Kajal Patel- Crit 4 Recipe

Device: IPhone 5C
Operating System: iOS7.1
Application: Photos/Vintage Cam

     I shot a plethora of different subjects for Crit 4. From the beach to NYC to here on Temple's campus, I got a lot of shots of things that would resonate some type of memory for the viewers. In the photograph of the carousel, I zoomed in very close to the detail of the lights and work on the structure. I thought this would provide and up close and personal feel to the structure. I then added a vintage filter to the picture to fade out some of the color to give it a "washed away" look. Also, for the photograph of the woman in the windowsill, I faced my camera in a way that would allow for a reflection to appear on the woman. I made her sit inside of a closed off windowsill and the natural lighting allowed for a reflection to be formed. This was completely unintentional but after seeing how the first shot came out, I took a few more. I wanted to capture her in the rule of thirds and that worked out in more than one way. Not only does the window sill split into three horizontally and vertically, but the reflection of the building splits evenly as well. After taking the photograph, I placed a vintage filter on the photograph, again washing away some of the color.  I framed each of my shots very carefully.
      Because this specific crit focused on memory, I wanted to capture subjects that were not as specific so they could be related to for the viewer. In regards to the carousel, I liked how the lights were able to give off illumination and the colors were able to produce vibrancy. I thought it would be great to implement these strategies of color and contrast so that it provokes emotion. Colors are connected to emotions and I wanted to spark feelings of nostalgia and childhood through this photograph.With the girl in the window, I wanted it to be confusing for the viewer. The girl has emotions clearly plaster across her face and I wanted people looking at this picture to feel her emotion and then I wanted them to connect her emotion to a time they felt the same time of emotion. Also, I wanted to make her transparent and placed the reflections directly on top of her because I wanted to create a sense of transparency on the girl. As humans, we are looked through many times. I wanted the viewer to remember a time that this had happened to him or her as well, a time where they felt invisible.
     I wanted to capture memories. I wanted the viewer to remember something of their own life once they looked at my pictures. I wanted them to share the pain of the girl, to remember our humanity lies in being empathetic with others. If we can feel their pain, they can feel ours, too. I wanted to bring back the "good ole days" as well in regards to the carousel. There are many emotions we go through. We recycle our memories to feel again and that is exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted them to feel again.