Hi there, and welcome to my photography blog.
I am a 20-year old graphic design student at Rutgers University. The photographs in this blog were taken in my 2007 fall semester Photo 1 course. Throughout the course, we were given numerous assignments which involved taking photographs all over New Jersey of many different types of subject matter–from self portraits to garbage cans; in many different ways–from very representational to incredibly abstract. My favorite part about making my photographs was the traveling. In almost every shoot, I ended up visiting areas of New Jersey and New York I had never been to. For instance, one particular project had the class juxtaposing the New York City skyline to the New Jersey mainland; I ended up traveling from the southernmost point of Jersey City to the north end of the Palisades Park, taking pictures at every town along the way. For another shoot, I drove down the Garden State Parkway to Seaside Heights, the New Jersey shore. It was the first time I had ever been to the beach during the winter, which was an incredible experience; the fading light upon the usually jam-packed-but-now-desolate beach and boardwalk made for some of my favorite pictures.
Being a design major, I like to really focus in on the composition of my images. Precision is important to me. I like to visualize my frame, and then have every piece of the image I am shooting to fall into place exactly how I want it to. As I am a shy person, I tend to make pictures of the inanimate–it is hard for me to talk to strangers, let alone photograph them. My favorite pictures are the ones that work formally–have interesting lines and shapes, activate the edges of the frame, work with lighting and color–yet also make the viewer think–evoking a sense of intrigue and sometimes, humor.
