Blitzfoto

I actually found this assignment kind of fun. Since it’s pouring rain right now, I was limited to what was in my dorm room instead of going outside. In some ways this made it easier, because I had a finite amount of space and resources and didn’t waste time traveling to a spot for a photo, but in other ways it made it harder because I had more constraints on what I could do. It definitely made it more challenging, but I think it also made it more fun. For an added challenge, I only looked at the prompt I was on, I didn’t look ahead. If I had, I might have made some different choices, but it’s what I did.

My prompts were:

I’m actually fairly proud of this first picture, where I was supposed to take a photo with the camera at floor level. I live in a double dorm room by myself, so I had a little extra space to stretch out. I took this photo from under the other bed, looking toward the window. I turned on my fairy lights for a little extra flair. I think the limited light makes the “wood grain” on the dresser have a cool effect. I just think this photo looks cool.

Not gonna lie, not quite as proud of this photo. I was prompted to get something “in motion,” which is hard when I’m in a single room and my friends are too busy to help me. I was on my own as photographer and subject. I took my deck of cards and started throwing them up in the air while lying on the floor on my back. I reopened the windows to get more ambient light, but I don’t think it could save this train wreck. I had to take five or six photos before I got one where the cards were visible at all. I didn’t quite get the effect I was going for, but I was running out of time and spent way too long on this one photo.

I wasn’t sure what to do for the prompt about straight lines. I’m a soft, squishy type. I don’t have a lot of straight lines in my room. I figured this shot, with my bed frame and ladder, had vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines.

The next prompt was to make a photo out of clothes. I really had no idea what to do with that, especially since my floor, desk, and dresser were now covered in cards. I kicked a few cards out of the way to form this Invisible Man out of my winter gear. I took the photo standing on a chair looking down.

Just like I don’t own a lot of perfectly straight things, I don’t own a lot of shiny things. This isn’t even mine; it was my roommate’s before she moved out. It also wasn’t particularly shiny, but it was the best I had. I tried to add water on top to get a reflection, but it didn’t work and just made a mess. I struggled to get a closeup while keeping in focus so that the shininess could come through. I took this photo with Ball Hall reflecting in it. Can you guess what it is? It’s the lid to a container of bay leaves!

This prompt was hard because there wasn’t a prompt, it was just a statement. However, I am one of those people that glasses help, so I had a few pairs lying around. I took this photo of my plants but had my glasses be in focus in the foreground because that’s what it looks like to me when I’m not wearing my glasses.

The last prompt was challenging because it seems so similar to the first one. Low angles make things look bigger, and ants are already on the floor. I ended up turning on my curtain of fairy lights that I have behind the other desk and sliding my phone underneath the tall part of the desk (whatever it’s called, the part that stands up over the flat work surface) and pointed it up. The result was kind of a neat shot of the lights and leaves.

I finished just in time! Overall, this was a very messy but fun experience. My room is a disaster but I got some cool shots. I think I’m going to do more of these when I need to get my creative juices flowing. It definitely makes you think on your feet and come up with something fast rather than worry about quality too much, but it gives you enough time to pull something together that looks good. You’re not scrambling too much to just have something that it makes it hard to do anything creative or worthwhile.