I like to capture ordinary, every day things but in a way that allows people to see the beauty in them. In other words, I like to capture the world in a natural, unstaged way by using angles, lighting, framing techniques, and focus to accentuate the unique characteristics of the object pr scene. This picture was no exception; it is a ceiling above a busy airport shuttle that wasn't designed to be looked at like a piece of art. I love the symmetry in the architecture, the repeating lines in the ceiling, and the reflection of the light on the hand rail.

I went on a roof. I climbed a tree. I stood in the shower in complete darkness and proceeded to blind myself with my camera's flash. The Fool’s Journey—the story told through the 22 Major Arcana cards of a 78-card tarot deck—follows the Fool as he meets a diverse cast of characters that guide him on his travels, a metaphor for the human life. Each of my cards—here displayed in a single sheet—corresponds in name and number to the Major Arcana, but each card’s original design has been reshaped into my own vision. I often diverge from the typically accepted “meaning” of the cards, superimposing onto this centuries-old tradition not only my personal artistic style but also my own metaphorical and symbolic truth. The Fool is an everyman: he represents all those who look to him in hopes of understanding our own existences. However, the same can be said of the rest of the Major Arcana’s personages, onto whom I have imposed anonymity. I ask now, If you are the Fool, am I your Magician? If I am the Fool, who are you to me? Out of this emptiness, we must define who is our Empress, our Hierophant, our Sun. Just as in our lives as a whole, in the blacked-out silhouettes of this series, it’s up to us to determine who we are, how we relate to the world around us, and where we’re going in our own Fool’s Journey. (I’m the Fool; I almost fell off the roof.)

This summer I spent two weeks traveling the West Coast and camping in Kent, Washington as a student of the MLK Jr. Freedom Center on the To Us You Matter Civic Engagement Tour. After experiencing deep internal learning there, my mom and brother picked me up to go into Tacoma. One day we spent Tribal Canoe Journeys on the Muckleshoot reservation with my cousin. As she walking us to our car, she mentioned camping the next night in Oregon for a ceremony and invited me. Saying yes was one of the best spontaneous decisions I've made. On this trip, I was privileged with the opportunity to experience my Indigenous and Chicana culture meaningfully and how it’s sustained through Aztec dance and Chicana scholars like my cousin, Mayelli. The early morning drive from Tacoma to Cape Lookout directly on the Oregon Coast served as a meaningful, bonding moment for Mayelli and I as we discussed the past two weeks, her life as an Indigenous STEM student in Seattle, and social issues we've analyzed in the world we navigate. At the beach, I felt the community of Danza Azteca and that part of her community. After a night of special moments and sleeping with the Pacific Ocean, I captured this intergenerational moment of Mayelli being cleansed with copal by an Indigenous healer. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to embrace family and culture profoundly and freshly. This moment captures the lifetime of dedication Mayelli has put to dancing and cultural survival.

This portrait is one of my favorite photos I have taken. My goal in taking this photo was to represent sadness in a young woman. When people look at the photo I want them to interpret it differently based on their hardships when they were young adults. I took this photo in the bathtub with my neighbor who often models for my portraits. In this process, I tried many different angles to find the one I liked the best. I also used a bathroom to make the water appear a pinkish purple color. I have found that portraits are my favorite types of photos to take

At first glance, someone may look at this decaying building and not think much. But I find that the contrast between the natural beauty of the blue water vs. the broken windows, rusting metal and vandalism actually creates something really eye-catching. I've explored a lot of abandoned places in the Bay Area and taken a lot of pictures, but I chose this one specifically because I like the main visual interest of the graffiti face. The eyes seemed to stare at me while standing in this spot and I knew I had to take a pic.The lines seem to point at the face and the sun streaming on the floor adds something more to it. I edited the colors slightly, given it a warmer, more rustic-tone.

I wanted to capture the movement of the flowing water in a distinctive form. The long exposure creates flowing lines that direct your eyes upstream, showing how the water churns all the way down the river. I used a polarizer filter to reduce reflections on the water, allowing the natural colors of the riverbed to show through the calmer areas of the river. The photo is shot on medium format color slide film, to achieve a high level of detail.

