Final Reflection:
I felt that this project was very meaningful to me because I was able to explore a new area of photography. What I meant to evoke through my photos in terms of the ephemeral and everlasting is seen through the rocks and water. I thought that the rocks were considered ephemeral as they don't change. In each photo I took a long exposure shot which is taken over a prolonged period of time thus the rocks in these photos are ephemeral and the water is constantly changing and moving and is never still at any given moment. As for most of my projects my voice as an artist emerges in this project through my use of water. In all I was very happy with the end result of the series.
Throughout the entire project I knew I wanted to take long exposure shots of water and my intentions never really changed over the course of the project. The only change I really made was the decision to shoot off campus at Fort Cronkite Beach. I wish I had bought the neutral density filter earlier which would have given me two weekends to have off campus opportunities to take photos. I am really happy with how all of these photos turned out but the conditions that day were pretty harsh making everything fairly white (actually worked to my advantage), and so I really wished I would have had a time to take photos during a nice sunny day and maybe in another location. Other than that I don't think I would have changed anything.
Although I didn't actually directly use materials but rather just observed and took photos of the natural world, I believe that I now understand how I can take very abstract photos int he natural world without. I felt the thing I gained the most from this project in the natural world was the experience I had while taking pictures. The time I spent out was a fun, relaxing time but was also challenging. The materials I used in this project were just the rocks at Cronkite and the ocean. I wanted to take photos of rocks (which would not move making them very clear in the photo) and have the ocean water wash up on shore over the rocks giving a cool affect that I could connect with the ephemeral. I felt that taking photos of water and rocks allowed me to gain a better understanding of the use of a camera as well as taking long exposure shots. I have always liked working with water and hope to continue taking pictures in this field of photography and am really excite for the next project!
Short (Midterm) Reflection: I felt that this project was good way for me to take pictures off campus and explore the natural world. The project allowed me to take risks and venture outside of types of photography that I had been limited to on campus. I felt the project was very relaxing and calming but yet was also fairly challenging. In all I am very excited with how my photos turned out.
