Reflecting on my time in Mrs. Watson Lee’s photography class, I am grateful for the valuable skills and knowledge I have gained. The opportunity to learn about different techniques, lighting conditions, and composition principles has truly broadened my understanding of photography and will be beneficial to my own work in travel photograph. Your guidance and feedback Mrs. Lee have been instrumental in improving my skills behind the camera lens and so much more. One of the most rewarding aspects of this class has been the hands-on experience we were given through labs and projects. From experimenting with different camera settings to participating in photo walks around the campus, I have been able to put theory into practice and see firsthand how different elements can impact the final outcome of a photograph. This practical approach has not only deepened my appreciation for the art of photography but has also given me the confidence to explore new ideas and push creative boundaries. Additionally, the sense of community within the class has been a highlight of my experience. Collaborating with my peers, sharing feedback, and learning from each other’s perspectives has been incredibly enriching. The supportive and nurturing environment created by you, Mrs. Lee has allowed me to feel comfortable stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new techniques. In conclusion, your photography class has been a transformative experience for me. I have not only honed my technical skills but have also developed a deeper passion and appreciation for the art of photography. The knowledge and confidence I have gained in this class will undoubtedly serve me well as I continue to pursue my interest in photography

Thank you, Mrs. Lee, and everyone who has help me this year

Sincerely,

Elijah K.

1.)

2.) My initial belief was that this city would exude an air of sophistication and refinement, a place where history and opulence intertwined seamlessly to create a breathtakingly beautiful environment. I envisioned myself immersed in a world of luxury and privilege, where every corner held a discovery, and every interaction was laden with significance.

The prospect of exploring such a rich and storied place filled me with anticipation and wonder, and I was eager to delve into the intricacies of aristocratic life within this captivating city because it is a deep passion of mine to hold on to the values, traditions, and beliefs that my ancestors held on to and what it truly meant to be a Kilpatrick.

3.) In the end, my aristocratic city was inspired by my family, and it was a labor of love, a tribute to my family’s heritage, and a symbol of my aspirations for refinement and elegance. It stands as a testament to the power of lineage and tradition, inspiring all who behold it to embrace the timeless values of grace, class, and culture that my family is a part of.

4.) My city differs from Peter Root’s city because I designed it to appear like the cities in a backcountry of Europe around the 1920s-1950s whereas Root’s city is like modern-day New York.

5.) Yes, one can tell a difference in my aperture settings by considering the amount of light that is let in by each setting of my images. A wider aperture allows light to enter the camera, which is beneficial in low-light situations or when trying to achieve a shallow depth of field in one of my images. In contrast, a smaller aperture restricts the amount of light that enters the camera, resulting in a greater depth of field and sharper overall image.

6.) I notice the different apertures within my work with one image testing the focus and having everything viewed then another having the focus in the middle with some added lighting and then lastly one image that has a lot of added light by hardly in any focus.

7.) I believe the most successful thing about my work is the creative imagery of my images that makes them appear ancient and special.

8.) I could have not spent so much time trying to make so many buildings and getting carried away with the organization of it and instead made what was a need and used it and still have the time left over to add something that would have made it better and I can grow as a photographer with this knowledge and reviewing my images to see errors and adjust it by shifting the camera around, add lighting, changing the focus on the lens, etc.

9.) Yes, I am satisfied with the overall results of my city even though I wish I could add a lot more to make it appear older and more detailed to create the imagery and the illusion of a proper city that was around long ago.

10.) There are countless activities for visitors to partake in, whether it be touring historic mansions, attending high society events, or sampling gourmet cuisine at upscale restaurants. They can spend their days wandering through art galleries and museums, shopping at exclusive boutiques, or taking strolls through manicured gardens.

For those seeking entertainment, your city boasts a vibrant cultural scene with theaters, opera houses, and concert halls showcasing world-class performances. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore sprawling parks, embark on scenic hikes, or even enjoy a leisurely afternoon boating on serene lakes.

The book face project was a challenging assignment based on the books I chose (Lizard man by Charlie Price and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson) and had to do a lot of retakes, but the project was also very funny and creative and allowed me to discover new perspectives and ways to make a shot look good.

Overall, the experience was fairly wonderful learning through trial and error and moving forward even when a shot didn’t look as great as I would have wanted, I relaxed moved things around and did it at a different time of day with different shades and made more accurate expressions for the book cover.

