she has yet to traverse. I was surprised by the clarity of her facial features and the shape of her ponytail that the image was able to capture.

Our former cat passed away in August last year, and we’ve been lonely for a cat since then. 3 weeks ago, my parents and I went to an animal shelter on a whim – and ended up adopting this boy! Having him in our life – even just for a few weeks – has changed many things for the better, especially starting off this new year. When editing the original photo in Photoshop, I had fun experimenting with inserting color gradients to create different moods for the spirit of the photo. I utilized a tricolored gradient layer at full opacity, placed below a multiplied layer of the original photo at 100% opacity as well.

The Great Wall has long been established as a must-see structure for both those who live within or outside of China. On this 2018 trip, it was the first time that my stepdad (in the white cap, on the left) met the other half of my family and became integrated in this part of my life. In this photo, you can see a range of ages in visitors, each of whom lead a unique and irreplaceable life. This photo results from editing in Photoshop by applying layers of dark brush strokes at 11% opacity.

In Half Moon Bay, there is a vibrant art gallery-shop crossover called Silk & Stone, featuring amazing works of hand-painting on silk, even wearable works made by Natasha Foucault. When I entered the shop, I gasped when I saw the golden top with a replica of Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” hanging above the door. I’ve heard some interpretations of this artwork which introduce the view that the woman is deceased, and The Kiss is a final farewell. Whichever perspective of the scenario, I think this represents true connection and appeals strongly to viewers’ emotion.

This sunny photo was taken a few weeks before the rain came! When I miss the warm sunshine, this photo reminds of me summertime and sharp smells. I took the original photo with a shutter speed of 1/200, Aperture 5.6, and ISO 100. I edited the photo in Photoshop using the overlay blend mode at 30% opacity as well as changing the levels exposure from darker to light.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A series of warm, yellow fruits and leaves:

.

.

I saw this intriguing plant on a walk after a tiring day of school, snapping at least 20 photos of it. When I look at this photo, I feel dizzy, as so much of the space is taken up by blurriness. I represent myself using this photo because although parts of my life are prominent and important at this moment – just like the in-focus point of the pink blooms of the plant – it leads away to the fact that so many other aspects of my life are vague, unclear, and undecided. I loved the shadows of the plant against the garden wall in the background as well.

The flowers are half immersed in the light and half immersed in the dark, like me.

To take this photo, I used a fast shutter speed (1/200) and a high aperture setting (8.0). I think that although both of these settings would cause the light captured by the shutter to decrease, the photo still achieved a light-filled appearance through using a Daylight white balance, as well as through the location of the sunlight against the garden wall.