Task 1: Object and representation of self.

I chose a glass jar of seashells as my object as it represents the memories that I treasure in my life. I have many jars filled with seashells that I’ve picked up whenever I visit beaches over the years. This particular jar holds memories with my classmates in polytechnic. Transitioning into university, I miss my classmates a lot. There were plenty of ups, and many downs, but I miss all of it. Reminiscing about the past is what I catch myself doing very often. I think that we are all made out of memories and whatever experience that I’ve undergone has contributed to who I am today. I felt that seashells best represent that concept. There are many shells in the ocean, but there’s only a handful that I pick to keep. Likewise, there are many moments in life but we cherish only a handful of them.

Shells symbolise emotions, memories and friendship, which are important in my life. In this photo series of representation of self, I decided to keep the photos clean looking with minimal props. I wanted to let the jar of shells stand out, and a cluttered background with poor execution could have potentially taken the viewer’s attention away from the main subject. I worked with a 4:5 aspect ratio for a tighter crop.

Keeping mise en scene in mind, I opted to go for a very clean look to match the look of the jar. Browns, beiges and earthy tones. I chose to wear a white dress because it symbolises purity and innocence – characteristics that can often be associated with reminiscing nice memories. I wore my watch, because it symbolises the passing of time. The burgundy red colour gave a nice pop of colour in the photos.

Task 2: My World

Botanic Gardens is a place that I have a personal connection with. Whenever I feel stressed or sad, I will make time to visit Botanic Gardens for a walk. When the season is right, the flowers will be in full bloom. It is a rather beautiful sight. I will walk around the garden aimlessly then, until I feel better. Sometimes, I will find a quiet spot to sit just to think. I’ve always been a nature person. I find that the visits always refresh me, especially after sitting in a cubicle in school doing work for weeks. I am a flower person too, so I am in my element whenever I visit the garden. Welcome to my world.

I tried to capture its beauty, peacefulness and grandness in the photos. For serene shots, I stuck to eye level, wide shots. The horizon line parallel to the edge of the photo conveys the garden’s peacefulness. In contrast, to show the grandness of the tall trees, I crouched down and tried to take low angle shots. I played around with selective focusing on the photo of the man surrounded by flowers, to give the image more depth and to draw attention to my subject. It was also a happy accident that the man was glued to his phone. It kind of has a sub message that sometimes we are so busy focusing on little things that we fail to notice the natural beauty that is around us. What makes a place special is not just its environment, but the people who visit the place, which is why I made sure to include people in my photographs too. They act as a point of interest because nature photography tends to get lost without a focal point. I kept the overall series saturated because it can be a lively place.