PHOTOGRAPHY

“not so scary Scales”

I have been fascinated with reptiles and amphibians since I was a kid. Growing up here in Florida, I would catch snakes, lizards, frogs, tadpoles, and anything in between. Reptiles suffer from being misunderstood and a culture that places less value on reptiles than on furrier pets. The word reptile elicits many thoughts and attitudes from different human beings. Some are positive but, unfortunately, many are negative. Some people fear reptiles; others describe them as slimy or creepy. Reptiles are probably the most misunderstood of all the world’s creatures however they are so fascinating in their own right. Nothing can help to alleviate the fears or remove misconceptions associated with reptiles more than a close-up study of them. I decided to take my own personal view on a “study” of reptiles and use my own pets, photography and drawing skills to achieve this.

My goal for this project was to portray a variety of reptiles that many people would find intimidating and give people an up close and personal look at them through my photography. Also, being a graphic design major, I decided to incorporate my graphic design and drawing skills to create beautiful and pleasing floral environments around each animal. The complex black and white line drawings of flowers created almost a “childish” or “coloring book” feel and a more welcoming and friendly vibe toward the scaly critters. Hopefully, when people view my images, they will have a newfound positive perception on these many times overlooked animals.

“RESCUE ME”

A Typology

A photographic typology is a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency. This consistency is usually found within the subjects, environment, photographic process, and presentation or direction of the subject.

For this project, I did not want to photograph just dogs in general, but I wanted to portray dogs’ expressions and personalities when they are locked up in cages at the pound. Millions of dogs all over the world are trapped in cages at shelters and rescues waiting for their forever home. Unfortunately, the numbers of dogs in these shelters are rising due to breeders, puppy mills, and pet stores. Many dogs will lose their lives just because they aren’t able to find a home. I personally cringe at the sight of these beautiful animals stuck in these small prisons all day, dogs need to run, play and interact throughout the day.

 Alachua County Animal Services is where I went to take these photographs. This was the only location I chose to work with because I knew I wanted the backgrounds in my photos to be consistent. Capturing photographs of live animals for this project wasn’t the easiest. Unlike non-living objects, the dogs would do their own thing and jump around, bark, run back and forth and so on. I knelt down in front of the cages of all of these dogs trying to get the perfect shot for hours. Technique was important to me in this process. I wanted to make sure all of the photos were taken the same distance from the dogs. In my editing process, I narrowed down the photos to dogs that showed the most emotion in their expressions. I played with the lighting and made sure the images were crisp and bright but not too overwhelmingly bright. I want people to see the reality of this situation. My goal was for these dogs to be portrayed as begging for a home, in hopes of people becoming more eager and enthusiastic about adopting.