PHOTO II – Project #1: Autobiography

Ka ʻike a ka makua he hei na ke keiki.

The knowledge of the parent is (unconsciously) absorbed by the child.  Nurture and value my identity as a source of understanding, purpose, meaning, and connection to others.


AUTOBIOGRAPHY / NO-FACE SELFIES  –  This project is about YOU.  We take selfies all the time and are pretty familiar with the way we look, but is it really saying anything about who you are?

While we often find that self-portraits are the ultimate/easiest way to share who you are, but the objects and people we around us also tell a huge story.  Here’s your chance to look around and photograph things/people/places that you think best represents who you are.  In the end, this project will be a group of pictures that describe YOU without actually showing your face. Try not to have an identity crisis over this – this is only 2 pictures.  There’s no way we could learn all there is to know about you in 2 pictures. Instead, this is just a teaspoon of the well that is you.

Questions to think about:  What are some objects in your life that you feel a strong connection towards?  Trophies, jewelry passed down by family, a musical instrument, sports equipment?  What do these things say about you?  What about people you love or have heavily influenced you?  Your parents, grandparents, best friends, your bus driver?  How about going to a place that you feel most comfortable?  Would this be your house, your favorite beach, a nice hiking spot?

Project Outcomes:

  • Rebuild a familiarity and understanding of how to use film SLR cameras
  • Recall how to correctly process 35mm bw film
  • Use an enlarger and printing chemistry correctly to create well developed prints
  • Reflect on how photography is a form of visual communication

PROJECT #1 RUBRIC –Photo2-Project1-Autobiography


INSPIRATION:

  • Vivian Maier became a nanny in New York during the 1950s and photographed throughout her life.  Her series of self-portraits show us what she looked like, but they also show us the world around her and her place in the world.
  • Andrew Bush – “Bonnettstown Hall was a house built in 1737. In it, when Bush photo- graphed it, lived four elderly people who had earlier had varied careers in other parts of the world. The photographs showed the house and its rooms, including private rooms with the possessions of the tenants, and the rooms where food was prepared, with signs of its preparation. Interestingly, only one picture included one of the tenants, a retired Royal Navy Commander. Nevertheless, Bush’s photographs showed time passing in the life of the house, in the lives of the tenants, in the seasons, even the household appliances.”
  • Hiroshi Watanabe – photographs of items from Japanese internment camps from WWII.

Chris Rohrer – Takes “portraits” of his friends through their most prized possessions.