This piece depicts a subject (me) eerily alone in a dark barn, looking behind them into the darkness in search of something. This was taken during my personal exploration of the loneliness that characterized much of my youth, living in such a rural area, focusing on my confusion surrounding solitude, in that it should be uncomfortable, yet remains comfortable due to its unplaceable sense of nostalgia. I ensured I captured this photograph devoid of external help, thereby making myself utterly alone in the process, with only a tripod, digital camera, and flash at my disposal. Such a flash symbolizes my revealing and realization of my isolation – as, without that split second of intense light emanating from that flash, I would remain shrouded in darkness, all others oblivious to me and my search for anything. The barn, in itself, holds sentimental value, as it resides directly next to the house in which I spent a large portion of my youth, enacting a distinct sense of familiarity that exacerbates this nostalgia that I was attempting to ascertain, and recognizing the solace that I find in places, rather than people, in the darkest of times.

This piece of artwork was taken in Sedona Arizona in the birthing cave which is a hike.

This artwork was inspired by Harold Edgerton's "Milk Drop Coronet". This artwork encourages the consideration of time passing and how it can speed by as fast as light or creep along at a snail's pace. The milk was dropped into a cast iron pan by my friend while I shot from an overhead angle at 1/8000 s.

I was inspired by how I could use miscellaneous objects lying around my bedroom to represent myself as a whole. Each object embodies a part of me and tells a special, hidden story. For instance, the Vietnamese currency depicts my ethnicity, the paintbrushes, pens, and pencils represent my love for art, and the Cross represents my Catholic beliefs. Each item also resurfaces small or significant memories, such as when I bought canned tea from my school's vending machine with my friend, and I looped the can tab on a necklace. Or when I traveled to Vietnam with my family and got a fancy, 1908 French souvenir coin from a historic landmark, enabling me to learn about my roots and Vietnam's history. My artistic process started with scanning the objects through a printer. I then took a picture of the print and used photoshop to remove the background and adjust the colors, allowing a saturated and vibrant effect.

I’ve been capturing sports for the past three years and as cheesy as it sounds, part of what I love about photography is the ability to freeze a moment in time and capture all of the emotion that is present. Here Oakland Roots SC goalkeeper, Paul Blanchette, pours water over himself prior to the kick-off. You can see the water droplets flying off of him as he shakes his head in an attempt to relax, lit by the stadium lights. The beauty of this nervous, yet human behavior right as the game is about to begin brings a sort of peacefulness despite the suspense, and it pulls you into the moment. Something I also value about photography, is the ability to transport the viewer into that exact fraction of a second which is especially valuable with capturing sports. I hope that with this photo, you too can feel the anticipation present as the game was about to begin in this split second.

I shot this photograph of my dad to represent the ups and downs that Black people in America go through on a day-to-day basis. I took two separate photographs and then combined them. I had my dad smile and think of a positive memory for one of the photos and then I told him to have a straight face while he thought of a negative memory for the second photograph. To further demonstrate the message of the photo I made the positive memory have color and the negative memory be black and white.

"Conversation" I learned about the competition in my high school digital photography class and was inspired to create a photograph that represents our generation and current culture. As a French Citizen living in the Bay Area going to Berkeley High School, I often notice subtle differences in our cultures. I wanted my art piece to reflect one of the important differences I see daily. My art, Conversation, reflects the disconnection many teens face from the world. Most teens I see in the Bay Area do not have real face to face conversations. I often take time to enjoy the sunset when I am out walking my dog. Many people I see walking around do not seem to notice the sunset. There is a positive physiological connection we all make with eye-to-eye contact and real conversation. I chose the background to be a beautiful sunset with two people on their devices looking away from the sunset. They do not notice the sun is setting. I chose to use monochrome for the people in the image to emphasize their apathy to the beauty around them. They are disconnected from reality and just focused on their phones, rather than connecting on a deeper level enjoying each other’s company and real conversation. I want my artwork to inspire people to have real conversations which can help many teenagers feel more fulfilled. I hope my art will inspire families and teens to have more conversations and notice the beauty around them.

This photograph features Scout the golden retriever. It is rare to see her so contemplative, but I seized the moment. I reduced the light to come from a singular source, sat down with my phone, and waited for her to stop smiling at me. Finally, convinced I did not have a treat, she relented and gave me her model face. That is how I captured this photograph. Post model shoot, I edited the photograph. I cropped the image, decolorized it, and used dodging and burning techniques to highlight the sheen on Scout's fur and her beautiful eyes. I wanted the artwork to evoke curiosity. Who is arriving? Is the light coming from a door opening? What is Scout's opinion? I am very happy with the result of my work, and I am proud of my hard labor, even if Scout did most of it.

In the town of Beacon, New York, I lay on the historic Hudson line tracks, a self-timer set to capture the solitary moment. This photograph is a meditation on my journey of life, with the vanishing point set just beneath my gaze, symbolizing the convergence of past and future. The leading lines of the railway guide the viewer's eye, leading toward the focal point; my contemplative face. It's a visual metaphor for introspection, the tracks a reminder of my life path and the uncharted ways ahead.

