Photo1Q3.18: Let's Get Weird (A Beautiful Mistake)

I think this assignment is a set-up for a future assignment that challenges us to truly portray a message in a photo. This type of assignment is daunting at first, but that's exactly what happens when you're out there trying to capture a good photo under certain conditions.

The topic I selected was "A Beautiful Mistake", which asks the photographer to make up a rule (open to interpretation), take a photo following that rule, make up another rule... etc. I selected this topic because it seemed challenging and interesting. I honestly thought I'd break my rules a couple photos in, but I actually got to 6 before breaking my most simplest rule. But yeah; I selected this topic because confining someone to certain conditions is a fantastic way to bring out someone's creativity.

Rule: Decent exposure (doesn't have to be perfect)

Rule: Frame right

Rule: A human element

Rule: Actual human

As I was trying to fulfill the topic, I was obviously lost the first couple of minutes trying to think of a rule to use, but I knew that I was under a time limit so I thought broadly. Exposure is an easy rule to follow despite it being the victim of so many photographs, so I just went with that. As the rules got broader and broader, the 20 minutes felt like a breeze. It's definitely limiting, but if you're efficient then it's more than enough time.

Rule: Pose the person

Rule: Group of people

Rule 1 is broken, exposure was poor originally

This photo above was when I broke the first rule, which was good exposure. It's funny how the most simplest of things could be the thing that topples the assignment. It looked worse pre-Lightroom (all of these photos were edited mainly for color instead of exposure, though the last one was pretty dark so I had to boost the exposure slightly). It's definitely unintentional, though I don't think this image is horrible. Sure, it might not be in absolute focus, it might not have the greatest exposure, and there's a lot of things that I would change, but I think it captures the title of this topic ("A Beautiful Mistake") because it exposes exactly the type of photography I want to capture. This was slightly posed, but I did it in a way that would allow the subject some degree of freedom to appear candid and "raw".

Overall, I feel that this assignment was a really great way to get oneself churning in terms of creativity. I usually do not pose people, and I could've done a better job in terms of posing them (I kind of just said "just do whatever" for the photos with people in it), but it shows what you can improve on and what kind of photos you're good or bad at taking. Very enjoyable project.

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Photo1Q3.17: Blogs I Recommend (Peer Blog Review)

When observing all of the Photo 1 blogs from the given sources, I looked four things in descending order (most important first, least important last); (1) Creativity and effort in the photography and associated text, (2) Professionalism and/or obvious personality in the blog work including the construction of the blog itself, (3) Completion of the posts themselves and being up to date, and (4) Showing improvement over the span of their work. I feel that the following blogs best represent these aspects.

Period 3 Recommendation: Madeline's Photohraphy

Something heavily avoided in a lot of these blogs is attention to the thumbnail of the posts. It's not necessary, but it certainly helps in making a blog appear much nicer aesthetically, and shows the strides one has made to make their blog more appealing. Madeline's blog, while it may be unintentional, does this very well. In addition, the photos themselves are clearly made with effort and aren't "last-minute" (unlike a huge portion of photo 1 students, which is understandable, but c'mon). She has her own sense of style that people can appreciate too, and I challenger her to translate that into color correction (the optional next level). She's conceptually very advanced in her work too. Very impressive. Her most recent "Not Necessarily to be Taken Literally" post was fantastic. She's up to date on her assignments as well, and responsibility is always appreciated.

Period 3 Recommendation: Danica's Pictures

Danica's photography is minimal and differs in creative range, but I respect the effort and thought into becoming better as she progresses in photography. I enjoy browsing through the blog (arguably the best template to use in blogger because of it's colorful nature), and enjoy the professionalism in the text pieces. They're honest, and she knows where she is in photography, as well as how to get better. I challenge her to refine her photographic style and add that extra "sauce" to make it even better. Great work.

Mrs. Sheets Class Recommendation: Janel's Camera Roll

Janel's blog is very similar to Danica's due to the theme. It's content is very detailed and there's a clear personality in her text and photography. She even put the adjustments she made to one of her ISO edits and the intention in one of those adjustments ("Cropped: To feature face as main point"). It's a small thing, but that type of attention to detail is what I like seeing in these blogs. Good work Janel!

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Photo1Q3.16: Not Necessarily to be Taken Literally

This is only a thumbnail, don't count this (even though it will show up later in this album).

