2014 just came to a close and it got me thinking that I should reflect on some of my favorite images and moments in which I grew the most. My favorite quote about time and reflection is by John Green: "You can't know what an experience will mean to future you, until you are future you. You need millions of seconds of perspective, which ultimately only time can buy." So lets see what experiences in the past 365 days has affected present me.
My 3 favorite images from the last year has for some weird reason or another pushed my technical skills as a photographer or ability to see and compose moments.
The first is from the series Sidewalls. While some might consider it not to be the most aesthetically pleasing photograph I've ever created. The image has a special place in my heart because of how complicated in terms of lighting, direction, and communication with the set designer.
The second was from my trip to Australia. While this image wasn't my all time favorite from the series or trip. The reason why it is on my list is because of the moment and composition. The moment of interaction between the figures and the lines from the architecture keeps the viewer engaged with the photograph. The act of photographing was simple. I just wanted to capture the moment of the family and didn't care for much else. It was only when I came back and edited the almost three hundred and sixty images. I saw how all the elements brought life to the image.
The third is a image from my 4x5 film study. While it wasn't apart of the original blog post. Once I came back to see the image and saw how the view camera's swing, tilt, and shift affected the image. I understood the ability that the view camera has to offer and its ability to create a different style of photograph.
A lot of things has happened this year. It got to travel to Australia. I was an intern for the de Young Museum and SF Camerawork, a photographer for SJSU College of Engineering, a teaching assistant for Yvonne Williams at SJSU, a window monitor for SJSU photography department, a barista for Cafe Central in San Jose, and finally a assistant gallery manager at Scott Nichols Gallery. All of these experiences while hard and daunting at times, has taught me that I'm still learning beyond the end of my undergraduate studies.
However, all these ups did not have it's downs. It has also been a hard year of no call backs from potential employers, rejection emails, and lack of creativity. All slowly tearing away at my self-confidence. However, these experiences didn't add up the worse news I could've ever received this year. In August, I received news that left me devastated. My friend Dipesh Yadav passed away that month. It was news that I didn't want to receive until I was significantly older. He was a great friend with a good sense of humor. I miss him and somehow I know he's laughing at me for writing this.
2014 has been a crazy year and I have learned so much from it. As we move into 2015, I know that everything I have learned, watched, and gained this year will be experiences has and will shape me for this next year if not more.
Here is to a great year and to the start of a new one.
Love,
Alex