Photo series
The subject for my essay is my mom; who was recently promoted to a colonel in the US Air Force. I took these photos at her promotion at the Hanscom Air Force Base. I selected this place/event because my mom has been in the Air Force since she was 17 years old and this was a great deal for her and her career. I am beyond proud of the strong, kind leader my mother has become and these photos are capturing this pride and love. A concept I was trying to show throughout this series is that although the military is strict and orderly, these soldiers are making sacrifices and taking risks for the well-being of our country which is the love this commitment provides. I portrayed this with showing the serious photos ( the photo of the women standing in attention, the close up photo of the symbol, the fighter jet, etc.) but also showing the softer side to the military, ( colorful painting, flowers, art lined up on wall, still room with golden chandelier, passionate speech). I believe this series captures these ideas perfectly because every other photo shows a "serious" and "soft" theme but they all blend in together. Another way how they're unified is some photos change the idea of the photo. For example, the second photo shows the entirety of a colorful, fun painting. But, the second photo only shows the zoomed in Air Force symbol. Also, all photos have the same color scheme. I believe the picture of the mirror is a strong photo in my series. This photo shows the stillness and emptiness of the room she was promoted in. It was taken after the event and represents that it is just a room and time goes on. It represents the place where my mother took the next big step in her life and career. It shows the chairs people sat in and the stage where she stood. It was taken at a slight from the stage but in the center of the mirror. The lighting is coming from the chandeliers which gives them a glow. I added some saturation to this photo and slightly. cropped out the sides