Final Exam

My Transformative Photo

I consider this my transformative photo because of the feeling that I had while taking it and while looking at it. While taking it, I was in a whimsical mood, walking home from school, not really thinking about what I was doing. I thought of how cool it would be to actually immerse myself in the rose bush and point my camera up at the sky, through the brambles. What I got was a replication of my feelings at that time, a sense of lightness, the feeling of being lost in a hidden world of sky and flowers. I consider this my best photo also, because looking at it I feel the intimacy of that tiny space I was in to take this photo, a feeling that wasn't suffocating but comforting, to be held tenderly by nature and feel a sense of endless warmth.

Difference Between Shape and Form

Shape is the distinct geometric or recognizable outline that a certain object has. For example, in this post, the plants have a distinct fan-shape that is instantly recognizable and memorable and gives the photo interest.

Form is the silhouette of a certain object, curves and lines that make something up, for example the tree in the post has a leafy outline, it doesn't seem very uniform but you can see that the tree itself has a roundish top.

Difference Between Pattern and Repetition

Pattern is a repeating shape that you see either in nature or in man-made structures. In this post you can see that the chain fence is made of repeating diamonds linked together to make one whole fence.

Repetition is having multiple of the same object or pattern in a photograph. In this post you can see that there are three identical light fixtures on the sideway, parallel to one another giving the impression of repetition.

About Pages

My About Page

My Inspirational About Page

Project Links

Final Project was my favorite project, because I got an excuse to lie down and play with my cats all day. It was also the most exasperating, fun and messy project. Exasperating because cats tend to move around alot, and because my dogs got jealous and tried to eat my phone. Fun because my cats actually know when they're being photographed, and clearly enjoy as much as I do. Messy because dogs are messy. And that's why I didn't chose them.

My other projects:

Presentation Project

Multicultural Week Project

Final Project-Cats

I have two cats named Ernie and Queen Kimba II. I also own two dogs, Kiana and Chocolate, but I found them very hard to photography as Kiana is very excitable and Chocolate...well Chocolate is a chihuahua. They licked the camera lenses and tried to jump on me the whole time during my previous attempts to photograph them, so I settled for my(slightly) more tranquil cats. 

My cat, Ernie, looking directly into my eyes. You know a cat loves you when they can look you in the eye and not feel afraid, especially since most of the time animals avoid your eyes because they don't trust humans. She sees me as her mom, which is a pretty reasonable perception.

Queen Kimba II taking a royal nap on my bed. The cats and dogs can only sleep in my room because I'm the only one in my family who isn't allergic to them other than my mom(dad kicks them out) She also responds to Baby, Kimbly, Kimber, and many other variations of Kimba.

Ernie was named by my little brother, so her name isn't exactly gender-appropriate. She is basically a wild cat who comes home only to sleep and eat. She is extremely loving and is prone to not letting me leave home on time because she loves sitting on my clothes.

Kimba is calm and very motherly. She was the oldest kitten in her litter, and also her mother's favorite. She considers my youngest sibling, Sahil, to be her kitten. She is the opposite of Ernie, spending all of her time in sight of her beloved humans, and doing nothing but sleeping and eating.

Kimberley and Ernie are sisters from a litter of 7. Since we couldn't keep so many cats and since their mother, who was a stray we took in, vanished, we had to raise them ourselves. We chose our favorites, even though they don't get along. It just makes it all that more interesting.

Student Website Reviews

Best of...

First Period 

Second Period

Third Period

Fourth Period

Presentation Project-Anatomy of a Barbeque

View on Weebly Site

bella mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers

flame roasted chicken leg with basil and mint

cut cucumbers and bell peppers ready to be skewered

grilled corn on the cob

sheesh kebobs

My Best Photo

Near Mission San Jose

Best Info Pages:

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

Number Four

Number Five

Photo Story-Multicultural Week(Making Rangoons/Wontons)

Rangoons are a chinese wonton, or deep-fried dumpling. The difference between a wonton and a rangoon is the shape. A wonton has a "bag" shape, which you see in the fryer photo. A rangoon has a "boat" shape, which can be seen in the fourth photo. The filling of these wontons/rangoons is green onions, shrimp, and chicken. They were very fun to make because it was an experiment that me and my mom did together.

First, we mixed together minced shrimp, chicken, sesame oil, and green onions.

Then we put them in a thick flour pancake and sealed it with water, and dropped it in the fryer.

After they are golden brown, we tool them out and strained the oil out.

We arranged them on a plate and sprinkled green onions on top for a fun effect.

