This final project supports the theory of gender as a social construction. Society instills the idea of the gender binary early on in our lives and forms expectations and a set of rules that are generally permanently ingrained in our minds. Through this set of images I reveal that by simply changing a baby’s clothes and the toys that they play with and paying close attention to stereotypical facial expressions, our assumptions about that child’s gender change. I chose young children because the lack of stereotypical masculine and feminine characteristics (such as facial hair or bone structure) makes their gender much more fluid. This project was intended to open the public’s eyes about how we as a society view gender and make assumptions about people in our daily lives. Gender is simply a social construct and is performed through our own decisions, behaviors, and appearances rather than defined by our biological sex. — Alyssa Stone
Assignment #6 Color Seduction
This assignment was fascinating because we were encouraged to think about the emotional differences between colored images and black and white images. It’s surprising how different the effect can be by simply taking away the color. Some images were stronger without color because the narrow focus, but others lost too much information by removing the color. It’s always good to think about how to make your photos more successful and what will make the message a little clearer, and color is an important part of that. I will continue to keep this in mind as I take photos in the future.
Assignment #5: Blue Hour
This assignment was to be done during the blue hour with contrasting architectural lighting. I shot this image at the Simplot plant in Pocatello, Idaho. I used f/13 with an 8 second exposure to achieve this affect. When choosing this location, I couldn’t help but wonder what the smoke clouds would look like against the blue sky and was pleased with the way the plant lights lit them up in the final image. This assignment was really fun and knowing how much the blue hour enhances an image will be very helpful in the future.
Assignment #4: Discovering a Theme
For this assignment I chose the theme “Nature Bliss” because my favorite way of relieving my stress is to go on a photography hike and enjoy the clean, fresh air. While going through some of my old work, I saw this theme over and over, especially this time of year, so I chose to head up City Creek in Pocatello, Idaho where the majority of my final images were shot. Everywhere I looked, something spoke to this theme, from the calming waters and beautiful Fall colors to the group of bicyclists on their evening adventure. I learned that colors within the frame are one of the most influential elements when trying to convey a blissful feeling in an image. I definitely enjoyed this assignment, like always, and feel that my set of images clearly represent my chosen theme.
Nature Bliss – Bicyclists enjoy the evening sun over City Creek in Pocatello, Idaho. The enjoyment of outdoor exercise and serenity helps show the nature bliss theme.
Nature Bliss – This photo over the edge of the American Falls Reservoir has smooth water, green grass, and calming colors in the sky. It’s warmth and peace create the theme.
The soft water, low light, and beautiful leaves show how soothing nature can be. The bright colors instill a feeling of bliss.
Running water can be extremely meditative and peaceful. I included this photo because it reminds me of something I could meditate to and clear my mind. Its nature leaves and surroundings are quite blissful.
A leaf awaits its fall to the ground as Fall creeps upon City Creek in Pocatello, Idaho. The autumn colors and shallow depth of field form a peaceful nature theme.
Self-Portrait Assignment
This assignment was fun, yet challenging, and also made me realize I have no life. The hardest part was finding things to take pictures of me doing. Mostly I just work and study so those two were a given, but then I started to think about what I do in order to relax and relieve my stress. I’ve played guitar for years and even though I don’t play very often, music is a big art of who I am and how I deal with daily struggles. My dog is my number one supporter and we definitely rely on each other’s company so of course I needed to include him. The most challenging one was the image taken in front of Taco Bell at sunrise. The biggest problem I had was figuring out where to stand so that the background wasn’t distracting and choosing the perfect moment to take the shot. I learned a lot from this assignment and feel that I improved my lighting skills and am more aware of composition.
Assignment 5: Sweet Days of Summer
This assignment was a lot of fun and definitely a challenge. I really enjoyed playing with the lighting in order to imitate the summer sun. I chose a wine bottle because I liked playing with the condensation, reflections, and transparencies of the glass. I was hoping to give the scene a summer feel by adding pastel dishes, grapes, and a warm evening glow. By using such a shallow depth of field, I eliminated the possibility of revealing the true environment.
Assignment 4: Documentary
I chose to do the “The Lost World” assignment and traveled down to Atomic City which is about twenty minutes northwest of Blackfoot, Idaho. This town has a population of 25 which, honestly, seemed a little high to me. The entire time I was there, I saw one person come out of their house for a brief two minutes or so. There were less than ten standing houses and only about three of which seemed to be inhabited, but there was a brand new fire station that seemed to be in perfect shape. Two bars were still in business and the town also had it’s own race track. It honestly surprises me that they would make enough money to stay in business since this lonely town is many miles from a decent population. Anyway, the photos I took document the current state of this abandoned town and tell story leaving the viewer’s imagination to decide what may have happened to make these people leave in such a hurry.
Piano Project
For our final project we were asked to do a photo essay. I chose to do a piano theme since pianos have been in my family for a very long time and they have such a strong cultural significance to me. At first I was unsure about how to approach the topic so I began taking photos in hopes that an overall idea would begin to form. I realized that every piano I took photographed had a certain “attitude” about it and contained contrasting elements. You expect a piano to be graceful, beautiful, and flawless, but that’s not always the case. You find every day objects lying around such as pencils and glasses and most importantly, the musician isn’t always what you expect. Anyone can be a musician. Young, old, big, small, religious, rebellious, dirty, clean, rich, poor. This project ending up being about showing that anyone or anything can be piano-worthy, not just people or objects that are necessarily beautiful and graceful.
Zip Code Project
Assignment #6 was our “Zip Code Project” where we took a trip to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho to capture a sense of place through photographs. Unfortunately, since it was the beginning of spring, not many tourists were out and about so the sense of place was not quite what I expected. Usually the streets are packed with swimmers, hikers, rafters, and excitement in everyone’s faces. Of course, this is when it’s fifty degrees warmer and people are dying to escape the burning sun. Anyway, this created a more abandoned feel which I believed was best expressed mostly through black and white photos.
Environmental Portraits
This assignment was about capturing someone and the environment around them in order to tell a story about who they are and what they do. I chose Kelly Martinez, a radio DJ for KORR 104, because I’ve always been interested in radio and he just has a great personality in general. Since he does the 6-9 morning show, I had a little bit of sun coming through the window in his office which was perfect because the direct overhead light in the room alone made the photos too dramatic and a little boring. I would’ve liked to get a better variety of images with him in other locations, but obviously due to his profession, he’s glued to the microphone all morning. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment and being able to play around with the light a little bit.
Alyssa Stone Photography 