When I started Photo 1, I was a freshman and almost entirely new to photography. I remember the first instance when I really decided to take pictures and have the photos to look back on: a simple scene of ocean waves on a cloudy day at a rocky point on a Maine island. They are nothing special; they are just snapshots of sights that I thought looked cool at the time. In Photo 1, I learned to apply basic rules of art to my photography: rule of thirds, lines, shapes, negative space, repetition, etc., and in Photo 2, which I took the following year, I began to really take my photography seriously, going on self-directed photography expeditions while experimenting with advanced techniques and learning how to really use a digital SLR camera.
I have not taken an art class in over a year now, but since Photo 2 I have continued taking photos, doing a great deal of work with long-exposure night photography and trying to make statements with my art (i.e. illustrating light pollution, the power of nature, etc.). I have recently started using film, taking pictures on my mom’s old 35mm Pentax, and I regularly go on spontaneous field trips to different places just to take photos – sometimes with a friend who is doing the same thing; sometimes on my own. In Photo 3, I hope to expand what I can do with a camera, and become even more inspired to take pictures, exploring different aspects, styles, and techniques of photography while taking pictures of ever more subjects.