For my STEP signature project, I went on a week long photography trip to with other STEP students, OSU staff, and a professional photographer. Throughout the week, we traveled around Oregon and parts of Washington photographing the scenery. By going with a professional photographer, we were able to learn about the process of taking and editing photos.

During the STEP project, I was able to gain confidence in my self in many ways. For example, before going on the trio, I had never had to navigate an airport by myself, and now I have navigated 3 airports on my own. I was also able to gain confidence in my photography. Early in the trip, I did not have a clear idea of what many of the setting on my camera did. By the end of the trip I had become better at setting the camera to something appropriate and fewer of my pictures were ending up too bright or too dark.

I spent the week leading up to the STEP trip dreading going because I had never navigated an airport on my own, I had never spent so much time exclusively with people that I did not know, and I was not particularly confident in my ability to take good photographs. I only started to feel better about going on the trip once I had met my roommate. Getting to interact with the other STEP students really helped my feel more confident and comfortable on the trip. Spending time in the car or getting lunch with the others on the trip helped to build relationships that really helped on the trip.

Getting more comfortable with people on the trip also helped me feel more confident in my photography. Early on the trip, I really did not know what I was doing with my camera, but I was able to learn by talking to the other students as well as the advisors. The was particularly helpful on the day when we did night photography because I would not have had any idea what I was doing if I had not been able to ask others for help.

Additionally, as we traveled throughout Oregon, we were presented with many different photography opportunities. This meant that we had to change camera settings to suit the new environments and subjects. This gave me the opportunity to experiment with different settings and find different ways of photographing similar subject matter. Further, because we were traveling, I was also able to gain confidence with navigating place that I had never been before.

This change was valuable to me because I recognize that I will not be able to avoid talking to people I do not know or going places on my own once I graduate. Being more confident in the work that I produce will also be important. Even just the opportunity to get comfortable with the idea of talking to the advisors will help me with the idea of actually reaching out to instructors or advisors when I need help.