OC Artist Of The Year
Quetions
What does it mean to be an artist? To me being an artist means to create. it doesn't have to be good or loved by everybody but if you created it your an artist. This is the definition I have had with me for a long time and because of this definition, I have grown and been shaped as a photographer. It has taught me even though I may not like some of my works that I am still a artist and I can still grow.
looking forward
Looking at my future and the future of my work I see a few things. First, I see photography as a future job. I don’t know what that future is going to specifically look like but I know I want to learn it all. I want to learn all the different aspects and different types of ways to take pictures. Only in the past year, I have learned how to take pictures on a boat, a moving surface with everything moving around you. Currently, I am exploring videography which is another tool to advance my artistry. Photography has always been something that I have had an interest in since a young age using my parent's point and shoot. They always had some sort of camera around and I was always fascinated by it and messing around with it. Throughout high school, I have continued to advance my skills and grow in framing shots, setting up subjects with a frame, lighting, editing, and other fundamentals for a photographer and an artist. After a while of exploring and getting better and better and nicer gear, I know photography is something that will be a part of my future and I would love to be able to call it my job. I take a lot of inspiration from a photographer named Casey Yoern. He takes stunning photos of people fishing on boats and I admire the work he does. Fishing is a piece of me and the process of fishing feels so rewarding. Similar to photography, there is a process you go through to get ready to go out. A few days before you plan out what you are going to do and start to set up your gear. On the day of, you go hunting for a fish and try to catch it. Like achieving that perfect shot, catching a fish feels like a huge accomplishment. Secondly, the impact I want to make on the world revolves around the subjects of my photography, the ocean. My favorite things to do are spending time on or around the ocean and taking pictures. Naturally, they came together and produced some of my best works. Sometimes I take having access to the ocean and the beach for granted, but I enjoy showing off the beauty that only a few people get to see in their lifetime. I am not trying to share a specific message or sway anyone, I simply want to share pictures of the thing that I love, and means a lot to me. My parents have always told me to do what I love. Photography and the ocean are two things that I love and when I combine them it feels like a passion that I want to share with the world. In the future, I want to continue to take pictures of the ocean and explore a variety of different locations and subjects that are all in and around the ocean. Most importantly, I want to have fun with what I am doing and through my time as a photographer, I have learned that the more fun I have on a shoot, the better the pictures will turn out.
The Beginning
I grew up surrounded by artists with both my mom and grandpa excelling in their fields, painting, and drawing. So naturally, photography was always something that was around. I never felt called to painting or drawing like they were but felt an interest in the cameras we had. I took my first photos at the Grand Canyon on a Canon Powershot. I don't really remember the pictures but I do remember my parent looking at them afterward and being stunned at how well they were for me being so young. On this trip, my mom had brought the camera along and was taking some photos. I thought it was pretty interesting and I asked to try. At first, I struggled to figure it out and as a child, I took pictures of everything I saw. Hiking through the scenic trails, my mom started giving me some pointers on how to frame a shot. The pictures I was taking were very basic shots of trees people and the canyon. As our walk kept on going I figured out how to shoot through stuff to achieve a depth of field, like through trees and into the Grand Canyon. I still did not really know what I was doing and just kept on experimenting and trying new things. After several hours, my pictures were so much better than the earlier ones. Looking back now years later I cringe a little bit when I look at them but my first photo experience is something I will always remember and cherish. Compared to any of my recent photos they could not compare but for my first day of shooting, they were pretty good.
My experience of shooting at the Grand Canyon that day definitely jumped started my photography journey. At first, it was a quest to keep on getting better and taking nicer photos. Now it has turned into sharing my work with the world along with getting better. I will always remember this experience because it has shaped who I am as a photographer and even as a person. Photography has given me a route for college and I have applied to most of the colleges under an art degree of some sort. I am excited to expand my knowledge and skills in my art form. Along with colleges, it has opened many different job opportunities for me some of which I have already dabbled in. I have taken pictures of different fishing boats down at the San Diego harbor to help them promote their business. It has also brought me closer to my mom and grandpa as artists, I am able to share my work with them. This one experience has definitely shaped who I am and the path I have taken in life.