The signature project I choose was a photography trip to Washington and Oregon, although we were primarily in Oregon. This trip was to help better our understanding of creating, taking, and editing photos while shooting those photos in different environments.

     I believe the biggest change for me is my self-confidence in my photography. In about the middle of the trip, we went out and did some night sky photography. I have only done it once and only of just the sky, but on this trip, our professional advisor told me that we were shooting the sky with the mountains in front of the stars and I wasn’t really sure if I could get my photos to turn out or not. After about 2 minutes of playing around with some settings, I got a really good photo to turn out. Not only was I super excited but I also felt like I had some grasp on what I was doing with the settings and why. After that one photo, I got a lot of other good ones, including a photo of the lodge that no one else took. From that night on, I really felt like my photos got a lot better.

     I would say what led me to that change has to deal mostly with the people around me on the trip. The advisors, Tony and Pat, were great mentors for me in different ways. Tony had a lot more experience in photography but Pat and I shared similar camera models. When I took my night sky photos, I had a lot of questions about my camera, its settings, and general photography questions. Both Pat and Tony were helpful in helping me grow in that sense. Something Tony said still sticks with me and is part of the reason I got one of my favorite photos. He said that sometimes when you’re shooting your photos, you just need to turn around and take a photo of what’s behind you. I did what he said a it turned into one of the most unique photos I’ve ever taken.

     The other students on this trip were also a part of my growth in photography. Before going on this trip, I didn’t know anyone in this project but I shortly became aquatinted with the only other male student on the trip after I checked into the first hotel. Camden and I became friends pretty quickly and I think this helped me throughout the whole trip because I felt more comfortable around him and the rest of the group. Feeling comfortable around the other students on the trip allowed me to ask for help if I needed it or just have a conversation with them in the long car rides. With there being 12 students on this trip, finding photos that nobody has taken yet was harder than I imagined but because it challenged me, I think it helped me grow and look for new angles and work with my settings more.

      I also think the overall setting and environment were a big factor in how I have grown in my self-confidence and as a photographer. Every time we moved, there were new things to shoot, and most of the time, I hadn’t shot anything like it before. At each of these spots, my camera settings were constantly needing adjusted which was a big challenge, especially when you don’t know how to shoot this new subject. I also struggled on some of the days to get up early when we went to bed late the night before. The night we did star photography, we had to be up early the next morning to shoot the sunrise and that was super difficult for me to do when all I got was three hours of sleep. I think this did help me realize that sometimes some shoots are really difficult to get but if you put in the effort, you will find that it is worth losing a little bit of sleep. 

      This change in my self-confidence is significant to my life because I want to become a professional photographer. I have always felt like I am not really good enough of a photographer to make it my job or I just don’t have the skill set to create a career out of it but this trip has helped me realize that I may still have a ways to go but I am better than I give myself credit for and that I am still learning. I feel like this is a big part of all of my goals because it will help me through the rest of school, help me when I’m taking photos outside of school and help me find a job that I love. I will remember what I’ve learned on this trip for years to come and I hope to keep the memories I’ve made for longer.