Capstone Project: Photography as a Means of Preservation
For my capstone project, I combined my desire to teach others about environmental responsibility with my passion for photography. I have had an interest in photography for as long as I can remember. From being the designated photographer at family events to the photographer on my family’s annual trips, you could always find me behind a camera.
The summer after sophomore year, I found myself on a GIP trip to France with a camera I bought hours before my flight. With the packaging still in my carry-on and my parents curious as to where all my money went, my haphazard decision to buy a DSLR was the best way to jump-start my photography career. I strolled through the avenues of Lille, France taking what I thought were my greatest photos. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing, but to everyone around me, I was a prodigy. From then on, I made it my goal to become a serious photographer. At first I felt limited in what I could photograph because I only traveled with my family and through Poly’s GIP trips. However in junior year I got my drivers license, and I was able to travel more and leave the confines of Pasadena. I began spending my free time visiting places like Malibu, Mount Wilson, Lake Elsinore, Antelope Valley, and Angeles Crest, documenting both the beauty of our environment and its struggle to keep up against human-caused global warming. I decided to shoot locally because among my travels to places like France and Cuba through Poly, I always found myself perplexed with how close people live to unforgettable wonders of the world. I strived to come back from these places and find beauty in my own community and my own city, for the sake of appreciating the nature in the place I call my home. I had the freedom to explore anywhere and everywhere, bringing back small pieces of the places I visited.
Much of my inspiration for nature photography comes from National Geographic Photojournalist Charlie Hamilton James. His recent exhibit I Bought a Rainforest revealed his personal connection to wildlife and environmental photography. As the owner of a 100-acre rainforest in South America, he felt a personal incentive to protect it from potential human threats like illegal loggers and gold miners. Through his photography, Mr. James discovered that while some human-induced climate change is due to negligence towards our environment, another cause for human-induced climate change is survival. Most of the laborers working for these powerful men were either fathers working to support their children abroad or workers forced into indentured servitude. Mr. James realized that these workers were destroying the Earth in the eyes of necessity, and through his photography, set himself to find ways to actively protect the environment.
Today, I am familiar with different types of photography ranging from portrait photography to landscape photography. Because I am a Global Scholar, I find it almost necessary to include my own perspective and a message for the world in all of my work. I have passed the point of being contempt with just the aesthetic qualities of my photos. Now when I take a photo I think to myself, “How can I make this photo an extension of my beliefs?” and “how can I evoke an emotional response in my audience to do the right thing?” These are the two questions I ask every time I decide to put my eye behind the viewfinder. Photography, if done right, can do more than just provide people with a nice desktop picture or act as decor in a living room. Photography can remind us of our successes and our faults in the world, so that we can better ourselves for the future.
If you are interested in seeing either my inspiration or the shower itself, here are some useful links:
Charlie Hamilton James Website: http://charliehamiltonjames.com
My Photo Gallery: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0AJ8GySPC7mof
The summer after sophomore year, I found myself on a GIP trip to France with a camera I bought hours before my flight. With the packaging still in my carry-on and my parents curious as to where all my money went, my haphazard decision to buy a DSLR was the best way to jump-start my photography career. I strolled through the avenues of Lille, France taking what I thought were my greatest photos. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing, but to everyone around me, I was a prodigy. From then on, I made it my goal to become a serious photographer. At first I felt limited in what I could photograph because I only traveled with my family and through Poly’s GIP trips. However in junior year I got my drivers license, and I was able to travel more and leave the confines of Pasadena. I began spending my free time visiting places like Malibu, Mount Wilson, Lake Elsinore, Antelope Valley, and Angeles Crest, documenting both the beauty of our environment and its struggle to keep up against human-caused global warming. I decided to shoot locally because among my travels to places like France and Cuba through Poly, I always found myself perplexed with how close people live to unforgettable wonders of the world. I strived to come back from these places and find beauty in my own community and my own city, for the sake of appreciating the nature in the place I call my home. I had the freedom to explore anywhere and everywhere, bringing back small pieces of the places I visited.
Much of my inspiration for nature photography comes from National Geographic Photojournalist Charlie Hamilton James. His recent exhibit I Bought a Rainforest revealed his personal connection to wildlife and environmental photography. As the owner of a 100-acre rainforest in South America, he felt a personal incentive to protect it from potential human threats like illegal loggers and gold miners. Through his photography, Mr. James discovered that while some human-induced climate change is due to negligence towards our environment, another cause for human-induced climate change is survival. Most of the laborers working for these powerful men were either fathers working to support their children abroad or workers forced into indentured servitude. Mr. James realized that these workers were destroying the Earth in the eyes of necessity, and through his photography, set himself to find ways to actively protect the environment.
Today, I am familiar with different types of photography ranging from portrait photography to landscape photography. Because I am a Global Scholar, I find it almost necessary to include my own perspective and a message for the world in all of my work. I have passed the point of being contempt with just the aesthetic qualities of my photos. Now when I take a photo I think to myself, “How can I make this photo an extension of my beliefs?” and “how can I evoke an emotional response in my audience to do the right thing?” These are the two questions I ask every time I decide to put my eye behind the viewfinder. Photography, if done right, can do more than just provide people with a nice desktop picture or act as decor in a living room. Photography can remind us of our successes and our faults in the world, so that we can better ourselves for the future.
If you are interested in seeing either my inspiration or the shower itself, here are some useful links:
Charlie Hamilton James Website: http://charliehamiltonjames.com
My Photo Gallery: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0AJ8GySPC7mof
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