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My name is Azura M. I live in seattle. And I'm a multimedia artist. This is my third class at Youth in Focus. 

I chose this because I thought it was pretty. The subject of the photo is a tally of someone who I met via my mothers work and we became quick friends. I had fun this quarter even though there were a few hard days and I had no inspiration for the majority of the class. I can develop my own film, confidently print my own pictures and use a camera in manual with no issues.

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My name is Betty (she/her), I did the darkroom class this quarter, and I used a 35 mm film camera. I've been inspired by many portraits I've seen throughout my life, but mostly by Mary Randlett. Many of her portraits are displayed in my grandma's senior home, and I see them whenever I visit her. 

This photo is of one of my favorite people, in one of my favorite places, my friend Sam at my school's garden. To me it feels very calm and familiar. I feel like it really represents me as a person, even though it’s a portrait of someone else.

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My name is Evan and I am a senior in high school. I have been doing photography here at YiF for the past 4 years. I primarily do 35mm film, but this semester I used 120mm or medium format film. I like the chill environment of the darkroom and am inspired by nature, architecture, and other film photographers on my Instagram feed.

This is a picture of the Volunteer Park Conservatory. I live near this park and come to it when I am feeling stressed and tired of being indoors. Due to the nature of the medium format camera, I had to stay relatively far away from my subjects, meaning I couldn’t take very close up small pictures that I usually do. This made me expand my view to be able to focus on my interests of architecture more. I chose this building because I like all of the shapes and lines it has, but also because of the contrast between the round letters of the open sign and their sharp  surroundings. Additionally, I am glad I was able to print a photo that reflects my other work with the daffodils planted at the bottom. 

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My name is Paloma L. I am from Seattle, Washington, and I live in Rainier Beach.

I have taken at least 10 Youth in Focus classes and one summer at the Cornish Darkroom program. Outside of this, my photography knowledge comes from years of experience and personal image preferences.

I do lots of different kinds of photography, but the darkroom is my passion. I love to create unique-looking images with different darkroom techniques, such as photo inside photo and cutting out words and shapes. I was brought to this art form through a love of art and film, particularly an interest in home videos recorded by my father that documented the bright moments of my childhood.

A lot of my art is inspired by the world I see around me. Beautiful moments that would otherwise be overlooked. I am not really a photoshoot enthusiast, but I would like to explore that side of photography at some point.

I am in the yearbook class at our school as well as the school newspaper, where I am a design editor and a photographer. I have been featured in a photography showcase at Cornish College. I have also been spotlighted on our school’s yearbook Instagram page and the Youth in Focus Instagram page.

My final piece features three images of my sister, Ruby, standing in a bright hallway in three different poses, each with its own dramatic influence. These pictures were taken at Columbia City’s Empire Roasters & Records. I’m sure my sister has gotten sick of my constant requests for her to pose for pictures, but many of my final images have been of her because she is my muse. The title of my work is "Movie in the Hallway," because these images remind me of motion picture films, where images are taken one after another and put together to create a sort of movie. This is why I chose these pictures to be showcased together. Because separately they are beautiful, but when they are put together, it is all the more cinematic.

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With Love, The Bedroom Floor was, you guessed it, taken from the floor of my bedroom. While sick with COVID and quarantined in my room last month, I took on the massive challenge of doing a (pre) Spring Cleaning, going through all of my belongings, memories, and highly unnecessary collections of things "I might need someday." For the first four days, I sat on the floor and stared at the same piles of junk—burning painfully bland silhouettes into my brain. Yet, by about day five or six, I began to notice the interesting ways light from my window would hit my closet door in the middle of the day. The time of day I'd usually be at school. Or how the stacks of books and piles of old drawings and papers created exciting textures and shapes. In those long hours of boredom, I had to choose whether to wallow in my solitude or try and change my perspective. Taking this photo at that moment made me realize that in just a few months, I'd be packing my things up and moving across the country. In September, I'd have new piles of junk to look at. I'd have new, painfully bland silhouettes and be starting new collections of unnecessary things. So, With Love, The Bedroom Floor is a farewell to this very sacred and finite time in my life. Never again will I experience this room or this spot on the floor the same. Thus, this image celebrates all the mundane and seemingly trivial things that define my coming of age. And ultimately, as I change and grow and start new chapters, these things in my room will remain steadily the same as a small reminder of who I am and who I would like to become.

My name is Sam. I live in Seattle. I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid. I’ve done a few camps but am mainly self-taught. I do character design and also love creating stories for my characters. Recently I’ve been bored of drawing and have branched out to other art forms like photography, crochet, and pottery. I love designing and creating things, there's something really special to that. 

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This is a photo of my friend Betty. I love the contrast of the tree branches, and how the sharp shadows fall on her face is simply beautiful. The day this was taken, we found a spot under a tree in Seward Park. The tree's branches touched the ground, creating a home within it. Everything was perfect, beautiful, and peaceful that day, and this photo captures that. 

My name is Tally (Natalia), I use She/Her pronouns. I would consider myself an artist, specifically self taught. I don't often enjoy being criticized or told how to do art, I much prefer being able to figure it out on my own. After my first Youth In Focus class I realized the importance of learning from and sharing other’s knowledge. I appreciate the materials and resources youth in focus offers, and I can't wait for next quarter!

This quarter I started using film for the first time. After experimenting with all the techniques I could use with film, I discovered how much I enjoy taking portraits. This image is a portrait of one of my closest friends, Azura.