Meabh McGrory - Theme 3 - HIGHSCHOOL

so this is high school...
theres a better one coming... i just don't have the access to what i want to shoot right at this moment...i will tho!

Paul Swanson - Cosmos

moon

High School

One of the many things people do in high school is drugs; I know at my high school there were plenty of people who got into drugs and after numerous ideas for high school I decided on this as my final one .

I don't know much about drugs , but I do know that it was/is/probably always will be quite popular - especially with the start of it a lot of time being in high school . I went for the idea of someone washing away the guilt or about to hide the evidence of their drugs from someone that may not know they're into them at all . 

Thoughts always welcome .

-Kristi

Theme #3: High School - Alycia Kosonic

So my intention was to make the photo blurry and in black and white to show that the memories have begun to fade away from high school, but I'm not too sure how I feel with the outcome of it. Feedback is much appreciated :)

(P.s. It's a really crappy scan, didn't get the chance to use the lab scanners but I will redo asap)

High School

That's a high school in the background and I walk by it when I take the boys to daycare in the morning or take their baby brother for a stroll through the park. Based on my observations (which are not thorough or necessarily accurate) the kids that attend this school enjoy cursing at each other from opposite sides of the street and smoking while drinking beer in the park before/after class. At first I thought I was being overly sensitive their behaviour because I was with small children and didn't want to have to field questions like "What does 'F*&k off and die you $#@*$!  #*!¡-$*($^%' mean, Paige?" and "Why does it smell like skunks?" but I have now been past there a few times on my own and still feel slightly intimidated.

I realize that I am not a 9 year old boy and that there are scarier things in the world than teenagers (although that last statement might be debatable) I choose this shot because the posture of the young boy in the image mirrors the same trepidation that I feel when I walk past the school. He was there with his family and their dog but stood apart from them for a while to stare at the utilitarian building. Was he thinking of what awaits him after he leaves elementary school behind? Was he looking forward to it? Dreading it? Or was he staring off into the distance daydreaming about Beyblades and farts totally unaware of the school and its connotations. We'll never know.

All that being said:
IT'S OUT OF FOCUS AND I NEED TO RESHOOT

Thanks,
Paige

Fern Kachuck, Theme #2: High School (oops forgot to write that..)

I give you, The Anne and Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto Raoul Wallenberg Campus. There's a shit ton I could say about my high school, as many can. Both bad and good. I wish I could say that I hated my high school.. However, I realized late into grade 12 that there was no other high school I would have rather gone to. BUT, the administration and politics of my high school were absolutely fucked up. Pretty much all I got out of it was that it really wasn't worth my parents paying over 20,000 a year to send me to a place where if you didn't become another jewish doctor or lawyer, they hated you. And my principal made it pretty known she didn't like me.

The picture I took is of a sign I saw the other day when I went back to visit my old art teacher. Its a sign that says "Help Us Build." CHAT wants to build a new science wing and needs your money! Its just pretty much the epitome of CHAT, taking your money to further the real academics, never the arts. I think I like the first one better.. Thoughts?

High School - Jessica Benoit

So it was kinda hard for me to decide what to shoot for this theme because I had a lot of things that stand out when I think of High School and what it means to me. In the end I decided to take this picture that symbolizes one of my main memories from my grade 12 year. The books are self explanatory but the main focus of the image is on the collage of my little brother and sister. Long story short, my parents ended up having to leave the country for a family emergency in February of last year which left me at home alone to take care of not only myself and my stress from school and activities but also my younger siblings and their lives. What was supposed to be two weeks alone slowly turned into nearly three months. We all went through a wide range of emotions in that time but in the end the time I spent with my siblings brought me a lot closer to them and taught me a few things about myself. Anyways, comments ideas and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks:)

Victoria Rigo - High school

Just trying to get across how apathetic or disinterested students can become once thrown into monotonous classroom routines - any criticism is appreciated! 