Someone in water

Metaphorically, to be in water is to be congested, overwhelmed, and under immense pressure. I chose a self portrait because I believe that the topic falls pretty well in line with what is expected of me by my own self to become. In Hinduism (a religion I don't follow but was intrigued in through world history), there is a term called "moksha". It means liberation, emancipation, and release. To "achieve" moksha is impossible, but it's a point in which we can all seek to achieve. It's like shooting for the stars and reaching for the moon. I believe that I'm "in water" because my translation of moksha is well beyond the scope of what I'm currently capable of currently. My moksha is to become a multi-talented artist in the trifecta of film, photography, and design, working with the big shots of each respective world and creating their vision (perhaps even pioneering my own). I put this pressure on myself to become such an individual, and I'm lightyears away from becoming that person. That's my "reasoning" behind this photograph.

In terms of framing, it actually worked out pretty well. I was aware of centering the subject (myself), but I wasn't necessarily aware of the wall behind me. It "splits" my body from my head, much like how one sees people floating in a body of water. Take it as you may.

Someone intimidating

I always found people that have a 9-to-5 job to be more stern. I have no offense to them, but as a "millennial", I can't grasp the concept of doing the same thing everyday in your life without at least a little bit of variety every now and then. This is a photo of who I stereotype those people to look like; always dressed in business attire, takes the bus, and talks to few. Now this is obviously untrue for so many people who have a 9-to-5, but it's what comes to mind.

Someone irritating

People who intentionally do not pay attention to their surroundings or disrespect the laws set in place for traffic are quite frustrating. This man crossed on red, and the light later changed to where it allowed pedestrians to walk. It's reckless and synonymous with the topic name; irritating, to both drivers and other pedestrians.

Your biggest fear

I selected this photo because my biggest fear isn't necessarily quantifiable by a physical thing or action. It's more so a fear of working hard for something until one realizes that it either doesn't matter, it's all for nothing, and/or realizing that it's the "wrong way" of doing it. It's one of the reasons why I chose art as a career path, because objectively, there is no "wrong way" to portray art.

Your favorite possession

My favorite possession isn't the phone, but instead a specific set of contents being displayed. My favorite possession is music. It's an oasis in the Sahara desert; it is so ridiculously important to my daily grind that I can't imagine a day without listening to something nice. Currently been on Jhené Aiko's psychedelic R&B album, "Trip", which is shown in the photo.

Your biggest loss

Perhaps the biggest loss I've had in recent memory is the passing of my grandfather. He suffered from dementia and schizophrenia, and was a heavy smoker and drinker early on in life, but he was the man my grandmother loved. Seeing her in grief following my grandfather's passing quite literally split my life into "before" and "after". This isn't the exact chair he sat in, but he was always the type to hang out in my cousins garage and crack a cold one with the boys (my cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) and just have a nice time. 

Your best friend

Pretty self-explanatory. She's one of my closest friends, known her since around middle school (approximately). I can say anything and it would warrant some kind of clap back response from her. Took this at Honolulu City Lights using my fairy lights as a prop! First time trying to be like Brandon Woelfel, without the blue color correction and immense use of bokeh.

Your favorite place

I didn't choose to go to Kaua'i this winter break because I wanted to improve my body in preparation for the upcoming tennis season, but I have numerous souvenirs from the island in which I cherish. One of such items are from my grandmother, which was a hat of a chicken (very numerous on the island) with the lettering "Kaua'i" beneath it. It's a place I'd love to retire to, in fact.

Your dark side

Selecting a photo for this topic was somewhat tricky, so I used this photo of my curtains that I took while cleaning up post-Christmas. If there's a "dark side" to me, I guess it'd just be the fact that I'm very inconsistent in some of the meaningful things in life, much like the lighting on this set of curtains. It's a stretch, but there you go.

Your dreams

In another life, I wish I didn't dislike country music and didn't dislike being in the same place and just "enjoying the scenery". In my dreams, I imagine a nice house somewhere in Texas where the sun always rises brilliantly, and there's pure tranquility with each passing moment with a small family. 50s-esque, but without the difficulties of that era.

Something you covet

To covet something is to year to have something. In this photo, the lines intersect quite a numerous amount of times with other lines briefly, but without interrupting their own line. I yearn to have that unwavering consistency in every aspect in life, no matter the direction I'm going.

Something you dread

I fear being so incredibly wrong after hearing or doing a certain thing with certainty and effort. Below that, I fear (dread) falling into comfort. It's cliché to say that one should never be satisfied, but satisfaction is, to me, stagnation. It's choosing to not improve, because something is selfishly "good enough". This is a photo of one of the buildings in my apartment complex; a home in which I've been in since 3rd grade of elementary school. Local rapper (local as in "a Moanalua student" local) Jason Voorheezy always has a line in his projects that refers to Hawaii being a place of "isolation". It's the same type of thing I dread, where ignorant isolation of one's self makes one believe that they are at the peak of life when they really aren't. My home is seen by my family as the "peak" and don't believe that there are better ways to live. I dread falling into that same ignorance in any category in life.

