My Portfolio

Below are some of my favorite photographs taken over the last few years.

Morning Commute

At 8:30am on a Wednesday morning in March 2021, I walked to my local train station. I was surprised to see that what used to be a bustling platform filled with commuters was still completely empty due to COVID. The man in the foreground had a sadness about him that I found poignant. He did not look up, even as the train arrived. Even though it was the beginning of spring, the morning had a wintry quality that I tried to capture. To me, this photo conveys what the world was like during the pandemic: cold and isolating. This is why I chose to portray the image in black and white.

I won two awards for this photo: a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award in Photography in 2023 and Honorable Mention in the Westchester Amateur Photography Contest in 2021.

Rue Saint Séverin

On a cool day this past August, I left my French immersion class in Paris to walk around the Latin Quarter. Umbrella in hand, I braced myself for another afternoon of rain. The sky was gloomy. Despite summer tourism, this particular street was mostly empty. I chose to portray the image in black and white to emphasize the dreariness of the day. I was particularly taken by the symmetry of the windows and the Juliet balconies. I also chose to capture the lantern in contrast with the smooth texture of the building facades.

Soulmates

I took this photo of my grandparents in May 2021 in honor of their 55th wedding anniversary. In the photo, I tried to capture their affection and love for each other as they looked into each others’ eyes. I purposefully had them sit on the hammock in their backyard because it is one of their favorite places to relax together. I also wanted the net of the hammock to serve as a frame for the portrait. I chose to portray the image in black and white because I thought that too much color would distract the viewer from the central focus of the photo: the expression on my grandparents’ faces.

I won a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award in Photography for this photo in 2023.

Wisdom

I took this photo in May 2023 at my grandparents’ house. I was looking at my grandfathers’ eyes because he had been recently diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder which causes him to have trouble opening his eyes. But at this moment, his eyes opened perfectly. I decided to capture the moment with a photo. In the original image, his eye is bright blue, but I decided to show the photo in black and white to captivate the viewer in a more poignant way.

Authenticity

I took this photo in May 2023 at my grandparents’ house. I was sitting on the floor playing with their dog Auggie when I noticed my grandmothers’ feet. She had no polish on her toe nails and she was not wearing any socks. All I could think of was how authentic her feet looked. Teenagers usually think beauty is flawless perfection. But in this moment, my grandmother’s feet looked beautiful, not in spite of, but because of their imperfections. When capturing the image, I decided to focus the lighting on her feet to increase their significance in the frame.

I won a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award in Photography for this photo in 2023.

Friolero

I took this photo of my sister as part of a “found in translation” assignment for my advanced digital photography class in February 2023. The assignment was to choose a word in a different language without an equivalent translation in English and portray the definition through a photo. Friolero is a Spanish word meaning “a person who is especially sensitive to cold weather and temperatures.” In this image, my sister is so sensitive to the cold that she is buried within her winter coat as opposed to merely wearing it. By looking at the expression on her face, the viewer can observe how much she is suffering from the cold. I also decreased the saturation of the photo to give it a more haunting quality.

Simplicity

I took this self-portrait as part of an assignment for my digital photography class in June 2022. Unlike teenagers who often use filters to hide imperfections, I explicitly tried to show myself as perfectly imperfect. For example, I used lighting to highlight the hairs above my mouth, the subtle imperfections in my skin, and my chapped lips. I chose to only portray part of my face to create a more interesting composition and further engage the viewer.

I won a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award in Photography for this photo in 2023.

Message in a Bottle

I took this photo for my digital photography class in March 2022. At school, I noticed a disorganized collection of glass bottles and other discarded items in a props closet. This is a photo of one of the bottles I found in the closet. I photographed the blue-tinted bottle sitting on a wooden shelf. I was able to edit the photo to dramatically change its appearance, giving it a magical quality. I find the juxtaposition of the stained-glass quality of the bottle with the more muted, marbled quality of the wood shelf to be striking.

Message in a Bottle II

I took this photo for my digital photography class in March 2022. Like Message in a Bottle, I took this photo at school. The subject is the same glass bottle with a blue tint. However, I chose to enhance this photo by placing the bottle on a more textured surface and by capturing the intricate design on the side of the bottle. I also positioned the bottle so that the light from the left produced a striking shadow of the bottle on the right. My edited version gives both the floor and the bottle a mystical quality.

I won a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award in Digital Art for this photo in 2023.

Staccato

I took this photo during an afternoon walk in May 2023. Behind our local train station, there is a small pedestrian footbridge over the Bronx River that overlooks a waterfall. I noticed that the tremendous volume of water cascading over the rocks created such an intense rushing sound that I felt like I was listening to a concert of sorts, compelling me to take a photo. I purposefully captured a small section of rock that was not immersed in water to highlight the stark contrast between the bright whites of the water and the somber hues of the rock.

Beauty Before Transformation

I took this photo in September 2021 when I was walking through my school’s garden and a brightly-colored caterpillar caught my eye. I was captivated by the depth and symmetry of its colors. I was also drawn to the stark contrast between the black and yellow of the caterpillar and the surrounding greenery. I framed the caterpillar with the stems in the foreground. I also captured the stems below the caterpillar which stood out because they formed a perfect triangle. Although it was September, the bright lighting and intense greenery conveyed a summer-like quality, reflecting the optimism inherent in the eventual transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly.

Signs of Winter

As I sat on our den couch studying in December 2022, I noticed a few remaining leaves crumbling on our patio table outside. The cold temperatures and dim lighting were clear signs of winter, and I sensed that these leaves were my cue to say my final goodbyes to fall. In this photo, I focused on the larger leaves in the center, and I blurred the smaller leaves around them to create a more dramatic effect.

Signs of Spring

I took this photo in front of my house in March 2023, just as the tulips were about to bloom. I remember the excitement I felt as I took the photo, overcome with the anticipation of spring. I purposefully blurred the majority of the photo with the exception of the center tulip to create an ethereal effect. When taking the photo, I positioned the camera to capture the line of yellow tulips diagonally across the image to draw the viewer’s eye from the foreground to the background of the photo.

Signs of Summer

I took this photo in June 2023 in our backyard. I stopped to take the photo as I left the house because I was so captivated by the perfection of this white flower. I purposefully blurred the entire background, leaving only the flower and its leaves in focus to showcase their beauty. I was also taken by the emerging summer sunlight peeking through the leaves of the trees, creating a backdrop of white light that framed the flower.

Signs of Fall

I took this photo in October 2023 in our backyard. School was in full swing, and the leaves were already beginning to fall. I noticed this one leaf distinctly trying to hang onto summer. It was starting to turn red and brown, but only in one spot; the rest of the leaf could have tricked me into thinking it was still summer. I purposefully shrouded the left part of the leaf with a stem in the foreground to represent my desire to hide from the harsh reality that fall was indeed upon us. I also focused on the red part of the leaf, blurring the rest, to highlight its significance.