MICHELLE JATES

STUDIO FINAL

1/17/08

I got interested in art when I was little. I started drawing when I was 6 years old, and by drawing I don’t mean I was a 6 year old just doodling. I mean I was hardcore into drawing people and things and tried my best to make them look real. I looked at drawing books and taught myself how to shade and texture. I got interested in photography when I took photo 1 & 2 with Ms. Duncan sophomore year, and I ended up really liking 35mm photography. I never really liked digital, maybe just because I didn’t have a good camera meant for photography and I didn’t know how to use Photoshop. The whole dark room experience is amazing too. I love the feeling that you developed the film, the prints, and edited the prints all by yourself with your own hands. Sure, it takes a lot of patience, but it’s completely worth it. I think my work this semester wasn’t up to my full potential. I know that in second semester I’m going to do a lot better because I’m going to work a lot harder. I already have a huge project planned out for second semester, outside of class. I’ve been looking forward to that for 6 months now. It’s going to be based around 1950’s rock & roll and pin-ups. I guess you could call it a series of photo shoots on “Greasers vs. Soc’s”. I already have a team of hair and makeup artists from my sister’s salon on board to help out, and I have been collecting a “wardrobe” for my friends that will be modeling for me. It’s taken a long time to organize, and I think in the end it’s going to turn out great. The pieces that are most important to me are the photos of my niece. She’s so lively and has an amazing personality for a 5 year old. She’s great, and I think all the pictures I take of her really give you the idea of who she is. I think the hardest pieces for me though, were the “Alien” photos. I procrastinated like crazy and ended up having a terrible terrible roll that I wasn’t proud of what so ever.