Photography II

Final reflection:

I decided to take this class because I enjoyed photo I and I wanted to further enhance my experience in photography. Because I took photo I during covid, I wasn't able to get into the darkroom so was excited to learn how to work in the darkroom and experiment with film photography. I went into this semester with limited knowledge about film, and even digital photography and I have come out of this semester with new skills, knowledge, and techniques that I can put to use throughout the rest of my photographic career. My experience in photography II was successful because I have learned so much. At times, this class challenged me, but overcoming these challenges pushed me to gain new skills and adapt to circumstances that really paid off. I feel much more comfortable in the field of photography which causes me to believe that this class was a successful experience.

The hardest thing for me when taking this course was probably finding the motivation to figure out what to take photos of. When doing digital photography during the first half of the semester, I would sometimes procrastinate my assignments until the last minute just because I couldn't think of anything to take pictures of. It was a little easier for me to find things to photograph when I did film photography because the prompts were simplified, but I still found myself stumped at some points. It may have been because I didn't enough inspiration, but I think when I didn't have an idea of what to do, I didn't want to do it. This was a challenge that I had to overcome many times but I think this challenge helped me grow. It helped me realize that making a plan is just important as actually taking the photos and editing them. I overcame this challenge by planning out my time and setting goals for my assignments. I also overcame this challenge by using the in-class time wisely, as well as my time outside of class.

My favorite project this year was definitely one of the film projects, specifically the portraits. This was my favorite assignment because first of all, the process of developing film and making prints was still fairly new to me and I thought it was really cool and fun. Second of all, it was really fun going around and asking people to pose for a portrait with my camera. I think the prints that I made for this specific assignment capture memories and fun moments that I can keep and look back at. The portraits sort of tell stories. Another thing I liked about this assignment is that I was able to make normal prints as well as prints that were developed in unique ways.

My least favorite project this year was probably the photography challenge. This was my least favorite project because I found it difficult to fulfill some of the prompts. Also, since there were so many, I had a hard time keeping myself organized and finding inspiration. There were many prompts that I knew how to do but there were also many that I didn't understand. With a short period of time and a ton of prompts, it made my final products not the best quality that I could accomplish.

My understanding of photography and appreciation of other photographers' work has greatly increased after taking this class. Last year, I had seen digital photography that really impressed me but this year especially, I have been introduced to the amount of work that goes into film photography and how specific to detail these photographers have to be in order to create good quality work. My understanding of photography has greatly increased because I have learned how to work in the darkroom with all of the different tools and chemicals that I had no idea existed just three months ago. Also, during the digital portion of this class, I learned a lot about photographic composition and elements that make photographs stronger. So much work is put into capturing just one photo, which has made me appreciate my photography, and others' photography, so much more.