THIS IS PART 1 of 4 of a photo series.

The first five photos of 20.

“FINAL PROJECT 2009”

So I told everyone I was working on a “FINAL PROJECT” for my media production class and I needed to take photos of them that illustrated who they are individually. BUT instead, these were their Christmas gifts. Haha. This came out siiiiiiiick, especially when they were framed.

1. “NEVER BE SHAKEN”

PSALM 62:1-2

¹ My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

² He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Ashley and I have known each other since kindergarten and I am so blessed to have had a sister like her through out my life and my walk with God. Making it black and white really emphasized the scripture and made this photo dynamic. We will always have to endure trials but through our faith, we can overcome and break free. And as one of the most faith-driven people I know, Ashley is someone that will never be shaken.

2. “NEVER STOP DREAMING”

Another one of my favorites. This is of Breanne and the reason why I like it is because of the tranquil and serene vibe of this photo. First of all, the sun was directly created a yellow tone, so I had to play around with the photo’s saturation and contrast… but the result was this amazing, dream-like shot. I asked Breezy what word described her at the moment and she said uncertainty as far as what the future holds. But even if you are “stuck”, we should NEVER stop dreaming because there is a destiny and purpose that God has for us as long as we continue to dream and I think this is a great illustration of that. The bushes and trees create an intricate texture pattern in the background and Bree’s all-black wardrobe with the sun shining on her really makes her stand out.

3. “IT’S ALL CHILL”

Sick photo of my good friend, Brian. We were at the University of Hawaii and  climbed up one of the buildings to get this shot of him and his skateboard. The lines and angles of the surrounding buildings really add to the strength of this photo and creates a dynamic background - yet, Brian’s body language is composed, relaxed and chill. Which is what led to the name of this photo: despite the busyness of our surroundings and of life, we most definitely need to remain chill, after all - there’s too much to enjoy in life to be distracted by busyness.

4. “BELIEVE”

This photo is of my cousin, Brittany. I asked her what was one word that describes her right now and she said, “believe”. So we wrote the word on her cheek with her eye-liner (or something like that, haha). And we tried a whole bunch of different poses, close ups, and positions. But this photo in particular stood out because of the intensity of the sunlight hitting her face and illuminating the word “believe” and the vibrancy and texture of the grass. Also, it’s a pretty unconventional pose so it made the image pretty abstract in a way. Britt and grew up together and we have endured the good, the bad, and everything in between. And after overcoming it all, who can stop “believing”?

5. “UNTIL DAWN”

This photo is of Charity, who is another good friend I’ve known since kindergarten. This photo is actually one of my favorites. The contrast between Charity and the background created by the sunlight is stunning and despite the photo being simple, it’s still very striking. We took over 30 shots and this one speaks the most. Much like the crack of dawn in the morning, not much needs to be said to illustrate this photo’s beauty.