Kyla Friddell

Reflection/Artist Statement:

I'd love to call myself a true photographer one day. I'm still trying to find "my style", and this Independent study has helped me discover and test different themes I know I enjoy photographing. I focused a lot on close-up photography and focusing on detail. I also explored architecture, something I have always enjoyed capturing. One week I even tested portraits (something I rarely do). With these themes, I explored different editing techniques- mainly using the phone app Polarr. I tried different colors and lighting tools on the app. To take these photos I used my camera and explored different settings like ISO, shutter speed, etc.

I tried my best to follow rule-of-thirds, excepts for the close-up photos. When taking landscapes/architecture photos, I don't like capturing people, so I tend to angle upward and cut them off.

One big theme I focused on throughout the whole study was man vs. nature and the relationship between the two. To do so I mainly depicted the two together in some form. Sometimes they are at odds (like a photo booth surrounded by trees), or they are in harmony (like plants growing around pillars), other times nature is tamed around 'man' (like a hedge outside a building).

I think I did a good job at creating creative photographs depicted in my own style. And finding things to photograph. Many of the photos I took for this study I am proud of. I had fun going around and taking photos. Behind each photo I took, there is a story on how it came to be. If there was something I would do differently, I would go out and explore more to photograph.

I learned I love photography even more than I thought (if possible). It's an art form I never want to give up.