Letter to the Judges

May 1st, 2007

Dear Judges,

Thank you for attending this evening; it is my honor to present to you the most stressful project I have ever conducted. Now don’t get me wrong, I think requiring a senior project like this is a great idea; I just didn’t have the greatest experience, per say.

Initially, when this project was rolled out, I had planned to do something completely different. Actually I was well underway on something completely different until late January when my partner informed me that she wouldn’t be able to follow through with her initial idea, leaving my project on the chopping block. Fortunately, I was able to start something new and would still be able to make it work as long as worked double-time.

Enter: My (ever) evolving (and then suddenly ending) photography project. My first plan was to explore the creative and abstract world of photography using a digital camera and Photoshop, but once I attained a mentor, entered a class, and received a new (yet very old) camera I decided I would focus my project on making a photo documentary of the life of a teenager in Napa. I would be using an original 1976 Canon Ae-1 Film Camera (R.I.P.) and would then learn to and develop all the film myself, with a little help from my mentor of course.

My project began with me first going out and getting to know the camera that I was going to be using. Once a week I was also attending Photography 120 at the Napa Valley College where I was able to meet with my mentor/teacher to get new ideas for my project, ask questions, have him evaluate my digital work, and check up on my progress. Last but not least would come the transformation of my garage into a dark room and the developing of all of my film.

Along the way I ran into a few difficulties, one of the most frustrating being the fact that for the longest time I could never unwind my film without ruining it in some way or another. However, the winner of the most frustrating part of this project gets awarded to the morning of April 19th. At 6am of that morning I was awoken and informed that the back right passenger window of my car had been smashed and I came out to find that the only thing missing was my camera bag complete with camera, telephoto lense, and all 20 rolls of film that were ready to be developed for my senior project. Nothing else in my car was touched; all my CD’s were still on the floor and all of the doors were still locked. (Hence: the name of my project.)

Even with my series of misfortunate events with this project, I still found this project to be a great learning experience. I ended up taking away a lot more than I had expected to as well as got a lot more experience by using the film camera. I had never used a film camera before so that definitely demonstrated a stretch as it took some time to fully understand how to use the camera. A further stretch created by this project was being able to pick up on the different ways to incorporate unique elements into my photography in order to create an image. On another bright note, I also found this project to be an excellent reflection of my vocational skills as I plan in the future to turn photography into my career.

Once again I would like to thank you for being here tonight and I hope you enjoy what I have to present to you this evening.

Sincerely,
Lauren Hetzer

Project Process

The process of Senior Project has been long, hard, and at times rather upsetting. Here you will find the steps that I took throughout the year to complete my senior project(s). The point of Senior Project is to be able to prove that I was able to complete and take on something challenging as well as overcome any bumps I ran into along the way. Unlike most senior projects this year, mine took on a few unexpected twists.

Senior project was first rolled out in August of 2006. At that time I had decided to do Fashion P.R./Marketing. My final project was going to be a fashion show using the clothing a fellow classmate would be designing and sewing for her senior project. By September I had mentor, and by November I was underway with my research and end of the project. Alas, by late January my fellow classmate’s project fell through, leaving mine non-existent.

My second choice for a senior project had been photography, as it was always something I’d been interested in, but just never pursued. At first I thought about just using the digital camera I had, taking some pictures, altering them in Photoshop, and then presenting them in an art show with another student whose senior project also focused on art. However, after about a week I decided that this idea wasn’t going to be challenging enough for me. I already had experience with a digital camera, plus having to alter pictures in Photoshop would be no threat to me, so I decided to take in a little bit different of a direction.

In order to make my project a bit more of a challenge I decided to enroll myself in Photography 120 at the Napa Valley College where I also met my teacher and mentor, Jesse Dacanay. Shortly after joining the class another fellow student here at New Tech heard about my project and offered to let me borrow her original 1976 Canon Ae-1 Film Camera, complete with a telephoto lens and a vintage bag.