Something you don't understand

Why do cats always take a good minute to just stare at you? It's unsettling at times. This cat wanna square up but nah, it ran away after this photo was taken.

Something timely

Blue is a fad. And it's my favorite color too.

Something timeless

Gold is eternal. I love this aesthetic. There's a reason why gold's shiny and transcendental appearance continues to attract people to it. It's age has cemented its place in the realm of jewelry.

Somewhere you've never been

This is a really simple photo for the topic, but I've never been somewhere with snow. The photo is what I perceive snow to be, at least from movies. Technically, as a baby, I was able to live in San Francisco, but I've yet to touch or see real snow and remember it.

A celebration

Unfortunately, I don't go to church much. But bless up :).

A nightmare

This is more of an aesthetic thing. I felt that the dark and gloomy tone of this photo best fit the "nightmare"-esque topic. The unknown is the scariest.

A mundane moment

As I've said before, music is an important aspect of my life, no matter the mood. And yes, listening to music can become mundane and boring if you have the wrong tracks, or have been the same tracks over and over and over...

A fleeting moment

Fleeting is defined as short, momentary, and quick (according to Google). I selected this photo due to the rushed nature of the event displayed. It was just two close friends playing tennis and doing a long overdue photoshoot on the same day, on a whim too. Moments are often quick glances into one's timeline that are immense in value. This "moment" certainly qualifies. This could also go under the "best friend" category as well, but I wanna be a little bit salty to this best friend just because c:.

A secret

It's pretty obvious when you're attempting to keep a conversation under the wraps. You close the doors, turn your head the other way, and whisper. This old man ain't slick.

What you can't see

This is a jibe at my horrible parking skills. I never use my mirrors to park for some reason, despite me using it for literally everything else. I can't "see" the line, nor can I visualize the maneuvers I need to perform. Kinda sucks, but oh well.

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Photo1Q2.15: End Q2 Best Photo

Thumbnail (this is not my best photo for the quarter!)

The main highlights from this quarter were actually form straying away from modern methods of photography. Taking it to the roots of exposure was very intriguing, especially with the pinhole practice and the sun prints. They expose you to such raw concepts in both of them, and you truly understand the importance of each point on the exposure triangle. I look forward to film photography in Photo 2 (from what I've heard, this is what an advanced class does for a year). As for the next semester, I'm just really interested to integrate all of this back to a "complete" photo (meaning coming back to modern, digital photography), but I still am looking forward to more pinhole photography and exploring new concepts and themes.



This photo was taken from the creepy photoshoot near the end of October. It features Noah Maldonaldo along with help from Eldon Wong, Kris Bautistia, and Rylen Austria. I feel that this is by best new quarter 2 photo among everything I've taken since Fall Break because it's really the first time that I actually utilized an artificial light source to light a scene, even more, a portrait. It successfully portrays the "cult" theme that we as a group were attempting to go for. Arguably one of my best photos this year, alongside my Homecoming crowd shot and some photos from an earlier photoshoot I was tagging along with during the summer.



I don't like my right hand placement (the left one from your perspective), but I did enjoy the shot composition. It pains me that my camera body doesn't have a rotating LCD (I hope to get a DSLR with that feature one day), but I made do with the timer on the camera and checking if my subject(s) were in focus. It's aesthetically pleasing.



This was from the day of the Moanalua Elementary Fair and I was just there to watch some of my peers perform their dances. I got there early and I didn't want to spend money on anything, so I just went to the area next to the middle school that leads to Moanalua Valley if you walk far enough. This quick shot is more sentimental to me than being a "best photo". I just have had this bag since my freshman year, and it's been pretty difficult to part with since it's such an amazing piece of tech. I'd love to get this to replace it though.

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Photo1Q2.14: Pinhole Practice

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When I learned that we were doing pinhole photography, I was pretty intrigued, but also somewhat "distant" at the fact that we were "going backwards" in terms of photography, using older technology to learn the importance of exposure and composition. The introductory videos made me concerned that I wouldn't be able to grasp the concept, but when I truly understood how it worked, it made the whole process easier. The aperture is basically permanent, and I'm not sure what our paper ISO was, so I knew that our main focus was on composition and "shutter speed". I chose to use a camera that was prebuilt because it made life easier.

For every photograph, it's simply a self portrait of myself.