Rebecca Turner - High School

Pretty self explanatory, whether it was our own emotions, or those of someone close to us.
High school was, for me, an amazing four years. But no matter how many great friends and fun events surround you, darkness always exists.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated !
In the mean time I'm going to learn how to write the letter A better...

Kailee Mandel-Highschool Theme #3

Hope this explains itself.... Tried a few with flash, you may see a slight difference, but ya, not to much editing, or cropping done yet, let me know what ya think!
thanks

Theme #2-High School_Jordynn Colosi

Hey guys,
     So I pretty much did not enjoy 90% of my high school experience. I spent most of my time at school begging to be somewhere else in my own safe place where nothing and noone could hurt me and I was free. As silly as this sound this comfort came to me in many different ways but mostly in the form of a gold ole fort.  At night sometimes when I would be freaking out about having to go and deal with the hell of highschool the next morning I would build forts in my bedroom and read or stuff. It was my own haven. Anyways, I photographed one of the more elaborate forts that I built in my bedroom during reading week. Comments, advice, you know the drill. Thanks guys.

- Jordynn Colosi

Katii Capern - Theme #3 - High School

Hey all!

Here's one of my high school shots - I had other interpretations of the theme which I shot as well; starting with this one.

It doesn't really have much of a deeper meaning...just me in front of my old high school. I took it because I went back on a Saturday over Reading Week, and it was quite strange...very cold and deserted. I guess I was hoping to create a portrait that showed someone both remembering where they (I) come from, as well as reflecting on how far -- or not so far -- they've come since graduation. It seems to me that after leaving the familiarity of high school, where we were all confused, not much changes to that end. We're still uncertain -- about what we know, where we're going, etc.

So, whether or not that's what you get from this, please give me feedback/reactions/ideas! :)
I know there are some issues with the vertical..what do you guys think?

Thanks!

High School - Locrin Stewart

HI CLASS! IT'S ME! AGAIN!

So high school. I'm not sure what the split is between people who remember high school for being a happy place and those who think of it and remember a sad or otherwise terrible place, I'm kind of in between on it. The beginning and end years were mostly good, the middle years mostly not good. During my high school career, in any case, I took up self harm as a form of coping with depression and not knowing what to think. As a result, I wear my high school career on myself. Because I believe that the past is a very important part of a person, I decided to revisit it (this is also because I am stupid), looking at what it means from an artistic perspective. The series of six photographs below document the healing process, the first one being day one, the last one day fourteen. I wanted to shoot the images in a way that didn't make them arts or anything, just presented them as they are. As a result, bits of background are visible in them, colour isn't exactly consistent through and through, and they lack a "polished" look. 

Any input would be appreciated, I am going to continue documenting the process until it is no longer necessary (if that's even a thing). 

:)

Yurisa Clarke High School

"high" school

Family Take 2 - Locrin Stewart

HEY CLASS

So here's take two of my family shot. It's my father working in his studio. Most of my upbringing has been focused around art, in some way or another. Discussions of art theory and the principals of design at the dinner table, stuff like that (my father was also a senior exhibit designer at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa back in the '90's, and worked as an exhibit designer at a number of different other museums in Ottawa before then). As a result, my family, specifically my father, is what brought me into the arts and, eventually, photography. For this reason, I chose to photograph him at home in his element, working on the first coats of a piece. Other works in progress along the right and left sides of the frame bring the viewer in, and are a hint at the future and what he's working on—the finals will be far different from what's seen here, and at present only exist in his mind, and even there, they're more ideas than anything else.

Comments would be appreciated, but this image captures the essence of my father in the way that does him the justice he deserves.

Alex Gooding Theme #3 - High School

After all the time we spend having fun and enjoying our youth, or for other nerds like myself busting our asses to stay on top of the class, after all the years, the friends, the teachers, the fights, the bomb scares, the dramas, the awful canteen food, after all of it - all that's we come out of high school with is the memories, mementos and, hopefully, a paper or two that help to decide the rest of your life, be it for better or for worse.

Bit unsure on which one I like more, orientation wise?, so any feedback would be gladly welcomed!

