Set Free: A Senior Black + White High Dynamic Range Diptych by Ada Parnanen (2016)

On the left side, the plant is in the shade and the leaves are moving towards the sunlight. The plant’s growth is being hindered by the lack of light displayed on it. This creates a feeling of being trapped, stuck, and not seen. Often, we are taught that something is the truth, whether in history textbooks or in the news, even though they highlight only select views of events. On the right side, there is a glass plant holder with roots in the front. This image represents the freedom to think differently while still being aware that not everyone is ready or open to breaking cycles of tradition. The glass plant holder shows that new possibilities can be seen, but that there are still barriers. It is up to us to listen to other perspectives and speak up, instead of staying in our own little bubble. Both images have plants in them, but the roots in the second photo show that change has to start in ourselves, deeper than the leaves others can see.

I started with the idea of growth, plants, and sharp contrasts, so with the help of Photoshop I was able to bring out the shadows and highlights, to emphasize the leaves and the glass. At first, I knew that I wanted to use these two images, but I wasn’t satisfied with the way that they looked next to each other. I cropped the images a lot, in order to tighten the focus and so that they would match together better. If I had to change something, I would make the background of the second photo either darker or lighter, to emphasize the contrast even more.