10 Grade 2010

This self portrait shows how I am hard to get know. When creating this scene, I thought of two words I used to describe myself: quiet and shy. The maze represents my life and feelings, how they are complicated. I put myself within the maze to symbolize how I am at the center of my feelings and life. However, because I am the stark white figure against the dark background, I stand out in my life. In order to know me well, you have to pay attention and look for the real me. My life is complicated and messy, and in order to become a significant part of it, you have to be willing to put the time and energy into getting to know me.
Trial and Error: When creating the scene, the maze walls were hard to set up straight. The way the maze looked when creating it was completely different than how it looked in the photograph since I only captured part of the entire scene. I had to keep readjusting the maze's walls to visually fit the photograph. When printing and processing the photographs in the darkroom, there was the challenge of finding the balance between exposure time and contrast. I had to do many test strips with various exposure times and contrast in order to get the photo that showed the details and shades I wanted.