Lucy Lu - Theme 3: High School

35mm...the scan's a bit fuzzy.

Thinking of high school, we tend to forget about our teachers, whose initial goal seems to be to make our lives difficult. But some really have a huge impact on what type of people we become. It's a tough job. This is Shane Clodd, who was my art teacher, a fantastic sculptor, and an overall cool person. 

But then...I saw this:

This weird dummy has been sitting there for as long as I've been at my high school. I think this can speak a lot about how marginalized and isolated people can feel during that time, it's almost never as glamourous as representations of it.

I like both ideas, but I'm not sure about the aesthetic qualities of the first one; if it's interesting enough. It'd be awesome if you guys could tell me which you like better. Thanks!

PS. tiny fast food update

christine-highschool2

hey guys! soo I decided to play with the curves to kinda create more contrast and depth. I then realized that the gown looks like my models hair, HA i thought it was funny:P but seriously now, let know if its any better or worse, or if i can add anything:) cheers

Abby Klages - Theme #3 - Highschool

So... This is my high school shot. On the weekend my dad said I have puked more in the past few years of drinking than he has in his entire life. Most of us have a had one of these nights in high school, some of us like me have had many. Yup. This describes my four years of high school pretty darn well. Let me know what you think, I am considering putting black borders between the photos.

Paul Swanson - High School

yup...

Christine Johnston-High School

Theme #2: Family - Alycia Kosonic

The Citrus family!

Erich Deleeuw - Family

I threw a few ideas around for this, I took some portraits of my parents and my sister with the 4x5 and 210. The third image is composed of my mom and my sister when i was looking at the negatives before i hung them up to dry they were overlapping and created an interesting imag

I was also inspired by bobby neel adams

Hayley Buckham - Theme three - High School

Sooooo high school. I thought about yearbooks and stereotypes but then I remembered this one story my dad told me. This is his student card back when he was in grade 11. Yes he kind of looks like me which is an added chuckle factor but the first time he showed me this he told me that this was one of his favourite pictures. He told me that he doesn't remember who the hell was taking the picture but that they were grinding his gears, making him laugh and it was someone that he had known. My dad to this day still cant remember who it was but it doesn't matter because he claims that "this was a reallllllyyy great day." He shortly after told me that he wasn't high even though he looks it. I don't believe him. Moral of the story, he still looks back on this photo and smiles remembering how happy he was in the moment and I think thats super wicked and what high school was about, at least in my case. So this is my dad holding one of his student cards. I couldn't decide if I liked it forwards, backwards or both so I did a layout like this hoping to get some advice? THOUGHTS? 

Alison Irwin, Theme 3, High School

For my high school shot I wanted to capture what everyone thinks high school is like BEFORE they go into it. We all think of the 80s movies Ferris Bueller or Grease etc. The cliche head cheerleader dates the captain of the football team and "it's the best four years of your life!" (where in reality high school is so far from that, it's full of bull shit drama & everyone's in their own little bubble, am i right?). She's wearing a cheerleading uniform with "her boyfriends" team jacket, bubble gum & scrunchie to complete the teeny bopper look like in those movies. This picture is a little desaturated since it's suppose to look older. Let me know what you think!

Amanda Woolley, Theme #3 - High School

When someone says high school or starts to talk about it, I think of my good friend who passed away two months into grade 9, he was only 13 and it was about a month before his 14th birthday. In my photo I knocked over the 4 candle to symbolize that he never made it to the age of 14. As for the other candles surrounding the cake, there were many ceremonies and memorials for him after his death and we always would light a white candle in his memory.

Let me know what you think and if i can improve or should change anything! Thanks!

Alex Haney, Theme #1: Fast Food redo.

ME AGAIN!

Kind of funny that both of my shots so far are self portraits. Maybe I'll make all of them self portraits haha. Hey- Cindy Sherman did it.