My advisor, Dr. Infante, was the inspiration for my piece, Looking Forward. As my advisor, she has supported me both academically and emotionally throughout high school. Her classroom is a place of respite for me from the fast-paced, demanding culture at my school. During our time together, she leads my cohort in goal setting, mindful journaling, and grounding breathing exercises, among other activities, spreading both her positive outlook on the future and her intention to create more healthy and sustainable life habits. In this way, my advisor exemplifies the type of person that I want to be: someone who doesn’t strive for perfection, but instead sees life as a constant opportunity for self-improvement. This was the first time I experimented with taking photos on a 4x5 large format camera. In comparison to digital photography, analog photography is a far more involved process. I carefully loaded the film in, adjusted the composition and focus under a hood, and developed the film. I was challenged by the delicate nature of the process, learning through each failed photo I took. The concept of Looking Forward was based on the idea of personal growth and moving past old mistakes–how can we adopt a more positive mindset and reach inner peace? Although mostly engulfed by darkness, light illuminates her face and eyes, illustrating an enduring spirit even in hard times. By capturing the calm, reflective character of Dr. Infante, I hope to encourage the viewer to take a moment of self-reflection.

This photo was taken during sunset in 2023. I had just gotten my driver's license and my brother and I came across two large boats heading towards the horizon. My brother and I ran out of the car, and took a picture of him pointing to the boats. This picture is special to me because it marks a good memory spending time with my younger brother on a spontaneous drive together. The image encaptures the stillness of the evening and the mystery of the boats moving into the horizon. During this same outing, I took a picture of the Golden Gate Bride with the fences and locks. When returning to class with these images, I expiermeneted by morphing the two together. Making the two images into one image adds creativity and uniqueness and drama to the image.

I love this photo because is a great representation of childhood and coming of age. My childhood bestfriend was in town visiting and we decided to go on a little adventure to point reyes. When we were there we found an abandoned barn and decided to explore further. My friend Darby, with adventurous spirit within her decided to climb on the roof. As we continued to look around the barn I found this window and asked if she could hang her feet within the frame. I think this image is visually compelling and represents a great coming of age narrative, as my friend and I have also grown up together but grown apart when she moved. Nature can connect people in ways nothing else can and bring back memories from the past that you wish to hold forever. This image depicts the harsh realities of growing up, when often we get to busy focusing on things we can't control. This image demonstrates that it is ok to take a step back an enjoy the little moments life bring us. Sometimes you just need to let your inner child come out.

This is a self portrait I created earlier this year. It was taken by the tunnel in the Berkeley Rose Garden, just before the sunset, where the lights from the tunnel created a beautiful outward glow. I wanted to convey a sense of mystery, making the viewer wonder what was creating the strange glow. I tried to convey this through my posture as I was posing, as well as during the editing process.

My Image is of a Seagull on the beach looking at its reflection, but turned sideways it looks like a heart. My image can be perceived by people differently. I like to make my viewers think and wonder about my work, and let them decide what my picture resembles to them. My friend thought it was just a seagull on the beach, but another said it looked like a heart and it reminded them of their grandpa who is scared of seagulls. To me I see a really pretty heart made of a seagull and its reflection. But when I see this photo it also reminds me of when I took it. I was on the beach with my family and friends. I had brought my camera but the sky was really dark and cloudy so I was disappointed I didn't get any cool photos. We were packing up and I was tying my shoes while they started walking towards the exit of the beach, so stopped tying my shoes and started running towards them but then my shoes got sand in them, and the chair on my back fell to my side, so I yelled at my mom to wait for me and she yelled back we'll be by the car. And so I sat down to tie my shoe and when I looked up, there was this weird seagull just looking at itself in the water so I pulled out my camera and started photographing it.

