Artist Statement:

The two images I have created are a representation of my environmentalist views. Since, the industrial period, generated trash has been going up exponentially in the worlds major countries. In my first image I wanted to bring awareness to the amount of trash being thrown out all over the world. My second image conveys human disturbance of the natural environment. Instead of naturally letting plants spread, we confine and put species where they're not meant to exist naturally. Instead let species exist naturally without human intervention. 

What is the requirements of the assignment?

40+ images 

2 final triptychs, 6 final images

images that tell a story

Why are we shooting Triptychs?

Ability to tell a story through progression

Can bring awareness to personal belief

Triptychs can display more information than one single image. 

No subject constraint or lighting constraint

Styles of Triptychs: colors, telling a story (progression), one location pieced all together, shapes all 3 use the same element or shape, textures, Lighting, Tone, Theme links, Emotions, using same extreme angles, same subjects, lines line images, framing. 

Subject 3 minute brain dump: 

reflection, landscape, long exposure, cars, food, football, golf, swimming, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, leading lines, waterfalls, water, animals, plants

Themes, 3 minute brain dump: 

Landscapes, sports, reflections, food, cities, exposure, lighting, remote lighting, brightness vs darkness, age, temperature, water, stories, 

Generating Ideas:

long exposure waterfalls, images of mountainous lakes with reflections (combine this with rivers and water fall, water theme), skiing progression, swimming movement (water tension), various bridges (city, rural, suburban), various different sunsets, baking progression, tree progression (sprout to stump), framing from underneath (digging hole?), other framing with trash bags, cups etc.

Design ideas:

1. paint brush or an item dragging across the 3 images adding colors to the subjects

2. the progression of film photography from film to negatives?

3. A person walking across 3 images with different subjects in each(downtown Denver)

4. A building downtown (outside looking up, stairwell, roof top view)

5. Workers experiences (train to buildings to cubicle)

6. from rural, suburban, to cities all focused in on traffic lights. 

7.  framing with garbage can, various trashes going into the can

8. Framing of digging hole (shovel to bare to plant)

Inspiration Photographer:

One of my images had to be inspired by a photographer. I chose Jordi Koalitic, a photographer who uses framing in many of his photos. I saw an image from the perspective of a grave and it inspired my dirt hole framing. I really enjoyed the lighting styles and subject matters, and was set on creating a unique composition inspired by his work. I discovered Jordi while searching for further ideas based on my trash can framing. Obtaining this image proved much more challenging than I anticipated and gave me a hint into all the work that goes into his images. 

Developing an Idea:

I began my process by sketching my images. I wasn't totally positive on my 3rd image in the triptych for both subjects, so I created a few ideas and assessed when I began shooting. 

I ended up using different items of trash for the three images in the trash can triptych and a bare hole to show a sense of progression in the hole triptych. 

Shooting:

For this project I ended up shooting just under 200 images. I shot different subjects for the 2 triptychs however the images for some of my ideas weren't as strong as I hoped and I reshot about 80 photos. 

Original Proof sheet

Reshoots:

Once I had all my images imported, I began by looking through the images, selecting the best compositions and lighting

After I had selected my best images I started experimenting with different color emphasis and lighting. I wanted to create similar colors in each individual image then connect them through a black background. I messed around with a black vs grey boarder and decided on the grey to slightly separate the images while still making them appear as similar. 

I struggled slightly on my second images in the post processing. It was difficult to balance the dark framing and the sun flooding in at angles. I shot very early in the morning and they still came out brighter than I hoped. I spent a lot of time first fixing the exposure then I began to play around with different color themes. I even slightly changed the color emphasis when the images were in the triptych to make them more connected. I finally decided on a black boarder so the images seemed like they tied together, rather than a harsh white background separating the images. 

Once I had finalized my color and lighting emphasis, I imported into photoshop and assembled my triptychs displayed below. I debated for a long time of what order to put my images into the triptych. In my trash can framing, I decided to put the can image in the middle due to the slightly deeper trash bag framing. The other two images have a tighter crop and it looked like the best organization for the images. 

I din't struggle as much with the order of this triptych. I wanted to show the progression of digging a hole to a plant, and the final order seemed like the best solution to achieve this look. 

Overall I am very pleased with my final images and the story I was able to convey. I put a lot of time and effort into perfecting the framing for both images, reshooting several times. I thought that I successfully created unique images, even with one inspired by an existing artist. Through reshoots and various explorations in editing I believe I was able to create stronger compositions, especially the image with the can. Originally the image was almost completely green, and through exploration in post processing, I was able to find a diverse color combination that I preferred. While I had many successes, I struggled with my second triptych. I reshot several times however no matter the time of day my photos always came out too light or too dark. However that being said, I still believe I was able to correct the exposure and produce a productive and interesting image. I am very happy with the work I was able to achieve. I definitely believe that my first image is stronger, however I may be biased because its my own individual work (not inspired by other photographers). Through all these challenges, I still believe I achieved awesome images with my own personal style.