Knowing Where I'm At (Part 1)
@2025 by Dave C.

This photo was taken on February 19, 2025 at a local Catholic church (San Antonio de Padua Church) which is near my home. I was walking late at night when I felt the usual awe when I was looking at the view of the church with a statue in front. It was a place very familiar to me since I was a child. I thought that it was a very good subject to photograph and I liked my shot as I still feel what I felt at those moments. 

This is the recent picture that I liked most and I think that it is good. I was able to capture the symbolic features of the church with its architectural towers and the cross in the background without appearing much more prominent than the statue. Being taken at night time also brought out the appeal that the lighting below the statue gives. I liked how the sky made the church and the statue stand out with the colors of the photograph appearing like duotone with black and beige. Also, among the recent pictures I’ve taken it appears that it was the most balanced to me with the objects (church and statue) centered and taking the same space as the empty space (sky). However, what I do not like in this photo is the quality, it appears grainy.

This was also taken on February 19, 2025 while I was walking late at night. I took a photo of the view by the road of a bakery that I often buy from which is a few blocks from my house. I feel strongly about this because everytime I walk by here (which this photo entails the frequent view) I always buy some bread that I don't even know what it is called. Among the photos I’ve taken, I feel this one is okay. 

In this photograph, I liked how the view of the panaderia was prominent during the night with its in-store light with a good view of its bread. It was an ambiguous sight as it could be mistaken as early in the morning. The reflection of the panaderia on the surface of the water in the middle of the road was also striking to me. Additionally, I find the effect of the headlight of the vehicle appealing. Honestly, the rolling idea process of it was what made me feel that this was a special photo. I first noticed the bakery with how I felt about it as a subject and then I noticed the water reflection making me think that it would be a good shot, and then I noticed the vehicles blinding me (which was a common occurrence when I walk by the streets). I just thought that it would be amazing to put everything into the photo (my experiences of buying from a bakery).

As for why I think there are bad qualities present in this photo which I can't really identify but I think it is because I find it odd how far away the light is from the bakery and that there is so much empty dark spaces. 

This was taken much earlier on Feb 16, 2025 when my family went to a thrift store. I took a photo of a mannequin outside the store with a mirror in between wanting to capture the essence of a clothing store or the perspective of a buyer. I really like the concept where there is the mannequin separated by an obvious glass window, while there is someone ruminating through the clothes in the background but I felt that it was bad as it was dark and had bad lighting. I did not like how the colors turned out and there was a flare in the lights in the ceiling. Also, I did not like how I captured another person (on the right) that was not “in the moment” of selecting clothes which is not what I intended to capture. However, I still like this photo as the mannequin is clearly highlighted here.