For this final project I kept it really simple and let the photos and texts do the talking. That I had to use both Photoshop and Illustrator did not stop me from using alternative programs that supplemented this project. Using photographs I took with this iPhone app Instagram, in addition to the Adobe programs Ps and Ai, I applied various filters, frames, texts, as well as focal points to each of the image in order to draw out the desired outcome, which are "posters/stickers/signage will embody these creative social messages, and express them visually, with altered images and captions. It is a campaign to open the public to some simple truths of the human heart and this life on Earth, a campaign for a soulful/mindful life in the modern world", as I have mentioned in the proposal.
Since I am using my own digital images and additional alteration were done by me, I maintained ethical standards and embraced legal considerations. And because I have created the entire project on the basis of (hopefully) "enlighten" the viewers, the social responsibility aspect is built in from the get go. That the project was created solely in digital format and embraced many beauties that nature offered to me on my daily encounter with the world, I would definitely say I am particularly environmentally conscious in the creation of the project.
I hope you enjoy the viewing of this project, and that it all made sense from the start to finish :)
Thanks for a great semester!
In keeping with my current decision in pursuing digital design purely as an educational and recreational experience, the project I will propose to design for is of a social one...with the Universe as my client and the world as my target audience.
The concept is to design a variety of ways for the public to take in some, what I deemed to be, Universal truth. With digital images that will consist of my original photography, these posters/stickers/signage will embody these creative social messages, and express them visually, with altered images and captions. It is a campaign to open the public to some simple truths of the human heart and this life on Earth, a campaign for a soulful/mindful life in the modern world.
I will treat the images with filters in Photoshop, and create digitally where necessary with Illustrator, and apply texts with either program. At the moment I will not be providing sketches though I do have some raw images already and will not put them to use until this project is approved :)
What inspired me to propose this project is my recent discovery of an iPhone app Instagram; with it one can instantly take a square image, filter it, upload to multiple sites or emails, it is one of the easiest way to blog (visually) all the while share with your friends your experiences and visions. One beautifully sunny and breezy day last week I was on my way to the grocery store in my neighborhood and I walked by a funeral home and some people were standing in front of it and waiting for a casket to come out of the hearse. Immediately I thought of this phrase on top of the image I saw in front of me and in my head, "Let death be a reminder of Life." In an instant I recognized how often we don't appreciate the life that we do have and the gifts we are blessed with. To lessen the "preachiness" I would like the final image to be less morbid and more abstract than what it is. Another phrase I will create an image for is "Always see the Light in darkness." Again, one can be in turmoil and still come to see that there is something positive in the situation, as there always is. It's about perspective, and how simply switching your mind frame can do wonders for one's self. I hope I am making sense. Well if I don't, be sure to let me know :) I am grateful for any constructive feedback.
The competition I chose to enter is one I've seen and wanted to enter before, and forgotten about, until I found it again on one of the sites suggested by this course. here is a link to the competition. http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=sony-world-photography-awards-2012
I saw that many competitions had a fee entrance, so it made me question it's legitimacy since there's many fraudulent sites out there, I chose one that is most reputable and also free of charge. I am glad this course is offering the opportunity for us to enter a competition, it will push me to finally offer my photography in the real world. And maybe even gain some experience from this.
I've chosen to enter some photographs I've taken in the past, since I am entering into a photo competition. The 3 categories I've entered are, Travel, Low Light, and Arts and Culture. I usually never use a flash, so the Low Light seems a natural place to exhibit some of my work. Travel and Arts and Culture are categories my photography naturally include, so it was a no-brainer to pick those to enter.
For Travels, I chose this one I took a few years ago in Jamaica. This guy jumps from tree top next to a cliff, into the deep water of the ocean. He does it daily at this tourist spot. The sky that day was perfect.
For Low Light, I chose this one I took recently at a friend's birthday picnic. Not one of a flash-user, I love the results when I experiment with existing environmental lights. Actually, there's two of them, and I can't decide which is better; I like the sillouette of the hatted girl in the first one, and I like the clarity of the city lights in the second one...can you help me decide?
For Arts and Culture, I chose this one of Grace Jones in the last show she performed in New York City, part of her Hurricane tour. She is simply epic, even well into her 60's, she is like no others before or since her debut in 1977.
For the most part, my designs here were done during the photographic process. Framing, exposure, timing, subject, and many other design elements went into how I compose each shot, so there isn't much work needed post-exposure.
creation
original
so here's to my first piece in Illustrator...more/less difficult than I thought would be...more because I thought I chose such a hard to draw portrait of a flower, and less because once I knew the functions I needed, it was fine.
Capturing that moment in time, the essence of that split second in an experience...I try to catch that intangible experience, that dialogue with the universe, and turn it into my photographs. To me, a photograph documents, it attempts to take something of that particular time in that particular context and freeze it within the four walls of the photographic frame.
Rarely manipulated digitally, I try to encapsulate the moments with various digital format cameras and lenses, by allowing the magical mixture of my "eye" and happenstance to do most of the work, and come through the lens.
I am an artist and a Montessori teacher in New York. There is something in the energies of the places and people and my experiences of the world around me, that drive my photographic work...I hope you can experience these photographic attempts, to relate to you...through my visual documentation. Thank you for existing.
