My New Capstone Project!

A couple weeks into the second semester, I have decided that for my GIP Capstone Project, I would use my photography experience to emphasize our environmental responsibility to the ever-disappearing natural reserves and to give a voice to those affected by our negligence towards climate change. However, in addition to discovering new ways to advocate for climate change awareness, I wish to isolate myself from my daily life and responsibilities, both physically and mentally, in order to internalize the importance of preserving our environment and our ability to live in an era of rapid climate change.

I consider myself as someone passionate about preserving the nature and wildlife in California, but I often lose sight of the goals I set for myself when I have to focus my attention on the responsibilities of college and high school. Although these climate change issues are pressing, my more personal responsibilities take priority. With this personal journey, I wish to make my connection to the environment a more personal one, especially during a time where I am in college and I can focus on myself and what is truly important to me. I wish to travel to the natural beauties of California, like the Antelope Valley Poppy Fields in Lancaster and the hills of Malibu where the wildfires destroyed the hills and towns of many. I wish to photograph and juxtapose the beauties that are made possible by preservation and the atrocities caused by negligence.

What I currently envision is taking photos that can inspire action to preserve and create personal connections to things often taken for granted. In the same way that artists from the Hudson River School of the Romanticism era revealed the grandioseness of nature and put humanity's power into perspective, I wish to capture images of Californian nature that create nostalgia of being outdoors and that drive people to preserve, both directly and indirectly, the nature they've experienced for generations to come. Once I capture the images I have in mind, I wish to create an exhibit at Poly where I can showcase my photographs to the Poly community. My hope is that I not only remind students that there is work to be done to preserve the beauty of our nature, but that the first step in doing so begins with our generation.

Yosemite, California