Final Proposal – Matthew Stevens

Final Proposal – Matthew Stevens

            For my final project I would like to make pictures showing direction and obstacles. After going out and photographing I have decided to switch from my original idea of photographing open spaces. Pictures showing direction or lack of direction express more accurately how I have felt over the last few weeks. I want to spend a lot of time with certain areas and try to take a photo that feels like it has a clear direction or an obstacle blocking it.

            I want to make photos showing direction because I believe they are representative of my experience at Penn State so far. I have felt a lot of opportunity during my stay here, but also felt at times that I lacked a defined direction or path that I would follow. I think photographs showing the vastness and large size of the university and its surroundings could show these feelings. I plan on using the lines in photos to draw the viewers eye on a sort of journey. Some photos will have a well-defined path for the eye to follow and other may have no path at all. The ones with a clear path could be described as a time when I felt confident and sure of where I was going. The ones without a path could be times when I felt lost. A photo showing two paths with one being blocked off could be symbolic, or paths being drawn with the shadows of buildings could be interesting. Obstacles could be anything from doors, a wall, or darkness. I think using light and dark to draw the viewers eye to a certain part of a photo could create obstacles and prevent them from seeing certain things in a photo.

            I want my photos to be monochrome because I think it is easier to see lines and shapes and shadows when an image does not have color. I have already experimented a little and street signs seem to be useful in conveying messages clearly. A road that is blocked or closed can often be symbolic of closed paths in life.

            To proof test my photos I want to show them to friends and family to make sure I am getting my messages across. I tend to be biased towards certain images I take so I want to gain an outside perspective to ensure the ones I present are the most impactful.