Photography has seen me through so many hardships. I document my life through a lens, whether that be digital or analog. I have, through this class, had the opportunity to learn so much more about my self expression. Although Darkroom is new to me, it has been such an incredibly rewarding experience. The beauty of hand crafting my hard work after agonizing days of not knowing exactly how my picture turned out is beautifully chaotic. I have chosen these two photos to represent my experience in this program because I feel as though they showcase my knowledge and my expression in one still image. The contrasting black and white have been emphasized by the filters I've chosen. The angles at which my photos have been taken give the photos a beautiful sense of asymmetry. It shows that our world needs chaos. That chaos is incredible.

As a student at youth in focus, I have taken away so much knowledge of how to use a camera and how to show emotion through my photography. I have learned to become proud of my work and my art, finding it surprisingly easy to share myself through this program. 

As a photographer, my pictures represent myself. Finding something without visible beauty and giving it beauty is what it's all about for me. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Dying is easy. It truly takes courage to live. To live without expression isn't truly living, and for me, expression is photography. Photography brings a light to life, constant or controlled, black and white or dripping with color. Its unique way of capturing life through a lens is beyond beautiful. My style of choice is portrait photography. People are messy, and messy is beautiful. And messy can be scary. And I'm scared because I'm going to die not being proud of how I lived. But photography; this photo here, this I’m proud of.