Considering it’s been a week or so since classes have concluded for everyone this semester, I figured I’d reflect somewhat on my classes and my final critiques.

Overall I’d say that I likely learned the most yet of any semester here, and I was given the opportunity to take some of the more interesting and engaging classes that I ever have. It feels nice to be getting a hold of things that I have, in the past, had been unsure of; most notably being shooting portraits, which I have long found intimidating. As far as this attached images go, the three urban landscapes are from my color final, and the remaining two are from my Advertising Photography class (speaking of that, that class actually really surprised me. It was a classic example of your expectations being completely different from the reality).

In my Color Photography class the majority of the semester was spent trying to get a greater understanding of color in the context of a photo. In my own experience, most of my photography is on black and white film, where color really isn’t of much concern. It was definitely interesting to really explore how I could implement color in a setting that more closely resembled a reigned in independent study than a more traditional class. It was also in this class where I more fully embraced shooting urban landscapes over the more abstract experiments I had spent a good deal of time doing earlier on. Lastly, although none of the work is displayed here, since I have no access to a scanner now that I’m on break, my Advanced Photography class really taught me to have a more pensive approach to my work. That class entirely employed a 4×5 view camera, which requires a great deal of forethought in regard to setting up for a photo. The camera’s very nature prevents you from taking a more non objective approach and requires a lot more planning.

I’d definitely say that it’s no understatement to say that this was one of my better semesters here at Marywood!