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Artist Statement:
I chose to photograph shoes because I feel like I've been running and on my feet my whole life. I don't own that many pairs of shoes, but they symbolize your life at the time depending which shoes you're wearing. Cleats and basketball shoes symbolize organized competition and the rush of being youthful. Running shoes portray the exercise-driven individual who simply wants to stay in shape. Fancy shoes (not depicted, but were my sixth choice) show respect in places like gatherings and religious events, but can also symbolize work and the difficulties of middle-age life in the workplace. Boots depict an active individual who requires more entertainment in exercise than the average gym lunk, but could also show preparation to avoid precarious situations like puddles and poor weather. Slippers show leisure and relaxation: no one wears slippers to school or work (unless very casual) and no one uses slippers for sports or blood-pumping exercises. I took pictures of the cleats in the daytime because they illustrate activity, unlike the slippers, which I took pictures of in the early morning as that's when they are worn. I struggled a little bit with some of the angles, but figured out that going down to the ground level, the level of the shoe, proved to be the best picture because it focuses more on detail and puts emphasis onto the details of the cleats more than the picture taken from above. The lighting never seemed to be an issue due to the appropriate lighting from the outcast day, and the camera did a good job with its focus while I was able to properly blur the background to emphasize the focus. I didn't quite value the normal colors that the camera produced however, and I quickly found that inverting the colors produced a possibly more realistic version of what was photographed. I think the change of colors seemed to give it more detail, and in return, transformed it into a better photo. The red grass looks so unnatural that it almost looks natural in this inverted color environment. The slight change in cleat trim-color is almost unnoticeable, but the green contrasts the should-be-green red grass.
I chose to photograph shoes because I feel like I've been running and on my feet my whole life. I don't own that many pairs of shoes, but they symbolize your life at the time depending which shoes you're wearing. Cleats and basketball shoes symbolize organized competition and the rush of being youthful. Running shoes portray the exercise-driven individual who simply wants to stay in shape. Fancy shoes (not depicted, but were my sixth choice) show respect in places like gatherings and religious events, but can also symbolize work and the difficulties of middle-age life in the workplace. Boots depict an active individual who requires more entertainment in exercise than the average gym lunk, but could also show preparation to avoid precarious situations like puddles and poor weather. Slippers show leisure and relaxation: no one wears slippers to school or work (unless very casual) and no one uses slippers for sports or blood-pumping exercises. I took pictures of the cleats in the daytime because they illustrate activity, unlike the slippers, which I took pictures of in the early morning as that's when they are worn. I struggled a little bit with some of the angles, but figured out that going down to the ground level, the level of the shoe, proved to be the best picture because it focuses more on detail and puts emphasis onto the details of the cleats more than the picture taken from above. The lighting never seemed to be an issue due to the appropriate lighting from the outcast day, and the camera did a good job with its focus while I was able to properly blur the background to emphasize the focus. I didn't quite value the normal colors that the camera produced however, and I quickly found that inverting the colors produced a possibly more realistic version of what was photographed. I think the change of colors seemed to give it more detail, and in return, transformed it into a better photo. The red grass looks so unnatural that it almost looks natural in this inverted color environment. The slight change in cleat trim-color is almost unnoticeable, but the green contrasts the should-be-green red grass.