I am exploring the feelings of awe and distance through the experience of living/experiencing the lives of others. The objects in my image are a pearl necklace, symbolizing “awe and distance,” and the bird’s nest, symbolizing the experience of another’s life. I placed the necklace inside of the nest in order to unify the composition. To take the photo, I placed the nest in an actual tree, and stood on a ladder to get the right angle. The image was taken from a downwards angle, providing a more emphasized display of the setting. I took the photo at sunrise, so contrast between the subjects was more clearly demonstrated. The leaves of the tree in the background offered a more natural and colorful aspect to the image.
The pearl necklace and the bird’s nest exemplify the separate parts of the concept statement. The way that the pearl necklace expresses “awe and distance” is that pearls in society are considered very bourgeois, rare, and expensive. The distance from wealth and the desire to be rich is a common struggle in our society. The reflections on the beads in contrast to the rest of the image offer an awe-inspiring look, completing the emotions. The bird’s nest offers a metaphysical window into the lives of others, just as it would offer a literal window into the life of a bird. The placement of the nest in the tree as well offers the authentic experience of living someone else’s life, as if the viewer was peeping in on whatever lived in the nest. In Adobe Photoshop, I learned about using tools to my advantage to accentuate certain features in an image, as well as how to color an image to invoke more emotion. Using these tools, I began editing my photo by placing a saturation filter to give the image more warmth all-around. I then used the Band-Aid tool to cover up small blemishes on the pearls.
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