Assignment 6: End Blog - One Shot Summary

It's been a long term or at least it felt that way because I did a lot of things. Honestly, I spent a lot of time stressing over this course (in both good and bad ways let's include PE in that too, sorry). Out of all the courses I've taken so far, this photography class is the one where I was able to produce the most work, which is actually a good thing. It was both tiring and fun at the same time. I managed to take more photos this term compared to during the pandemic, so it was a bit challenging to choose just one photo to represent everything I’ve gone through and learned in this class. I browsed through my phone’s gallery, searching for a picture that could sum up the whole experience. And here it is:

I randomly took pictures during a family reunion last Holy Week because it was held in a farm-like place, and since I enjoy nature photography, I took the chance to snap a few shots. I chose this photo to represent my experience in this course. I compared the way flowers grow to what I went through from the beginning, a seed symbolizing a person's potential. At first, I was hesitant, unsure if I could handle the challenges ahead or if I would actually improve and learn. I had a bit of experience, but I hadn’t really applied the knowledge I was unaware of back then. Still, I saw this course as an opportunity for personal growth.

Then came the sprouting of the flower, which I can compare to the struggles and difficulties I faced during the learning process. This part reflects the challenge of applying what I learned from the modules to real-life photography. It was difficult for me because my creativity felt limited, this is where I truly struggled, along with figuring out how to use the camera settings. I had only a basic understanding of them, which often resulted in works I wasn't proud of. I can also say that the sudden emotions I experienced at the time affected how I worked. There were moments when I felt completely unmotivated to do anything, and I couldn’t figure out why or what was causing me to feel off. I guess it had a lot to do with my environment, how the people around me impacted my mental health and how being alone more often led to overthinking. That overthinking got the best of me, making me do less work, which frustrated me and sometimes triggered anxiety. It also made it hard for me to ask for help from my classmates. There were a lot of struggles on my part personally.

The "sprouting" stage was followed by blossoming or flourishing, when I finally managed to overcome the struggles and challenges I faced and started doing my best in producing my work. With assignment #5, I actually felt motivated to work on it, even though I was hesitant at first, unsure if I could do a good job or truly reflect everything I’ve learned about photography. I confronted my fear of doing a self-portrait because I wanted to create something I could be proud of, especially with the term coming to an end. At this point, I felt a lot better compared to how I was during earlier assignments. It was still tiring, but also fulfilling. I realized I enjoyed the pre- and post-production stages more than the actual production part, since that part was more time-consuming. Still, I felt like I was finally applying what I learned from the modules and taking in the advice and feedback from my classmates to improve my photography skills. I am truly glad that some of my classmates helped me when I struggle choosing the best shot I had.

Speaking of feedbacks, the next one is "pollination", well, in flowers, pollinating is where another batch of seeds are produced from male and female parts of a flower. Though there's a various ways of pollen transfer, it can be through bees, birds, or the wind, sometimes, the flower itself. Anyway, what I want to say is we make connections which is essential in life. We learn from other people, we seek advice to improve, to recognize flaws and mistakes and learn from it. These connections serve as support in our growth. I might not be able to provide advices or additional knowledge on the forums since I am not really well-versed using various cameras and their settings, but it helped me gain information about them. It was quite surprising for me when I read the discussion forums since there are times that I had no idea what my classmates are talking about, just some of them at least. I found digital cameras or DLSRs to be quite complicated. Anyway, back to the connections, I like how active our class was, from forums to zoom sessions, even in F2F classes (though I wasn’t able to attend one because it was too far). The Zoom sessions especially helped a lot in explaining the instructions and giving advice on how we could approach our work and what was expected from us. That really helped motivate me to do my best.

Lastly, I was thinking if I should include this or not since everything in life eventually comes to an end. That sounds a bit scary, so let’s just say there’s impermanence in life. I wouldn’t say that after this course I’ll forget everything I’ve learned (ehem, I actually have short-term memory, haha). Rather, I want to treat it as a memory, an evidence that it existed. Just like flowers that pollinate, the process continues to thrive wherever it goes. The connections we made contribute to our growth. This moment might not last forever, but I think we should treat it as a “present”, both as in the current moment and as a gift (I feel like Master Oogway saying this LMAO). Anyway, I feel like I’m getting too sentimental and mixing up my words. But I guess that sums up what I went through in this course.

I guess my regret in this course is that there were times I didn’t manage to bring out my best in some assignments, and now looking back at them makes me feel a little discouraged. I keep thinking, what if I had done better, could the results have been different and made my work stronger? As for the class, I have nothing to complain about. Everyone did their best in their own way, helped each other, and learned through critiques, which really helped with everyone's improvement.

At first, I was contemplating whether I should pursue photography as a career. This kind of thing has always been on my mind. I don’t want to do something I’m not happy with. Before I went to an art school during senior high, I considered making a career out of art, since I liked drawing and doing art-related things. But after that, I stopped feeling happy doing art. I mean, I still like it, but actually creating my own art started to feel tiring and forced, which is something I don’t want to feel when doing something I’m supposed to love. Some people told me it might just be art block, but I don’t think that’s the case.

Throughout this course, I started to enjoy photography, even if I was just taking silly pictures. I might not pursue photography as a career, but I’d rather keep it as a hobby, something I can do that still makes me happy and doesn’t feel forced.

Photography can be a lot of things, it can be as simple as capturing a certain moment that I can go back to anytime, a piece of evidence that someone or something existed or happened, a record of history to always remember, and a reminder that a single photo can mean a thousand words to others. I'm not good with words, but I think the most important takeaway from this class, as an aspiring photographer and online learner, is the connection we made throughout our learning journey. We learned, encouraged, and supported each other to give our best "shot."

That's all I can't think of anything else to say. But lastly, I want to thank Prof. Al for this course and for making the class and tasks enjoyable (even if they were very tiring, just kidding!), and my fellow classmates for their initiative and support. It was a very fruitful term with all of you!

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