Project 2 Essay

My Photos: Project 2

When I grouped these photos together, I tried hard to answer the question "who are you, really?" I wanted to keep my photos neat and clean, simple and uncluttered. I wanted my photos to be up close and intimate. I like the way that feels and looks. I started with 2 people I hold close to my heart, Dave and Jake. I recognized the challenge immediately. I had picked the two most non-emotional, serious people of the group. They are both very soft spoken, introverted people. It is easy for me to read their faces, but I wondered if I would be able to carry that through into my photos.

In the photo Dave so serious I had been watching him cleaning fish. This is something he does year round, as he is a huge outdoors person. I loved how he was concentrating on what he was doing, like nothing else mattered. He hates to have his picture taken unless it involves and animal he was hunting or a fish he caught. I like how simple the photo is, how close it is, and especially how natural it is. This is something I will see a billion times in the years with him.

The next photo I titled the boys and I can't look at it without thinking two peas in a pod. This is a great shot of my boys. They had been duck hunting and were so excited to show me the birds they got. They were busy holding them up and laughing about the adventures in he boat that morning. I look at this shot and see the excitement on my son's face and the pride in Dave's. I felt this was an accurate portrayal of who they are.

The photo titled Dave with the ducks is another very neat and clean shot. I think it shows his true personality. I see the serious hunting face. I see the careful handling of the birds he shot, and the watchful eye he has on Jake.

The photo Portrait of Jake is on of my favorites. His eyes are electric! I think the camo face paint, the hunting gear, the boat, all speak to Jake. He had spent the morning doing something he loved.

The photo portrait of Dave is another one of my favorites. The background says a lot about Dave. His favorite thing to hunt is ducks, this is his favorite boat, and his gun is also in the background. Because he is such a serious hunter, he wears camo paint on his face, even though I laugh and tease him. I think his eyes are intense and I love that he is smiling.

The photo Shadow on the porch is what I would call me posing as someone else. I spent the weekend at a friend's lake home. They have such wonderful things around the house and garden. I walked around for 2 hours, taking photos. When I got to the porch, I loved what I saw. The sun had started to set. It was fall- my favorite season, there was a huge pumpkin (also my favorite), an old bike, a pair of boots, and tomatoes all lined up. It jumped out at me as "home." I liked the Martha Stewart feel that it had. It was easy to imagine doing this for a living.

The photo Jen and Dave is my idea of a self portrait. Which means to me- one you take of yourself and it is not always the best quality. Well, this one is perfect. I love how simple and clean it is. I love that there is no background distractions. We had been playing around with the camera settings trying to see what we could accomplish. I asked myself, if it fits the question- is this who I really am? And the answer is yes. You can see the happiness on my face and read the love in my eyes. We were sitting on a dock at night watching the sky. It was very romantic and very much what I am about.

The photo titled chester bowl is one of my favorites. I can't stress how much I love fall or being out in the woods. I was born and raised in Northern Minnesota. I have moved all over the country, but so completely miss home, that it literally calls my name in the fall. I have to go back. I have to walk the trails and climb the rocks. In this photo I had sat down on a stair case overlooking the river, under a canopy of trees and just let the place fill me up.

The photo titled Northern Girl at Heart is also an accurate description of me. I had climbed to the top of an old ski jump near my childhood home and just started snapping pictures of the leaves, the trees, and the view. I wanted to have that as a back drop for an up close photo of me. It is a photo of just me, messy hair, t-shirt and jeans, just happy to be home, be outside.

My last photo surprised is how I look! I had been walking down the trail, blabbing away and when I looked up..."snap!" is what I heard. I had been telling my friend that I need to have a natural looking photo of myself and I didn't want to be posing, I wanted it to be a head shot. Amazing how that turns out sometimes!

In doing this project I have learned that each photo you see causes different reactions for everyone. What causes a deep sense of home to me may not be the case for someone else. I think it proves that happiness is not always the typical smile on your face, but maybe the look in your eyes instead. I see the river and trees and leaves and I yearn for home. Maybe someone else just sees landscape. I see my proud hunters and maybe someone else just sees dead ducks. I have to say, I think it is the eyes that show the emotion.