Freestyle Academy proudly presents

mood.: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Reid Shimabukuro (2017)

I am exploring the feeling of excitement when visiting a new place.

The objects I chose were a clear latex balloon, blunt darning needle, all tied down with a thin, white ribbon. To communicate a feeling of “breaking out of the comfort zone,” I had the needle placed in the balloon with the point “piercing” the bottom. I chose to shoot in the early afternoon in order to have very bright and powerful sunlight, which allowed the needle to be seen, and shot at a lower angle up towards the sky to create a feeling of reverence.

The way the needle seems to break through the balloon was intended to convey that “burst” of excitement when discovering something new- staged against piercing sunlight to further represent those intense feelings of anticipation or adrenaline. The low angle creates a sense of reverence and awe, the vastness of the sky serving as a universal substitute for someplace new or unknown.

To bring out the message further in Photoshop, I first heightened the contrast and brought out the bright colors in order to give the sunlight as much presence as possible. I then cropped the photo in order to frame the balloon against the sunlight and eliminate most of the intrusive trees in the background. Finally, I patched the sky over the poles that were still in the corner with a healing brush. This process gave me more experience with experimenting with contrast as well as the healing brush, ultimately leading to a more complete and artistic photograph.
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