This photo was one of my first self portraits. Originally assigned to me at school, self portraiture was not something I was initially drawn to. Though a bit apprehensive at first, I tried to have fun with it and decided to use it as an opportunity to experiment more with lighting. Cramped into the corner of my room, I made this set up using my tripod, an LED light, a sock, a clothing hanger, and an extra birthday candle. I really wanted the photo to be interesting and have more than just a gradient of colors, so while the lighting is the most striking part of the photo, I decided to express bits of myself through the subtle choices in clothing and accessories.

It's my most innovative artwork so far.

This piece is a reflection of self doubt. It's demonstrating how your own thoughts can be the most detrimental, and the feeling of being surrounded by your own mind. I took this picture in my schools theater as it's the darkest place in my school. I had my friend pose as the model because I felt she could create what I pictured.

I am Areyto P.A., and in 2022, I captured my photograph titled "Diaphanous" using a Pentax K1000 with Portra 400 film. The name "Diaphanous" was inspired by my uncle's immediate exclamation upon seeing the photo, and he encouraged me to submit it for this grant opportunity. At the time I took this photograph, I had recently discovered the rule of thirds, and I was eager to incorporate it into my craft in the hopes of enhancing the aesthetics of my work. To achieve the desired effect, I crouched down to get both bars in alignment with my younger sister, creating the illusion of her being much larger while emphasizing the difference in size between her and the other children in the frame.

Look Up To Love is a photograph that was taken from the inside of the Borra Caves in Ananthagiri Hills of the Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh, India. The title, Look Up To Love, signifies the notion that in order to find the beautiful things in life, like love, it is important to have a positive mindset. Looking up symbolizes moving on from losses in the past.

I recently have been getting into portraits. My friend and I went to the dollar store and picked up some props. My inspiration behind this work was the subject trying to reach an unattainable goal. There are many small parts of the photograph that add to this idea such as the heart shaped glasses and the balloon with a happy face on it. The idea of freedom and happiness was supposed to be conveyed by how he is floating away and free.

My name is Jack P. and I am a student at University High School. I believe photos capture one moment in time, leaving the viewer to wonder about the rest of the story. As a story-teller, I am often interested in the tension between nature and people. This scene struck me while out walking around Point Reyes, National Seashore. There is a rugged beauty to the area: the boat, while hauntingly beautiful, is a product of what mother nature’s wrath can do. And yet, the whole scene was so peaceful and dream-like because of the heavy clouds surrounding it. During post production, I tried to highlight the essence of that tension. The clouds on the left of the boat show a blue tint, and to the right, a yellow-gold tint. I wanted to draw the colors out through editing to emphasize the serenity and isolation the viewer experiences. The blues are meant to represent the sad part of the story, the brutality of nature, and the forgottenness of the boat. The yellows are meant to capture the happy side of the story, the peacefulness of the scene, and the shockingly beautiful contrast between the natural landscape and manmade boat.

A swirl of emotions, a mix of surprise. As I stared at the darkness, disbelief in my eyes. A taste of bitterness, not from the rind. But from the revelation of what I would find. The sweet illusion shattered, dreams dispersed. In the world of fruits, this one was cursed. A captivating lemon, with allure to share? Yet cloaked in shadows, secrets laid bare. The aroma misled. A deceptive clue. I pondered the meaning, what did it construe? The sour and sweet, a metaphor, perhaps. Life's contradictions, its intricate traps. Sometimes what glitters is not pure gold. Beneath the facade, the true story is told. The knife in my hand, a tool of truth. Unveiling the secrets, uncovering the truth. I gazed at the lemon, now torn and laid bare. A cautionary tale, a lesson to beware. I cleaned the knife, set the lemon aside. Reflecting on the journey, this emotional tide. A sprinkle of sour, a dash of sweet. Life's unpredictable flavors, a challenge to meet.

This photo captures the beauty of my friend's hair when she rakes her fingers through it. I used studio lighting for this picture which helped to capture the glossy, silky, and smooth texture of her hair. Although she does have blonde hair, I chose to make the image in monochrome because it allows the subject (my friend) to blend in with the background and still have the audience drawn to her shining hair. I love the movement in how she rakes her fingers through her hair, as well as the overall beauty of this image.