Ampersand

This image is focusing on one of the parts in typography that is most interesting and oftentimes most taken for granted. I found the bag itself, laying on the floor, to be very interesting and wanted to test out my own along with my camera's ability to capture an image primarily focused on one part of this bag that was laying under my sister's dresser on here dirty floor. The clean type counteracts where the bag was on the floor and I thought the vantage point made it all the more interesting.

Heather Hard at Work

This is a photo that I took in class the other day while waiting for my 17x22 photo to print. I chose it because it shows the short strides of progress I'm making at taking photos in not-so-well lit areas. Out of about twenty photos I took in this time period, this one of Heather turned out the clearest and best composed.

Closets

 

A person's closet is a forgotten space filled with "useful" items that we hang on to thinking that one day we might use it for something. This isn't necessarily the case. What usually ends up happening is we keep these so-called "useful" items, and they just end up sitting in boxes in our closets or basements never to be touched again; the "useful" items are really useless junk. This is definitely applies to my closet. The floor, doors of my rubbermaid container, and shelves are full of "useful" items that I think I will use at some point in the future. Doubtful.

However useless the junk is that clutters our closet floors and shelves, there is one somewhat redeeming quality to all this garbage; shape. The spaces created and relationship of the collection of shoe boxes, paper boxes, plain cardboard boxes and various other kinds of boxes that fill my shelves lends itself to rather interesting compositions. The negative space created by the awkward fitting items that have no home, or the random piles of junk that have accumulated on top of the boxes full of random piles of junk are rather intriguing. This is just one example of both the junk that fills my closet, and the relationship of said junk.

Checkerboard

I liked the feel of abstract with this photo. You kind of wonder what the photo was actually taken of, or what the photo represents. Seeing the photo and having the repetition of black and white, it reminded me of a checkerboard (hence its name).

The lonely Pea

This image captures the life of a single, lonely pea. The light coming from the window gives this piece interesting contrast and a nice balance as it shines through the glass. I stare at this jar everyday in studio and it always looks different depending on the time of day. Sometimes it looks inviting and happy, while other days it looks sad and depressing.

Crossing into the Unknown

I have always found this walking bridge across the Fox River to be awesome. I remember the first couple of times I crossed it and the moderately exhilarating experience that it was. I was hoping to capture this experience through this image. I used symmetry and the repetition of vertical elements, as well as vanishing lines to keep the viewer guessing what is on the other side.

Desk Tree

This tree can survive in any habitat. It never needs to be watered or cared for. It co-exists in a studio full of technology and has been doing so for the past year. Plastic nods its head toward nature and redefines the great indoors.

" home livin' "

I enjoy this bathroom in the basement of the chapel. I look forward to walking around this corner, seeing if it's all in place, as it was last week, last year. I'm interested in this space and this photo for its odd combination of utility and frill.

Birds Flowers Dinner

I was at home for a bit this weekend and I took a picture of the wall facing opposite of where I sat for dinner for 15 years of my life. This cabinet (the key for which has been lost for years) and the paintings my grandmother did have been there since we moved in in 1995. Same goes for the wall paper.

I hadn't really had any reason or major inspiration behind taking this picture, or my last one for that matter, but I feel that just by taking photos of things that are important to me, though maybe not for anyone else, has been a good jumping off point for our first project. I feel like the idea of finding beauty in the commonplace is getting a little easier to wrap my mind around.

Winter is Cold

Winter is not my favorite because I do not enjoy the cold weather. The below-freezing temperatures shrink the world because you cannot spend as much time outside and are therefore confined to buildings. I braved the cold for half an hour today to take some photos and get used to my new camera. I chose this image because it conveys the lack of life and color that I start to get tired of around this time during the winter. Despite this lack of life and color the silhouettes of the bare trees are interesting and the long shadows that are cast during this late afternoon are probably even more interesting.

Gold

I was wandering around the library taking a break from studying, and I saw these books on the shelf. I was intrigued by their condition, age, and style, and when I looked closer, I was fascinated by the color, condition, and textures of the tops of the books.

I  feel like there is a certain amount of beauty to be found in the age of a book and book design that is lost in today's world with the current trends of printing and technology. This image brings out the beauty of these books in an intriguing way and allows you to appreciate their beauty.

- K. Mandley II

What does this button do?

I'm not exactly what I would call a photographer, so I decided that playing with my new camera would probably be to my advantage. This is a result of that play. I was laying on the floor at the time of this two second exposure.

Chance of Snow

I chose this image because it is abstract and makes you wonder what exactly your looking at. This was taken from inside my car looking out at a building and a street light. The subtle blues compliment the dark blacks and bright whites. This image communicates both abstraction and a sense of peace and tranquility.

moment of departure

The photo was taken for this first project, “transcending the common place” –which asked that we select ordinary objects, photographing them in a variety of ways in order to see them in a fresh light, exploring potential metaphors. Although the figure in the foreground is in focus, the suitcase had been my object for the afternoon. A suitcase can carry sentiments of longing, a journey, accumulation, change and that often-inevitable moment of departure.

The Peephole

This is about communication between the person in the hallway and the person inside the apartment. Why do I need the peephole and what does it see? The hallway can only be viewed from inside my apartment, not the other way around. Visual communication is only one-way, providing privacy. The peephole is meant to give me a sense of security but I can hardly see anything through it. I wonder what this peephole sees from day to day.

Freshman Year

Ironically, this photo reminded me of my freshman year Design Class. One of our first classes, we learned about the importance of the placement of a line. A line being off-centered and diagonal is a much more interesting photo than of a line centered and being placed perfectly vertical.
This, however, is not the only reason why I like this photo. I am a big fan of texture. The texture of the ground reminds me of the marks left from the bristles of a paintbrush on a canvas.

Christmas Day

This photo was one of the first that I took with the camera I got for Christmas, on Christmas Day. My brother, Jonathan is showing his enthusiasm for the many exciting things involved in the long-awaited Christmas Day. Not only does he share a genuine smile but his joy is apparent through that smile. As an image, it conveys youth, warmth and the thought that maybe there's much more to be thankful and joyful for than most of us care to realize.

The Most Important Walk of the Day

This is what I see every morning when I walk to breakfast. Most of the outdoor stairs on campus are generally pretty shotty in construction; every step is unique in height and length. It's usually pretty amusing to watch people walk up or down this staircase or the one outside the Science Building, because there's no comfortable rhythm and it just looks awkward. I've always really liked the the aesthetic of these stairs, though, as long as I'm not awkwardly walking up them, hoping nobody is watching.