Alessia Hu
12th Grade
My project is about time and its contrast between this year and last year. It’s about how we are living our lives indoors, how we used to live our lives differently, and the things we took for granted. This is our new reality and through these photos I’ve captured mine. These images are part of my personal visual journal looking at how I’ve been feeling and how my family has been coping. Through snippets of my day-to-day life, you will see a progression of emotions and memories that document my experience.
Alexia Santamaria
11th Grade
I usually like to take pictures of people, but
now, forced to stay inside, I turned the camera toward myself. It felt very awkward at first because I am
very insecure about my physical appearance and I don’t like being stared at by
strangers. Turning the camera toward myself is out of my comfort zone, and
putting on makeup was like adding that extra protective layer between myself
and the camera. I felt as if the makeup changed the way I looked, and I did not
feel so insecure anymore. People in quarantine can get so caught up in their
emotions, so I showed my emotions through my pictures.
The light found inside our souls
Shows who we really are
For some it shines brightly in their eyes
For others, their eyes are not there
Or maybe they are, but the glass in their eyes was broken by an overflow of tears or something too painful to watch
Those who try to get close will cut their feet on the broken glass
People never know because those people are too scared to stay up at night
They sleep when the sun sleeps because the sun shines brighter than them
So they worry that if they stay up past dark, the moon will lure them
To a place where they will unknowingly pour out their hearts and ignite the flame they were gifted
A flame given by God as a sign of life and beauty
They are afraid that the flame will be too much
Once the flame bursts it can consume you
The knives of memories and emotions will cut their hearts and reopen wounds that broke their eyes
They will bleed the past through their eyes
And the moon… she only wants to help
She will send tides to wash away your blood and tears
-Alexia Santamaria
Daphne Tang
12th Grade
The last three months have been particularly challenging. Being forced to stay inside, I was able to capture my appreciation for the small things in life. I made images of my parents and the little details I saw everywhere. I reconnected with simple pleasures and was able to capture my appreciation for the details of life.
Darius Musselman
12th Grade
The first two photos of mine were taken when remote learning first started. Myself and others quickly realized that the amount of work given to us became overwhelming, so much so that lost sleep and stress were becoming a part of our daily lives. The first photo is supposed to represent the endless work we had; it felt like after finishing one assignment ten more took its place. The second photo represents me stepping back from school and trying to focus on my photography, considering the last time I shot was in February and I had no motivation or ideas since.
Elizabeth Avila
12th Grade
My photography is a combination of photos of my
family and photos of light that I saw in my house. In the beginning of this whole quarantine when we began class online, I began to observe what I could take pictures of in my house. The first thing I noticed was the light around my house, especially during the afternoon when the sun was setting. Light was always on some surface and it would shine through windows beautifully during the afternoon, so I decided to take pictures of that. I also captured moments throughout this quarantine of my family; I wanted to show how they were feeling through the photos I took. I felt like it was important for me to include them along with the photos of light. I used what I had to my best ability and this photography project is the product.
Emmersen Tormey
11th Grade
Metamorphosis.
Gisele Placeres
12th Grade
I wanted this project to act as my eyes during quarantine. Being stuck in my home, with occasional family outings, filled my life for the last four months. Family has always been important to me, but going through this pandemic journey with them has allowed me to view my family, along with the world and its pain and misery, with different eyes.
Grace McNally
12th Grade
Evolving Reflection
Quarantine has left me with nothing but my thoughts for three months. In lieu of things in my life changing and looking into myself, I’ve realized that my problems won’t be dealt with unless I can find and understand myself and what I’m lacking.
Maxie Krane
11th Grade
I don’t need to be the one to tell you that times are tough, everyone already knows that. I don’t need to tell you that everyone misses their friends and family. We long for the normalcy that will be lost forever, even after this pandemic ends. It’s depressing and isolating. Confined to our homes, we must get creative with the way we communicate. From celebrating Passover over Zoom to sitting six feet apart on park benches, I have documented the ways in which communication has been altered during the days of Covid-19. To demonstrate our connection with our phones and with each other, I enhanced my photos using paint and string. I sought to convey the feelings of loss and hopelessness we experience, we are all inexplicably linked, and the human spirit thrives in times of struggle.
Morgan Yee
10th Grade
Transformation
The year 2020.
Quarantined at home.
Daily routines.
What to do besides homework???
I’m going to slow shutter my cello.
So that’s what a vibrato looks like!
My, that fingerboard is getting a lot of wear and tear.
Dancing bow
Amazing!
I wonder what’s Dad up to?
Uh oh!
Crash! Bang! Boom!
Oh my!
Look at Dad’s workspace!
Nails, screws, tools, galore!
The creaky stairs, old floor boards and leaky faucets
won’t stand a chance against him.
Hey, where’s Mom?
She snuck away from her chores with her mighty garden shears.
I see her wielding her garden shears,
scheming with the marigolds,
To intoxicate the mosquitos.
Home.
A great place to explore and transform.
-Morgan Yee
Nate Zim
12th Grade
Sometimes the most mundane of things are the most interesting.
Rebekah Williams
12th Grade
Trouble in Quarantine
In this pandemic, a lot of people have been through so many emotions and most of them are negative. It could be about schoolwork, family, etc. Sometimes, it doesn’t even feel real and its part of a dream/nightmare. These photos portray the feelings most people get sitting at home in this pandemic.
Brown Skin Girl
As a black female in America, I fear anything and everything when I step outside of my house
As a black female in America, I feel as if my freedom of movement is limited
As a black female in America, I feel as if my opportunities are limited
As a black female in America, I feel as if I have to wear my hair a certain way just to fit in
As a black female in America, my heart beats faster every time a white person stops me to talk, thinking they hate me already just because of the color of my skin
As a black female in America, I feel people think of me as loud, ghetto, and always angry when really, I just want my voice to be heard.
Watching all of these videos of police brutality has me thinking “Am I next?”
I pray to god every morning and night saying “please let me and my family live just one more day”
I make sure I text my stepdad “stay safe” and “I love you” when he’s out working not knowing if he’s gonna come back
People say that protesting won’t work yet Derek Chauvin’s murder charge increased
People say that protesting won’t work yet Breonna Taylor’s case reopened
People say that protesting won’t work yet $100 million was reinvested into communities of color in LA
All of this happened in a week so you can never tell us that protesting is useless.
I am a brown skin girl, a beautiful brown skin girl
Hair that is not as simple as a brush and go
Full volume hair that takes hours to maintain
I am a brown skin girl, a beautiful brown skin girl
When people see me with earphones on, they assume I’m listening to hip hop when really it’s something from the 60’s
I am a brown skin girl, a beautiful brown skin girl
Queen Latifah, Issa Rae, Tierra Whack, Beyoncé, Janelle Monae and many other black females in the celebrity world have inspired me to keep being who I am.
I am a brown skin girl, a beautiful brown skin girl
And they’ll never take my power
-Rebekah Williams