Hey everyone! Just wanted to post an update. I've been taking pictures like crazy, so I wanted to explain my lack of new work on here!

For my AP Art class, we have a series of approximately 80 photos due on October 15th. That was the only requirement- 80 photos. We could choose our own topic, the photos just had to relate in some way. I hit a tooooon of roadblocks, but I've finally got my project underway, and I'm LOVING it!!

I originally wanted to do a figure study of the male form, very tasteful, black and white images. Nothing suggestive. Nothing frontal shown in any photos. An artistic nude photoshoot. Yeeaaahh...I'm still in high school, I just turned 18, very few of my friends are 18, and those who are were either not comfortable with it or their mom wasn't. So. That fell apart pretty quick, unfortunately. I'm think I might try it again later in the year when more of my friends are of age, maybe I can make it happen.

After a long conversation with my teacher, in which I expressed my deep frustration at having tons of ideas and nothing I could make happen on a timely basis, I finally decided I would switch my focus for the project to the concept of "motion." I had thought of the idea a long time ago, as a very vauge concept. So, I went out to do a photoshoot, and VERY quickly realized that it was not going to work for me. Too difficult to capture good shots, and not enough feeling behind them.

So I then moved on to another concept I had long been toying with- shooting graffiti. And THAT was the focus that stuck. I have fairly strong views on the topic of graffiti art. In summary, that there is a clear difference between graffiti and graffiti art, and that high quality graffiti art should be treated as just that.

I'm titling my series, "Graffiti: Art, Not Crime."

Aaaaahhh, and I love it! I've gone on two shoots so far. The first one was to a huge pier on the Milwaukee Lakefront, which I love. I spent a good hour and a half or so shooting graffiti down the entire pier. I took about 110 pictures, but without a consistent style to them. After reviewing at home, it became much more evident what worked and what I should be going for: close-ups, more studies of the spraypaint, of the shapes and the textures, as opposed to of the graffiti piece as a whole. So, the next day, I went on another shoot, and it was soooooo much better! A good friend of mine took me down to some spots he knew, next to the railroad tracks, and another good friend of ours came along. I was laughing at myself, because I was so excited! We found a couple really good blocks of art, and I just ran around with my camera snapping endless pictures. Because I really knew what I wanted, and also because the graffiti was more protected and vibrant, the shoot turned out really well! Absolutely better than my first one. I loved it.

So, I now have a ton of photos, but I'm going to wait until after the project is due to post them. Yes, I know, it's still so far off! I'm sorry!! But I really want to take the time to narrow it down to the best shots. I'll probably go out on one or two more photoshoots and I want to get the very best photos I can from the whole set. I need to start being more picky! I will have at least 80 truly good photos by the end of this project. I may not post them all, we'll see, but I will definitely be doing a mass upload. So be ready for that. I hope you guys like graffiti, or if you don't, I hope you will look at and analyze my work in such a way that it changes your mind. At least a little.



That turned out longer than planned, but it's a good overview of what I've been up to in the art world lately. I'm really excited about this project, and I hope you guys like it too.

As always, thanks for reading, watching, and be patient! Peace and love to all of you!!

♥ ~Rachel