As requested: messier, and changed the lighting. Oh, I also changed it from a hamburger to cereal to make it more true to how this would really happen in the middle of the night. Less of a literal 'fast food' interpretation but whatever, I just followed where the photo was taking me. I was shooting it with the shadow in mind, but then after it occured to me it might work well without it as well. Crop? No crop? Do you think I should get rid of that weird triangle of light under my arm?

Tell me if there is anything further you think I could do to improve it. I'd totally reshoot it again. Doing work for this class is my no guilt way of procrastinating on reading art history.

EDIT: Here's what it looks like without the triangle of light under my arm. 

Alex Haney- Family, a work still in progress...

VS. 

So I could have just spent 30 seconds in photoshop to burn in my shirt, but instead I chose to really piss myself off and go even more broke by spending six hours in the darkroom and using over 30 sheets of RC paper. And I'm still not happy with it, but I learned a ton. The scan of the negative which I edited in photoshop is obviously much different from the scanned print. For one, I really don't like the square crop. But the cage doesn't have 6x7 negative holders so I had to deal with it. 

I honestly can't leave my images without some dodging and burning, so I wanted to be able to learn how to do this effectively in the darkroom too. I wanted to do the same kind of dodging and burning on this image that I did in photoshop, plus more burning in of the detail of my shirt. So I dodged my eyes, burned in my mouth a tiny bit and then burned my torso a lot. It's far from perfect, but this is a lot better than my first attempt let me tell you! I had to keep reminding myself that I'd probably be grateful for the time spent once the prints for our next assignment are due...

EDIT: The more I look at the print, the more it is growing on me. They are really two completely different images. I like them both for different reasons. Let me know what you all think! 

Amanda Woolley, Theme #2 - Family

So this is my other family photo, basically it's the death of a family. It's an abandon place, with old rusted playground, all the grass is overgrown and the sheds have caved in, every things a reck, but I found a tree with a family's named carved into and thought it was interesting and made me wonder what had happened. There once was a family living there and now all it's destroyed. Let me know what you think and if you prefer my other family photo. Thanks!

Matthew Volpe - Auntie Mimi

 

At age 75 my great aunt Marie had been living with her mother for 40 years. Two months ago my Nona (great grandmother) passed away three days before her 97th birthday. Now my Auntie Mimi lives in the million dollar bungalow in Forest Hill alone.

Alex Haney-Family

Shot on my Mamiya RB67. 

(Talk about last minute, 11:43! lol. I had to wait for my film to dry!)

Victoria Rigo - Family

A little bit of a different take, the picture I'm holding up is one I took of my grandma and her sister a while ago. I wasn't really wanting to be noticed taking the picture so it was rushed and its pretty messy because of that. The photo itself means a lot to me and although I've tried a bunch of times to get it to a place where I like it aesthetically it just hasn't worked. I got this idea from some portraits I once saw of photographers holding up one of their most well-known photographs. It was interesting because even though I had seen the photos so many times before they looked almost different held up by the photographer, I guess because they had a different context. I sort of had this impression that it took away from the importance of the aesthetics of the picture and drew attention to a pretty personal relationship between the photograph and the photographer, so that's sort of what I wanted to get at here.

I think I lost way too much information in my blacks which explains my floating torso... so I may have to reshoot - either way I'm happy to finally use this picture in some way, let me know what you think! 

Ashley Yang-Family

I couldn't choose between two ideas. The first one is the typical, rigid, posed, family portrait set in the comforts of the actual home of a family. The second idea is how the rooms of a person is so representative of a person. From that, I shot each room of my own family and compiled it together. I couldn't choose between the white border and grey border. I would really love some feedback on this.

Family-Christine

FAMILY - GRAEME WAHN

The theme inspired me to focus on what sort of things shape a family, and without a doubt the first and most prominent thing to establish a family is the classic family home. From there I explored the concept of the family home and remarked on how much of the time it spends empty and unoccupied. This is a study of the vacant family.


I'm not overly happy with this shot, but over the break I should be getting more opportunity to explore this topic further - so until then, you know what to do.

Appreciate any words you care to share.