We also made a sauce made of honey, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

Photo Story

Pismo Beach, CA

This photo was taken on the last day of Spring Break, on a trip I took with five good friends of mine, right before a whole night of frantic driving to get home by the time school started the next day (we got there at 5 the next morning). This picture reflects all of the memories that we had on that trip, which included two of my friends getting engaged and one of my friends getting back with his girlfriend. The photo was taken from the window of a restaurant called Mo's, where was where my friend Matt proposed to his girlfriend Kiana later that night. It was obviously an important trip for my friends because of their engagement, but it was also a great trip because I got to spend time with friends that I normally don't get to see, and it's fun not to be in charge and have to act mature all of the time; I was the youngest person in the group and hanging out with twenty-something-year olds is always fun. There were six of us, four girls and two boys:Matt(23), Kiana(22), Mariam(19), Kaniel(19), Lizbeth(18) and of course me. The funniest thing had to be that I was still technically a minor, but of course no one cared, and no one acted their age. After Matt proposed, we were all reduced to blubbering monkeys, suddenly caught up in their own thoughts and existential crises, wondering if we would ever find love like that, but we didn't get time to wallow in self-pity. Immediately after the dinner, we had to return to the hotel and get on the road. I will always remember this trip as a transition into adulthood, as the silence with which we drove home starkly contrasted with the light-hearted, bohemian tone of the rest of the trip. We promised to try to meet again, even though we all knew it was unrealistic. I'm off to Los Angeles next year, Kaniel went back to New York, Mariam is busy chasing her degree at De Anza. Matt and Kiana are set to be married next August, and until then we'll probably not see a hair of one another. After then, who knows? 

MSJMCW Story

As a senior, I feel happy and sad that it's my last multicultural week, ever. But mostly indifferent because I am also a second semester senior. As an honorable second semester student in my last year of high school study, I take advantage of the hour long lunch graciously provided to us and proceed to take that time to drive frantically with my friends to fine dining establishments like Chick-Fil-A and Sonic. The food is not as inflated, and I spend less time standing in line like a raisin in the sun(junior year reference) because, old sport(another junior year reference), aint nobody got time for that. I display many of the qualities needed in a fully functioning, independent, responsible adult-laziness, tardiness, absenteeness, and of course a lack of interest in anything that isn't Breaking Bad or Ryan Gosling(or Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Hm. Scratch that. I'm interested in Idris Elba, George Clooney, Zac Efron, Drake, Liam Hemsworth, Tom Felton, Iam Somerhalder....the list goes on....where was I again? Yeah basically I couldn't care less that it's multicultural week, in fact right now I'm wondering if we should stretch ourselves and go to Yogurtland or not, and where we should try to go tomorrow, and what I'll go during the Multicultural assembly, and what I should wear to senior ball and if I should get strawberry or vanilla yogurt or if I'm better off just going to Chipotle because no matter what I eat during lunch fifth period I'm always hungry because I have a crazy high metabolism, besides, who doesn't love food? Oh, food. I could write 30-verse love sonnets to thee. Food. Food is the meaning of life. Life is just food. Food will always be there for me no matter what. I love food more than people, things, or the universe. Red velvet cupcakes, shrimp fettuccine, warm breadsticks, pho. Pho is the name of love itself. Love is pho. Pho is love. Pho is life. Hm, I'll go get pho today instead...but the only good place to get pho is san jose...time to overreach...

Principles of Design(Unity)

This photo shows unity because the three beams are parallel and congruent to one another, and you just get a sense of peace

 Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Softness +100

Saturation -55

Shadows +13

Principles of Design(Movement)

This photo demonstrates movement because the road is a symbol of movement but also we see the red car which lets us know we are moving

Mission Boulevard

Camera Raw Edits:

Saturation +20

Brightness +15

Softness -23

Principles of Design(Pattern)

This photo demonstrates the principle of pattern because the fence on the left side has an interlinked diamond pattern that is continuous 

 Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Saturation +70

Clarity +15

Vibrance +9

Principles of Design(Emphasis)

This photo shows emphasis on the window frames, which have a bell shape. The pale brick really draws attention to the defining shape of the windows

 Union Square

Camera Raw Edits:

Saturation -33

Principles of Design(Rhythm)

This photo demonstrates rhythm because the beams are curved, which is a unique shape for supporting beams, which tend to be straight. It makes design more interesting and pleasing to the eyes

 Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Saturation +12

Whites +35

Clarity -21

Principles of Design(Proportion)

You can see proportion in this photo because the vertical beams intersect the horizontal beams at ninety degree angles and the vertical beams are at an equal distance apart

Mission San Jose High School


Camera Raw Edits:
Shadows +15
 Brightness +33
Saturation +4

Principles of Design(Repetition)

We see repetition in this photo because we see identical, multiple light structures that are grouped closely together, to help shoppers see at night

Union Square


Camera Raw Edits:
Shadows: +35
Softness +12
Clarity -14

Principles of Design(Balance)

This photo demonstrates balance because we can clearly see that the vertical beam is an equal distance from both sides of the doorway, which is part of the design to stabilize the structure

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Softness +25

Saturation +7

Shadows +31

Principles of Design(Variety)

This photo has variety because we see several different principles such as rhythm, balance, and patterns like in the way all of the columns are equally spaced and look aesthetically pleasing while we can see patterns on the ceiling