Paper on round wall / 20 seconds

This first attempt was definitely something that I learned off of. I didn't realize just how long you need to keep your shutter open, and the fact that the main light source is from the "window" in the back just complicates things even further. Definitely should've decreased shutter speed here. Darkroom processing was difficult at first, but I got the hang of it in the next photos.

Paper on round wall / 12 seconds

I was very happy with this photo other than the fact that it's orientation doesn't match the photo. The lighting was partially underexposed with some clouds, so I imagined that I should've exposed it for a longer duration, but then the sun leaked through the clouds and I was forced to use a much shorter shutter time.

Paper on flat wall / 22 seconds

This is probably the best photo out of this group despite it being slightly off in rotation. It's exposed properly, orientation matches the composition, etc. The lighting was slightly cloudy on this day, so I exposed it for a little bit longer than the previous photos.

Paper on flat wall / 27 seconds

On this day, lighting was very poor. Thus, I exposed it much longer than usual, and the results came as expected. There's this dark shadow over the top of the photo, so I believe that I either A) did not use the correct times for darkroom/took it out of certain trays too early, or B) the tape was coming off. I'm not sure what was the source of the problem here, but it's something to learn on.

Overall, this shoot was met with success with a slight bit of learning. Obviously, orientation is something I need to change (and thus, actually have a pose in mind beforehand instead of winging the pose). Choosing the exposure time was definitely a struggle as I still was unsure of how great the light would impact the photo, but I made good estimations.

Being more patient with the darkroom and the overall process may have improved the quality of some of these photos. I also believe that composition is something I would like to change, knowing the "frame size" of the pinhole photograph. I'd definitely like to do much harder lighting and challenge myself with the exposure timing (perhaps a redo of the first one with the backlighting and all).

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Photo1Q2.13: Project Projection

Being in front of the camera is an odd sensation, as I'm usually the one behind it. I don't mind being in photos, but I often am unsure of what to do since a lot of the people I usually work with just naturally look great. The overlaid image didn't make too much of a difference from regular portraits; I still felt kinda "exposed" but not really exposed where I can't come up with at least something.

I haven't really experimented very much with actually commanding a live subject to do particular tasks in order to achieve a nice and composed photo.

As for the images I was attracted to, I basically went for album covers. They're naturally amazing pieces of art that vary so much in execution that I can choose from any of them.

I didn't have time to do a second image, but I did take the photos for Eldon, Rylen, and Kris.

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Photo1Q2: Snaps 12: Red & Green

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Photo1Q2.12: Rep Yo' Self

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Our first introduction into the lighting unit on the qualities of direction and sources of light, I felt intrigued. There was a video in which Mrs. Takemoto presented showing how a shift in direction can change the feeling of an portrait. I've always wanted to manipulate the light itself, but I realized after learning a bit about lighting, it kinda clicked. As someone who prefers street photography, I didn't necessarily have a "choice" in placing a point of light or the subject I'm framing. It's more of a run and gun thing. In other photographic categories, you can manipulate your subject more. I felt that restraint loosen after this project, and I hope to explore that further with live subjects. I was comfortable with the importance of lighting in a scene, but not the actual manipulation of it as I always use natural lighting before anything else, and any artificial source I have is quite limited.

Grateful A: Family / Natural, Front

For the first concept for grateful, I took a brief couple of images of some of my cousins in front of my grandfather's gravestone. The lighting source was natural, and the framing of the subjects was somewhat unfortunate due to the use of a 50mm lens (had to stand way back), but instead of attempting to intricately place all of the subjects, I went with the flow. Family themselves fits the gratitude category because I am truly grateful to have them in my life. My family is pretty small, and with the passing of my grandfather last year, it only got smaller. I like to honor those who've past by living my life to the fullest with the people we currently have, so it's good to be grateful for people. Bar all the physical objects and essentials, all we have are each other.

Grateful B: Bracelet / Natural, Back

This photo was taken amidst the sun's shine through my parlor window. The light was controlled by curtains in order to create the silhouette appearance without an overblown background of brightness. The object in display is a bracelet from a friend that just gave me it out of the blue after returning from her countless trips to Hale'iwa. She loves that that place, for it reminds her of a place we both visit around this time of the year; Kaua'i. I'm unsure of why I wear it everyday, but I do it anyways, and so does she. I'm grateful for that dedication and appreciate this person for being there. This object signifies that gratefulness.

