1.My STEP Signature Project was a Creative/Artistic Endeavor titled Total Photography Process – Oregon & Washington. This project involved traveling across the Pacific Northwest to experience different locations and taking photos of the journey and many destinations along the way. During the trip I was able to use both a digital camera as well as a film camera to capture my images.
2.While writing the proposal for my STEP Signature Project, I knew that in order to travel by myself so far from home and meet up with a group of strangers in a new place that it would take a lot of strength to overcome the overwhelming anxiety that I would feel from the journey. This trip across the other side of the U.S. would be my first experience like this where I was traveling alone and meeting so many new people in an unknown place, but I saw it as an opportunity to take control of the anxiety that affects my life. Although I cannot completely get rid of my anxiety, after completing this trip I feel way more comfortable traveling alone and meeting new people in an unfamiliar environment. Becoming more comfortable and less anxious with new and unfamiliar experiences will be very useful in the upcoming months as I approach graduation and go off into the real world on my own. There will be countless new experiences throughout the rest of my life as well, so completing this STEP Signature Project has given me greater confidence in my understanding of myself to be able to conquer anything. In addition, I was able to explore my creativity and discover how to improve my photography skills and express myself through artistry.
3.The first stage of anxiety that I had to overcome began with the plane rides. I can count the number of flights that I have been on in my life on less than one hand, so I was very unfamiliar with how the process went which of course only fueled my anxiety. The flight to Portland from Columbus that I purchased had a short layover in Atlanta of which I was also very worried would cause me to miss the connecting flight to Portland. Thankfully the whole trip on the way to Portland was successful with no issues. Everyone that I encountered on my journey was super kind which made me feel much calmer and safer. Once the whole week had passed and it was time to go home, I was feeling much more confident in boarding the planes for my trip back. I was even able to sit at the airport terminal with my newly made friends to keep my anxiety from looming over me. I even felt comfortable enough to sleep on the flight back, which I was not even close to being able to do on the way to Portland. Going through this experience of flying alone greatly helped to calm my anxiety and I will feel much more confident in the future because of it.
Another essential part of the trip was learning from an experienced professional photographer on how to improve our technical photography skills. Pat Whittington was the OSU professor leading the trip and has had a lot of experience with photography, but we also had Tony Small, a professional photographer with even more experience, who also accompanied us on the trip. Both Pat and Tony helped us to become comfortable with using our cameras and also learning how to edit the photos we took. They would assist students with camera settings if needed, and also would help us to find the best shots at each location. The latter part helped me especially to not miss any of the amazing views that we were visiting, because they were familiar with each place and could guide us in the right direction. I have not had much editing experience either, so being able to ask for personal help with Lightroom and Photoshop whenever I needed it was very beneficial to my learning. I think that the photos I took can speak for themselves, but thanks to Pat and Tony’s expertise I was able to learn a lot about photography.
Lastly, the part of the trip that I will remember the most was making a ton of new friends from my peers that I had never met before. One of the hardest things for me socially with my anxiety is meeting new people and making new friends, but even by the end of the first day in Oregon I already felt super comfortable around everyone who was a part of the trip. On the first day I arrived everyone reached out to each other and we went together to explore downtown Portland and immediately started getting along great. I was worried that I would be too shy because of my anxiety but since we all had a love for photography it was easy to start up a conversation. By the end of the week I felt a really strong bond between all of us and this shared experience, and it serves as a reminder that even with social anxiety it is still easy to make new friends.
4.As I briefly mentioned before, this upcoming academic year will be my final one at The Ohio State University before I graduate. That is why this transformation is so valuable to me, because I will once again begin a new chapter of my life and personal growth once I graduate. New chapters of life come along with many new and unfamiliar experiences, which typically are very challenging because I can easily become overwhelmed with anxiety. This trip will forever stick with me because of the great memories and new friendships I made. Whenever I have to go through something by myself and I am worried about how it will go, I know that I will think back to how well this trip went and feel better.
In addition to the newfound mental fortitude I gained, I also was able to practice and improve upon my technical photography skills on this trip. Even from a very young age I have enjoyed the art of photography, and now through this experience I have been able to start developing a specific style and technique to my photos. Personally, I think that making use of documentary photography and capturing people experiencing life speaks to the human experience. So this is the style that I try to emulate, because I think that people can feel more emotion in a photo by seeing other people in it. Now that I have learned a lot more about basic settings and then the post production effects I can use to create the mood that I want, I am much more confident in the art I create. Beyond what I’ve learned and experienced through this trip, I am excited to continue to pursue photography and further develop my personal art style.
Columbia River Gorge
Multnomah Falls