This is my ABCs in photography that I have work on this past week and really found it interesting on how open it allow me to be in my everyday life when looking for something can make a certain shapes, letters, or numbers and in all the letters in the alphabet I found that the easiest was Z because I go to a school (Zachary High) where every logo, poster, sign, etc. has a Z on it and the letters I struggled with were B and G due to their elaborate design and took more creative approaches to them.

The word I created was my name Elijah and the reason was because it means a lot to me through a love for biblical things but also the origin of them.

Before August in 2023, I enjoyed the self-taught photography that I learned over the years through trial and error to mainly be used for travel photography to capture each moment with my family and the incredible place we go to after August I wanted to grow in my understanding of photography, so I wanted to take photography 1 here at Zachary High and I am still in this class going into 2024 and in this period I have learned the rules and elements of composition and how that is a major part of photography, I learn different styles on how to take photos and types of camera, how its different to take a shot than to make one, and so much more.

In Photography 1 we left 2023 on our self-portrait project where we had to take pictures of ourselves in four unique ways: standard, text, conceptual, and fantasy using only a tripod and other objects and only can be taken by ourselves.

My favorite out of the four that I did was fantasy because it allowed me to be carefree and creative with the perspectives on how I saw the images that I was taking and it taught me how to picture what I wanted in my mind regardless of how complex it may be and being able to make it exactly how I vision it.

But anyway, it is now 2024!! Happy New Year!!!!…… I Will say I am excited for what the future holds for me and one thing that I hope for in 2024 about discovering myself is trying new things that I never push myself to do like reading a lot, finding better and more efficient study habits, getting better at communicating, etc.
As a photographer in training, I aspire to simply get better at photo taking specifically in how the photo is structured and finding those perfect moments in time and elements that bring the photo to perfection to my view.
A few short-term goals I have are to eat healthy by eating more fruits daily specifically pineapple, apples, and grapes because of how rich in nutrients they are, exercise more by doing a daily routine that includes push-ups, pull-ups, weight lifting, and 2 mile run in the afternoon, and lastly spend more time with God through prayer and in His word by taking breaks from busyness and before and after I wake up.

Some long-terms I have are to get the basics of the Greek language and hopefully be able to read it better by reading books and watching movies in Greek, graduate from Zachary High by putting in my effort every day no matter what, and lastly to learn more about Mediterranean culture by reading books about it and trying their food.

Personally, as a photographer, and a student of Zachary High I want this year to stand out from the rest by applying all that I have learned about photography and other subjects and be able to use it in my life and other people’s lives and also putting in all my effort to finish high school and start a new chapter in my life.

What is Self-Expression?

By definition self-expression means an expression of one’s feelings, thoughts, or ideas, especially in writing, art, music, or dance.

Why is it important that we self-express? What would life be like if you were not allowed to?

It is important to self-express because they help with reflection, decision making, creating things, communicating, being a human, etc.

Life would be so unimaginable without the ability to self-express because you’re living with no way to show who you are and what makes you, you and it makes life meaningless to live.

How do you self-express?

By being born to naturally express yourself and to continuously practicing them to get better whether it in writing, singing, painting or drawing, sports, journaling, dancing, communicating, etc.

Song- Theme soundtrack for Severus Snape and Lily in Harry Potter 7th part 2 movie

When you hear this song, what comes to your mind?

I think of grief and guilt but also repentance giving the opportunity one has to fight despite his/her mistakes and is able to create something out of the ashes left from the fire.

How does this song make you feel?

It makes me feel heartbroken and convicted in a good way to push me to move forward.

Which part of the song is the most important to you?

1:10-1:24 throughout the 2:24 of the song because it is the peak of the song where all the weight comes and is being released as the music drops down for the ending this is important to me due to how I see the walk of life and that there will be green fields yielding an abundance of fruit but one shouldn’t think that there is not also a season for trial and pian, for in order for something to truly grow strong it must endure fires and be pressured.

“We define our identity always in dialogue with, sometimes in struggle against, the things our significant others want to see in us. Even after we outgrow some of these others—our parents, for instance—and they disappear from our lives, the conversation with them continues within us as long as we live.”
― Charles Taylor

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. – Romans 5:3-4 – Perseverance Produces Character

Briefly explain what the project is about (Elements + Rules) and some things you were supposed to capture:

The project was about finding pieces that make of a specific photo (elements) and how that photo was taken and what you put in and took out (rules).

