Jean's best 10


Original caption: Full-time bus driver Edgar Carvalho from College Park, Maryland, takes a break from driving at the Adele H. Stamp building bus stop.

This is a photo I had been waiting to take since first stepping onto one of the school buses. The design of the bus is attention-grabbing and I thought the door framing the driver makes a good candid portrait. 


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I had noticed this colorful scene in front of me and wanted to use the flowers to sort of frame the picture of the man in red. I thought his bright red shirt could serve as a point of entry too, and edited it to make it pop more than the yellow of the shade.


Original caption: Alumni Albert Shih and Kristina-Maria Paspalis from the class of '14 have been partners ever since their junior year in the school. Now, they come back to the school to practise, as they are taking a break from teaching ballroom classes for their graduate studies. 

After getting feedback that I should have cropped the landscape photo, I included the cropped version in my portfolio. Not sure if the motion of two people is enough to be considered a "graphic" element but I like how the two dancers are bent in a way that looks like she is fitted into the space beside him, from their torsos to their legs and even their arms.


Original caption: Githersburg, Maryland, resident Sachin Mandavkar and his daughter, Reva, at the Blossom Kite Festival in Washington, D.C., on March 30 2019 while his friend's son, Advit, looks on. The event is a time for friends and family to get together during the peak bloom period of the cherry blossoms in the district.

This photo was lucky for me as I managed to capture the emotions on the three faces. The event was a kite-flying one but I knew my camera had its limitations so I was better off doing a close-up shot instead of trying to capture a kite in the air with the person steering it (and risk getting caught in all the messes of strings). Instead, I had to learnt to adapt -- still getting a shot with kites in the background, but compromise with the feelings I wanted to capture in the moment at the event. 


Original caption: Sophomore exchange student from Singapore Jacinth Chia applies make-up daily before heading to the University of Maryland for her classes. She believes that if you look good, you feel good.

I always knew I wanted to use the mirror at my apartment for a photo like this so I begged Jacinth to let me take a photo of her doing her make up. Luckily for me, I realized that I could be seen in the reflection too and managed to angle myself in a way to still capture both reflections in the mirrors. I also secretly like how Jac's entire face is in the smaller mirror on the side instead because I think the image is more interesting to look at this way.


Original caption: Tatiana (left) and Nikita Baranov, both 45, were deep in conversation on Sunday evening at Lake Artemesia. Making a home in College Park, Maryland, after emigrating from Russia decades ago, they spoke in their native tongue while overlooking the lake.

I agree that in retrospect I could have shifted myself to my right to get the sun's reflection right smack in the centre, but there's the learning point for me: To be more conscious of minute details in the shot. But, this angle let me get that small outline of the man's glasses. Other than that, I like the silhouette against the sunset and the moment of the birds flying that I captured. 


Original caption: Hotoniel Maynor, 18, from Guatemala leans against the bridge to take a rest from cycling around Lake Artemesia on Sunday, Feb. 24 2019. 

I experimented with shooting with the harsh sunlight against the subject, which I was hesitant about because I was afraid the photo would look washed out. I normally would have just taken the photo from the railing of the bridge, but I remember telling myself that that would look rather boring, and so this photo was taken, just by me stepping to my right. Managed to get a slightly cool effect of the edges of the wooden bridge being highlighted with the sunlight, and this change in angle shows the bicycle, which is part of the story the photo is telling. I also think this photo's composition, because the subject is on the right third and facing the right, makes it a bit more unique, or so I hope.



Original caption: Maryland's Stephanie Jones (#24) eyeing a layup. The forward scored 10 points for the Terps throughout the game. 

I like this photo because I could capture an emotion on the player's face through taking an image of this moment. The photo also has players from the two teams playing, and the court isn't too cluttered with players that the layup is pretty clear to see (for my camera's standards, which cannot blur the background!). It certainly helps that the yellow of the Maryland jersey acts as a point of entry too.


Original caption: The day is almost over for the group after they ran out of cookies. Their energy was still high as they continued waving students over for freebies.

I didn't really like this photo so I chose it as the photo I thought was the worst of the lot, but Jon ended up saying in class that he likes this photo better than the one I had liked. Through the feedback received, I learned that I ought to experiment with lowering my perspective for a different shot.


Original caption: Freshman Christopher Ribaudo, studying Math and Statistics, prefers to do his work outdoors as he thinks it is more peaceful.

  I included this photo because it was the first photo I took for this course. Quite a trivial point, but necessary nonetheless, I learned to shake off the intimidation I felt through having to thrust my camera in front of stranger.

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