Project_02 Assessment

I really enjoyed working on this project. At first, I did not like the idea that my group posed. I thought that it would be extremely scattered and very incoherent. As we got into the shooting process, I started to like my project more. It was interesting to see how the same thing can be viewed in so many different ways and expressed on a camera. I really liked this effect.

I tried to stay away from having repeat photos in our book, but this in some cases was unavoidable. I thought that I would really dislike it if photos were repeated, but I think that it actually adds to the continuity of our photo book. With some images repeating, the viewer can see that we were on basically the same path.

The different photos in our project add to the general “Detour” theme of our book. It is a detour in the sense that we were all on the same path, and ended up taking a detour on our way to Leonardtown, but also in the sense that we took different photos… detouring from the beaten path and seeing new sights in our surroundings and pointing out things that not everyone in our group was able to see.

Working in a group for an art project has definitely been a challenge. It is hard when there are so many good ideas in one group. Our major issue was regarding title pages for each section. As small as it seems, this was a big decision. Without the cover pages, there would be no separation between the photos other than stylistic differences, which would make the book seem like a big mash-up of photographers taking pictures that were similar. With the cover pages, there would be more coherence and we were able to add to the “Detour” street sign effect by creating our own street signs.

I am very pleased with how our book turned out. I like the stylistic differences between each set of photographs and I think that they each give a unique view to the places that we visited, but the viewer is also able to tell that we were all in the same places. I like how our book reads. The black and white photographs at the beginning could set the tone for the whole book, but being followed by color photos, one can see that there are different styles in each section. I also think that it was very important that we kept my photos and Monica’s photos in different sections, because they are the most similar in the group.

The map at the beginning of the book is a good touch and it shows exactly where we went and that we actually did end up taking a detour… even though it was an accident. It was very neat to see how our project unfolded after we actually did miss the turn to Leonardtown.

My section went as planned. I am happy with it seeing it in its final form… the photo book. I like how all of the colors turned out and that there were no issues with the gutter. My only complaint is that I wish that I would have cropped out on the face of the man on my last spread. I think that it being so close adds to the creepy effect which is what I was going for with such a close photo of his face.

I wanted full bleeds for each photo for a certain level of intensity throughout my section. I also wanted the colors in each page of each spread to relate, and I felt that I was successful in doing so. I had a great time with Photoshop, learning about all of the things that I can do with it. My favorite spread is probably the one with the bricks and cinder blocks. I really like the colors in those spreads and I feel like the images were a couple of the strongest in terms of relation and composition.

Overall, this project was successful. It was hard to work in a group, but we were able to overcome obstacles in order to create a successful photo book. I am very pleased with how our book looks and I would not change much about it. I think that it is important that the class was able to see our point clearly as well, which it seems that they did.