After receiving that and being in the class for two weeks, I decided a better senior project idea would be to do a photojournalism project. My main focus was going to be on the life of a teenager in Napa, but I would also be incorporating the essence of what I feel is a representation of the Napa Valley. My initial plan was to use three different cameras: digital, film, and Polaroid. However, I ran into the problem that Polaroid film is rather pricey (approximately $1.00 per photo). So with that taking a large toll on my paycheck I decided to only use film, but would also learn how to develop my own film to make my project even more of a challenge.

With my new idea, and a few photography lessons now under my belt I started taking pictures. Most of my photography work was of Parker Hill in Browns Valley, Wild Horse Valley Road, Henry Road, my artwork, and the general life in and throughout Napa. I was trying to be able to capture who we are as in teenagers in the Napa Valley and just what we represent. Therefore, a lot of photography was based on the outdoors and the stencils/artwork that I enjoy creating.

Once a week I was attending my class at the college where I was learning about things such as the ISO/film speed, aperture, camera angles, and color. On top of learning about those things in class I was also conducting a lot of research outside of class on photojournalism and to develop film, as that was going to be the final result of my project. However, the largest portion of my time spent on this project was dedicated to taking pictures. The more I was using my camera, the more I found learning about the different ways that it worked. And the more pictures I was taking, the more my ability at being able to capture certain messages with my photography.

Unfortunately, I am not able to share the results of the work I conducted throughout the last semester of my project being that my entire project was stolen. On the morning of April 19th $800.00 worth of camera, lens, bag, and film was stolen, and on top of that I now needed a new window, which cost almost $200.00. Needless to say my entire project was ruined. All of my film was gone two days before I needed to develop it.

Luckily, by being in Photography 120 I am still able to show some of my growth as a photographer. The photography portfolio that I have included represents some of my best shots that I turned in for a number of different projects throughout my class. Even though none of these photos really represent the message I was trying to convey with my project, you are still able to see my growth as you see the difference in camera angles, color, and the ISO with the amount of grain apparent in each shot.

By the end of my project I still feel that I have accomplished a significant growth as a photographer, and even more so as a person. This project turned out to be one of the most stressful, upsetting, and devastating projects that I’ve ever had to perform, but at the same time an excellent learning experience for me.

Project Reflection

As intended, Senior Project has been a huge learning experience for me and a bit of a roller coaster ride as well. Not only did I learn a great deal about general photography with this project, but I also took in a lot about the way a photographer can create an image. However, I believe the most important thing that I learned throughout the process of this project is that often times things tend to fall through, and if that happens you have to move on.

Artistically, this project has taught me a whole new way to look at our surroundings. When you’re looking at something through the eyes of a photographer you learn to capture the essence of whatever scene you’re looking at. It gives you the ability to see the fullness and needed fundamental nature to freeze the meaning of something with a single photograph. Mentally, this project has allowed me to see that there is always some way or another to make something work. When my first project fell through I panicked. I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be able to make such a completely different project work in so little time. Again when my project got stolen I was absolutely crushed. Two weeks before I was to present, and I had nothing. Fortunately, I had the help of a lot of people, namely Mrs. Mathison, Ms. Berger, and my mom and am able to present my project on time.

Throughout the entire process of Senior Project I overcame my fear of losing more than anything else. Not only did I lose all of my camera equipment and all my film, but along with it went all of my documented growth and progress as a photographer. However, this experience has inspired me to go out and start over again with an entirely new project for my class, which I do plan on completing even with Senior Project now complete. Also throughout the process I have learned within myself that I have the ability to capture an image that is unique. I learned that you can use a camera to do more than just document a moment in time, but you can create a picture.

This project taught me a lot more than I had expected it to. Coming into this project I felt that it was a bit of a waste of time. However, as time passed I found myself focusing on different things. I’m now more concerned with balancing out my work, as in the past procrastination always tended to be one of my weakness. Even though I’m not able to present the work that I did throughout my final semester, I’m still able to share with you the steps I took at becoming a better photographer, and how I was able to do so.