Weekly Reflection

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What an amazing week! I have had many wonderful experiences this week as I am diving deeper into my senior project. Driving to beautiful locations, some I know very well and others being my first time visiting, and finally being able to invest the time I want into black and white photography. So far I have re-learned the process of taking photos, developing film, organizing it, and then printing. I’ve learned that patience is vital in this process, especially when working with the developing chemicals because the film could get damaged. Along with that, I have been trying to remember to not get too attached to my photos for I could lose them by accidentally exposing them to light, developing them wrong, or damaging the processed negatives. This is very difficult for me as I often become incredibly paranoid that I will ruin a photo I took, so I just dont touch it at all. This week I have been working to fix that. 

Additionally, I have faced a few unexpected surprises. Firstly, I did not think that I would like taking landscape photos because I am accustomed to taking up close photos of flowers and trees, that is what I spent most of my time doing when I took a black and white photography class. Also, I have ended up in numerous spots that I did not think I would go to take photos. Usually, I hop in my car with a certain location in mind, for example, Kezar Lake. I suddenly find myself on side roads taking photos of streams and old barns, places I have forgotten about but know of because I used to bike by them growing up. 

This week's activities have helped me fulfill many of my goals. Firstly, one of my goals was to develop a strong understanding of the process behind black and white photography. By working with Kate and taking practice photos around Proctor’s campus, I can confidently say that I understand the process and enjoy it very much. Another one of my goals was to venture into new styles of photography I have not previously tried like portraits, landscapes, and creative photoshoots. I have not yet done a photoshoot, however, I have been branching out into different styles of photography by going to new destinations and taking photos of friends. This week has felt overall very successful as I am having an amazing time diving into this medium I have not worked with in a long time, and re-learning the process of black and white photography. 

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