Hello, my name is Andres Lopez. I was born in September 30, 1997 and I am from los Angeles, California. Over the past 4 years, I was a student enrolled at Pasadena City College, where I studied as a photo major. Throughout my time in PCC, I was introduced to various formats of photography, such as 35MM, Digital, Large Format and Medium Format. Currently, my main subject is shooting landscapes, which has allowed me to slow down and look around in a world that is moving rapidly.
"EMOTIONS"
My series explores emotions. My concept is: how can people find happiness, despite the struggles they encounter in their lives? My audience is headed towards fiction-writers, people who have faced depression, psychologists and metafiction writers. (Metafiction is a genre in literature that recognizes and reminds the readers that they are reading a fictional work.) This project borrows from the aesthetics of surrealism, a 20th century modern art movement that explored the unconscious mind. The dream inspired imagery gave me freedom to express emotional distresses I’ve faced in my life. Surrealist artists such as Jamie Baldridge, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp have been particularly influential to me, as they used objects to convey a symbolic interpretation.
This project started with a list where I wrote down household objects I found interesting to photograph. I photographed many objects and of all them, I particularly liked the look of mason jars. I also found a friend that was willing to model. I would take photos of him holding the jars, and photos of him acting as if he was inside the jars.
I made two sets to photograph my model and the mason jars. One set was made out of black foam core (to shoot the jars) and the other was made using PVC pipes and a black backdrop (to shoot my model). After production, I edited my photos through Adobe Lightroom applying adjustments to them (brightness, highlights, contrast, and changing color temperatures). Then I created composites, placing the model inside the jar, using Photoshop. I chose to shoot with a digital format because it allows me to work faster.