In the project we were supposed to “make” photos- building something of your own using everything around you and putting effort into instead of “taking” photos- little to no effort with pieces of composition around it already and identify what rule or element of composition goes best into each photo.

Your favorite image from elements & Favorite Image from Rules then explains the idea behind both:

My favorite photo for elements of composition was one about overlapping shapes. In this photograph, I chose to position it straight upwards to give a different perspective, revealing the element that was asked for. I chose to include the tiki statues and the piano chair to complete the element, which created an ancient history theme for the photo and balanced it out to align with the composition.

My favorite photo for rules of composition was one about an asymmetrical balancing element. This photo is my favorite because it was the one, I spent the most time creating, trying to test and fit what I could to make the composition align with the photo, and having retakes to see what worked and what did not.

I was born on February 26, 2005, but still understand the tremendous burdens that everyone endured from the effects of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, targeting the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and possibly the White House but was taken back by the passengers and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. I first figured out the intense seriousness of the impact when I was about 6 years old when I was in school and watched a video the school allowed (we had to watch) with the song “Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel back in 1964, as the background music. That did enough to break every part of me and anger swelled in me for hours for that number who died (almost 3,000 people lost their lives) still haunted me. For what was gain to the wicked in this act committed? but when I review America’s history nothing comes close to that of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to compare to this event and I have adoration for what Franklin D. Roosevelt did right after they figured out what happened on that day of distress in his “Day of Infamy” speech which was asking Congress to declare war on Japan and entering WWII with every American on bored making the Great depression (1929-1939) completely disappear and in an instance Japan or at least admiral Yamamoto [who planned the bombing of Pearl Harbor] said, “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Japan realized what they did and for sure lamented it after the U.S. defeated them from island to island and even gave them a chance to surrender (showing mercy!) but refused so… (sigh) we hammered the last nail in the coffin by sending two atomic bombs killing thousands in an instant which made Japan finally surrender. 

Therefore, the attack on September 11th was no different reaction and it connected everyone who witnessed it as if it was one person seeing it happen. As the years went by America had been trying to find who was responsible, and finally on May 2, 2011, ten years later we found out who was responsible which was Al Quada bin Laden and kill him and to this day we remember all the men, woman, and children who died on September 11th and improve the lives of the present generation by improving technology, how things are regulated, clearance access, and most importantly teaching and share it to them so they see the life their parents lived, see how cruel this world is, and see how bless they are from the fires burning life to the ashes giving rebirth to the loss.  

Welcome everyone I am Elijah Kilpatrick, a student at Zachary high school and I am finally in senior year!! (Waited for a long time for this- chuckle). I am particularly thrilled about senior year because I was held back in first grade due to my hearing impairment and other hearing issues that I suffered for 12 years. Starting when I was 5 months old…but despite this setback, I was determined to progress to higher grade levels but most importantly improve each time in my education and knowledge. Now that I am in the last year of high school then off to college. I can say “I am grateful for the journey of education, even with the time lost due to my hearing impairment it has prepared for my future education plans.”

But anyway, a few more things you should know about me: I love the colors blue, green, yellow, and white…because these are the colors of my family’s clan but also because they are pleasant colors in nature to watch in my opinion. And for those who love food, I absolutely love Mediterranean food (no surprise there for those who actually know me-chuckle) and my plan is to go to Louisiana Tech in Ruston and major in Biomedical engineering  with a doctoral degree but I haven’t thought about what I would do or where I would live after college. Those who love to sing…you will never see me sing at a Karaoke night if given the chance to (my singing is through my piano playing). Also, for those who want to know I am often asked what super-hero power I would have if I could choose, I would choose to be super intelligent and have super strength because I enjoy being strong and I love knowledge. Now, the perfect Saturday night to me is family gathering around eating the same meals together (like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, etc.) enjoying everyone’s company, and telling jokes. This is one reason I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. For those who don’t know me or my family we are animal people we have currently 2 pugs, 1 bulldog, 2 hairless guinea pigs, a Sphinx cat (hairless cat) and lastly a baby squirrel that we found recently and now are taking care of (she just opened her eyes a few days ago). So, if you asked me what wild animal I want, I wouldn’t want one because I already have a bunch of animals. Also, for those who wish to know why I love anything Mediterranean and why I would go to Greece or Israel if I could transport myself anywhere is because I love the rich background and history of these places and can do so much there. Lastly if I could go back in time to anytime, I would go back to the 1 century to see what Israel and Greece were like and how they change from then to now.