Grateful C: Camera / Artificial, Side

I somewhat broke the "rules" on this photo in that the lighting is softer than it is harsh (which is the intent for this assignment). I was recommended by Mrs. Takemoto to attempt something different as my early concepts were somewhat unorthodox. This involved what is known as 2nd curtain photography, rear sync, or 2nd curtain flash. From what I understand, the first curtain exposes the camera and records information it receives, closes, and opens it again to sort of "overlay" it onto the final location of all the subjects in the photo. In my evidence folder (only viewable on DOE email), I attempted to play around with it (navigation: EXPORTS > Grateful 3 Camera EXPORTS) just to see what it can do. It creates this intriguing ghost effect that takes a bit more understand, but as far as this project goes, I used it to create an artificial light leak/streaks in all of the attempts. To do this, I set my camera's flash to 2nd curtain. I took a photo of something with light (which was my lamp) and moved my camera horizontally until it reached the actual subject, which included my camera vertically placed in front of my graphics drawing book. The end result is what you see above, with some minor contrast/exposure adjustments.

The objects in the photo represent me because that camera was quite literally where I started my photography career/portfolio. It all started with the Canon Powershot ELPH 300 HS. I purchased it on Amazon for $80, used. It was such a powerful and nifty little camera that taught me a lot about composition, and the fact that money doesn't always equate success and talent. I placed the book behind it to signify that the camera is a chapter in my life (though it may not seem apparent due to the light overlay). The camera has gone through a lot of toil, and the covering cap is actually broken, meaning that the lens is exposed at all times. In addition, much of the skin has been torn off. Despite that, were I to never have saved up for a DSLR, that camera is what I would still be using today.

Nourishment A: Culture / Artificial, Side

I went with a more basic approach to this one. The lighting source is identical to the one used in the photo before this one--Grateful C. Culture was a category I wanted to represent in this photo shoot, but besides my grandfather's はなふだ (Hanafuda) playing cards, I wasn't sure what to put (and I'd already set that aside for another category in this assignment). I went with the bandana that, when unraveled, shows the rising sun; a symbol of imperial Japan. Knowing this, I did not want to be representing that in anyway due to its' negative connotation and history, but I also thought it'd be an interesting prop. Frank Ocean, my favorite artist, wore it during his concerts back in 2012 when he was more active. Instead of representing the culture of olde, I wanted to represent the culture of today, which builds upon history. This bandana symbolizes that.

Nourishment B: Art & Apparel / Artificial Side

This photo's lighting was tilted close to the side of scene to get just a hint of shadows from the folds on the clothing, just to create that little bit of contrast. To me, nourishment also means to indulge and embrace my individuality. As such, I felt that art and apparel were ways that I can represent that. I'm not necessarily an "artist", but I do have an appreciation and a taste for particular types of photos, art, design, etc. Some of my favorite apparel and the most interesting type of art as of right now are on display in the photo. 

Nourishment C: Music / Natural Side

For the above photo, the sun was pretty blinding at least to my eyes. It was coming off of a couple of days of rain and I was probably not used to it. I positioned myself and the subjects to be on the side to overlay the shadows onto each of the CD's and my hands. The objects themselves are merely a couple of my favorite albums over the past couple of years that I could get physically (copping all of the albums I like would be insane because I listen to a large range of albums, so I stuck to many of the CD's that I can put on replay). This relates to nourishment because not a day goes by where I don't listen to something. I would argue that, besides maybe movies, music is the best thing we have to telling a story and evoking a feeling in the quickest and most effective way possible that's repeatable and replenishable. Music is heavily influential in my mood and mentality. Dark R&B that's still has a pop-vibe? Beauty Behind the Madness by The Weeknd. In need of a lay-back but incredibly meaningful album? Peak by Choker. Wanna just dance? Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1 by Calvin Harris. Wanna listen to something new and upcoming in rap? Cult Classic by Jason Voorheezy. Music is something I can never be without. It nourishes my mind, body, and soul on the daily.

Upon practicing in class with the group creepy photoshoot and personal exploration of hard-lighting through this project, I found that the hardest obstacle in achieving hard lighting is the type of light being used. It's great to use natural lighting, but I'm sure that there's a lot more ways that I could be exploring to effectively achieve hard lighting. Using a decent flash, for example, is a great way of getting a raw, gritty, and paparazzi-type vibe hard-lighting photo.

This project is the first time in Photo 1 where "meaning" and "significance" of my subject matter is introduced. I feel that the meaning of feeling grateful and nourishing were clear for the most part in my photos. My bandana photo could use some improvement because the focus feels as if it's on my eyes rather than the bandana. A different method of showing it entirely would probably be better.

In an attempt to show emotion or a dramatic mood, I feel that it's easy to emphasize textures and shadows in a photo with the right tools. I would like to explore different methods of lighting up a scene as well as how the subject could manipulate with the light moreso than how I did in my photos above.

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Photo1Q2: Snaps 11: Chaos

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Photo1Q2: Snaps 10: Reflections

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