Welcome to my world. This is the entrance to my heart. Everything and everyone I hold dear lives here. On a spring day while hiking on Mt. Tamalpais, me and my family walked on a sea view trail with vast rolling hills and occasional forests. The nostalgic scenery reminded me of the landscapes common in the Ghibli studio films that dominated my childhood; the Joe Hisaishi song “One Summer’s Day” playing in my head. As we stepped out of one of the forests along the trail, we were met with an opening to the expansive grasslands and the sea. I instinctively stayed behind my family and framed them with the nature surrounding us. This photo is still one of my most iconic photos so far. I hold many things that are dear in my heart; this expansive world grows everyday, filled with the warmth from my childhood, the seasons of emotions, and even the harsh blizzards of life lessons. Towards the center of this world surround my best friends; some I’ve known since preschool while others I have met through other means. They have always been the stars that would help me through my struggles and our connections are strong, supporting each other hand in hand. At the core of my heart stand my family: my dad, mom, and my little sister. Each with their unique characteristics, we have stuck together through everything, deepening and strengthening our bonds. These are the people that keep my world alive.

This is a statement piece about the double meaning of "Blue Collar". The man in this picture, Julian Vasquez, is a blue collar worker who works as a firefighter up in Oregon. At 25 years-old, he is putting his life on the line for our community. This picture illustrates the emotions and story of a blue collar worker as the colors cast a darker and moody-toned environment. The other meaning of "Blue Collar", is directed towards the dog, Ghost. At just three years-old, Ghost has spent his whole life with Julian. Ghost was diagnosed with a liver problem, and was only given about six more months to live. This was a year and a half ago. Through thick and thin, Ghost persevered through the challenges that were thrown at him in his life. Ghost is a reflection of Julian, as they've both faced and worked through obstacles that the average human would back down from. They will always stick together and use each other as someone to lean on.

This was one of my first times experimenting with unconventional poses in photography and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My friend Eloise and I decide to meet up at a park to do a little trade off, I model for her project and she for mine. However that particular day mother earth decided to cry all her tears and it was pouring rain. This photo was taken during a 3 minute break in the weather. We brainstormed poses while squeezing under Eloise’s umbrella and she reluctantly agreed to lay down on the dripping wet monkey bars so I could get this shot. In the next few photos she had an awkward wet line across her torso.

During the summer I went to Yosemite with my family and wanted to document it. One day we went to mirror lake and my cousin wanted go climb up the rock in the picture. When we were there I had my camera so I took the picture. I decided to make the photo black and white because it really showed the tonality in the picture and got rid of some busy colors.

I was working on photographing motion and had a number of photographs of people jumping, biking and playing sports. However, I wanted to move beyond this direct concept and try to capture light in motion. Simple items, like a flashlight and a dark bedroom, combined with multiple instructions to my younger brother (and patience!) allowed me to get this roller coaster effect.

To capture this image, I only used my small digital camera I had at home. While editing them with photoshop editing I really pushed myself to learn how to balance and see different tones in black and white. I really enjoy doing independent photography projects because I get to learn more about my limits and creativity.

This photo was taken at a car event for porsches, specifically air cooled porsches. The event took place at a former naval base and the organizers set up the cars in alleys and buildings all over the space. When I took this photo I really liked the cool color tone. The navy in the porsche matches to the walls and overall makes for a calming and blue photo that I think highlights the beauty and simplicity of the porsche in the photo.

While I was on a trip to visit my family in cape cod we went to a beach. According to the weather there was supposed to be a hurricane but it ended up just being dark skies and big waves. I saw this scene that i had never seen in california where the beach grass was on a hill and the fence connected the grass to the sky. I thought it looked very much like the east coast so I took a picture.

You enter the Pyramid of Time and suddenly are shot off of your feet and are flying through the air you pause as if all time stops and look around, this is what you see, four watch’s paused in time.

This photo was part of a project where we had to take inspiration from a professional photographer and make it our own. I was inspired by George Hurrell, a photographer known for his glamorous Hollywood portraits. I used a Diana Glass Lens to create the film-like glow, lighting my model in way that created a sense of mystery and importance. This project helped me be more comfortable with studio lighting and working with a model. I'm proud of how well the photos came out despite being somewhat rushed for time and my second model not being able to make it.

Photography is one of the many ways I enjoy expressing my artistic talent. I feel like my artwork is a reflection of my personal state of mind, burrowing my style into a personal moment of my life. For each photo I take I try to brainstorm a general idea of what I want the finished product to look like, and run with it as I go. For this specific photo, I wanted to achieve a skateboard magazine aesthetic by using a fisheye lens and adding grain/color grading to invoke a vintage camcorder vibe. When shooting the photos, my friend (the subject in the photo) and I came up with the idea for him to ollie over the couch. After we attempted a few trials, we decided to add a clone of him watching the jump from sitting on the couch to add a little bit of spice to the image. All in all, I love to create as I work because it makes the process feel more authentic. I want to truly understand the subject’s feelings and ideas so I can improve and reach my highest potential.