A Day in the Life

This is a picture of clothes pins in my laundry room for the “Day in the Life” assignment. The objective of this assignment was to adjust a setting on the camera and edit the photo using a border and Photoshop adjustments. For this particular photo I changed the white balance on the camera to the fluorescent setting due to the fact that the only source of light in the room is fluorescent bulbs. During editing this photo I first added a black feather border to make the corners as dark as possible. I then used the levels adjustment to darken the blacks and lighten the midtones, leaving the background almost entirely black. Next, I used the hue/saturation adjustment to decrease the saturation of reds and blues in the clothes pins. Lastly, I used the channel mixer to further decrease the amount of red in the clothes pins.

Judging the final product I am content with how the editing techniques affected the photo. I feel a strength of this photo are the vivid colors of the clothes pins. It catches one’s eye and gives the viewer something to focus on. The colors of the clothes pins were successfully enhanced by Photoshop adjustments. I feel a weakness of this photo is the background. Though it is dark enough so that items in the background do not take one’s focus off of the clothes pins, there still remain subtle outlines of objects. If I could go back and re-edit this photo I would darken the background further so that little or nothing could be seen in the background, making the photo more dramatic.

Artist Statement

For me, art is an escape, an expression and a passion that is enjoyable and relaxing. The main and most important reason why I create art is to express my personal and unique style in a way that makes sense to me. Some people may feel inclined to express themselves through sports, writing or music. I feel most comfortable expressing myself through art, and more specifically, photography.

Though many different things influence my art, my Dad is one of the most important. Due to the fact that I aspire to be like my Dad someday, I am inclined to follow in his tracks. As a graduate from Pratt Art School in Brooklyn, New York, my Dad’s interest in art has shown up at many different points throughout my life. Another major influence is my love of nature. I thoroughly enjoy taking pictures outdoors of nature’s idiosyncrasies and unique elements.

Thus far most of my work has been photography. However I have also taken classes on oil pastels and charcoal drawing. I briefly took an interest in painting during middle school. During this semester I would like to gain a strong understanding of how I can best edit photos, without making them look overdone. Also, I hope to make quality work throughout this semester while incorporating my unique interpretations of nature.

This photograph was found at: http://www.bulldogblog.net/articles/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ansel.jpg