 Union Square

Camera Raw Edits:

Softness +25

Saturation +10

Brightness -22

Shutter Speed and Everything After

My partner's name is Vicky Pham 

1. We chose fast shutter speed because that way you can capture more action

2. Vicky's rule is leaving space because it is easier to focus on a single subject that way in a photograph and my rule is symmetry because symmetry is found in nature as well as in man-made structures which means you can find it in almost any setting

3. Form is an element of art that means the distinctive "feel" of an of an object for example a leaf has a nature form

4. Balance is a principle of design that means everything in a picture looks like it belongs to the picture, nothing is out of place. For example a photo of a rose that has the whole rose not just part of one

Movie Monday Half Past Autumn Part 1 and 2

1. On the day Gordon Parks was born, how did the doctor save Gordon's life?                                 He cut his umbilical cord   
2. Where was Gordon born? (what state?)                                                                                           Fort Scott, Kansas
3. What did Gordon's class adviser, Ms. McClintock, tell him about college?                                          That he probably wouldn't be able to go there because he was black.      
4. How old was Gordon when his mother died?                                                                                      14    
5. Where did Gordon move after his mother died?                                                                                  Minnesota
6. Did Gordon graduate from college?                                                                                                     No
7. How did Gordon begin his fashion photography career?                                                                      He got a job at St. Pauls       
8. What is a "double exposure?"                                                                                                                The repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light, often producing ghost images     
9. Who was boxer Joe Louis?                                                                                                                     World Heavyweight Champion 1937-1949     
10. What instrument did Gordon play?                                                                                                         Piano   
11. What was the purpose of the Farm Security Administration?                                                                To combat poverty during the Great Depression
12. When Roy Stryker hired Gordon for the FSA, what was Stryker's first assignment for Gordon in Washington, D.C.?                                                                                                                                To photograph day-to-day life of people  
13. Who was Ella Watson?                                                                                                                           A female outlaw or rebel who was a photography subject of Gordon Parks
14. What was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic?                                                             The Great Depression    
15. What did Gordon learn from Stryker about photography?                                                                      Realism

Elements of Art(Form)

This photo has form because the tree has a definite outline against the background and is separate from the foreground

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Brightness +15

Clarity -5

Elements of Art(Shape)

This photo demonstrates shape because the palm fronds have a distinct fan shape that give the plant its unique characteristics

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Brightness +20

Saturation +5

Clarity +25

Elements of Art(Line)

This photo has line because the trunk of the palm tree goes directly up into the sky in a straight line

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Clarity +28

Saturation -2

Elements of Art(Space)

This photo demonstrates space by juxtaposing the tree with the wooden beam, and also showing it off against the sky

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Clarity +30

Saturation -4

Elements of Art(Texture)

This picture demonstrates texture because you can see all of the individual patterns of the leaves which create an overlapping texture

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

Clarity +14

Blackness +5

Elements of Art(Color)

This photo demonstrates color because of the contrast between the bright magenta flower and the surrounding green/red leaves

Mission San Jose High School

Camera Raw Edits:

 +23 Vibrance

+11 Saturation

Movie Monday Half Past Autumn Part 3 and 4

1. What is your definition of successful?                                                                               Contentment
2. What have you given up to become successful?                                                             Stress
3. What did Parks give up to become successful?                                                               Family life, happiness
4. Who was Genevieve Young's father?                                                                               Gordon Parks
5. How much was Parks advanced to write his first book (and eventual best-selling autobiography)?                                                                                                               A lot
6. How much money did Elijah Muhammad offer Parks to do a story on The Nation of Islam?                                                                                                                             A lot
7. Why did Parks refuse the money?                                                                                   It would hurt his career
8. What was significant about the movie The Learning Tree?                                             It was his first movie
9. What was significant about the character Shaft?                                                             He was an African American hero
10. What was Gordon Parks' choice of weapons?                                                                 Fists
11. What reason did Genevieve Young give for the divorce?                                                 He was always gone
12. In 1984, Parks directed Solomon Northrup's Odyssey. What recent feature film told the same story?                                                                                                                       Selma
13. Who was Gordon Parks, jr?                                                                                             Gordon Parks Sr's oldest son
14. What is your favorite Gordon Parks photo?                                                                     Gloria Vanderbilt
15. What will you remember about Gordon Parks in ten years?                                             His affairs with white women

Top 5 Photos-An Embedded Photographer

#1 Boat with sunset in the background

#2 Fishing net in water

#3 The eyes on the TV 

#4 The girl reading

#5 Pots on the stove

"From Smartphones to Museum Walls"

Photo #2 

This photo is my favorite because:

1) It has symmetry

2) It catches the eye and is very visually appealing

3) There is a red hammock amongst all the blue hammocks. nonconformity=love it

My Three Rules of Composition

1. Symmetry/Patterns

Mission San Jose High School

2. Get Close

Mission San Jose High School

3. Experiment

Mission San Jose High School