31 Nights
31 Nights is a project that lasts the duration of 31 nights, or days. There is a prompt for each day, and the artist must take a photo, in self-portraiture, for the daily prompt. The goal of this project is to improve creativity and skill level. This project will also aid in finding and developing a personal style and voice as an artist.
WEEK 1
day 1: the portal
2/5/19
day 2: the beast
2/6/19
day 3: lost you
2/7/19
day 4: facing the beast
2/8/19
week 1 reflection
Overall, I think that the first week of 31 Nights went well. I am not completely happy with most of the pictures I took this week, but I think that is a part of making art and improving as an artist. For my first photo (the portal), I wanted to make something with a circle and I was able to achieve a semi circle with a mirror and a flashlight, as well as some other prismatic reflections. For the second photo (the beast), I put my hand up to touch a mirror and captured both my hand and the reflection of it. For me, this reflected societal expectations (represented by the mirror) as "the beast." I had a harder time with the third photo (lost you) because I wasn't sure what to do. Finally, for the last photo of week (facing the beast), I connected it with the second photo as almost a part two. I used my hand and the mirror again, but instead of just touching the mirror, I put my whole hand flat on the mirror and used the same editing process of overlaying copies of the image, but with a darker color scheme. So far, I am finding that I don't really enjoy taking photos of myself, or being in photos. I do think this project is definitely a challenge for me, and I hope that it will improve my skills and help me find my style.
WEEK 2
day 5: the thaw
2/11/19
day 6: find me
2/12/19
day 7: seven seconds
2/13/19
day 8: prisoner
2/14/19
day 9: like stardust waits...
2/15/19
week 2 reflection
Week 2 was more of a challenge than week 1 since we had a lot of time off of school due to professional development and snow days. I think I lost track of what photos I needed to take each day, so some days I had to catch up and take more than one photo. For the first photo (the thaw) I picked up some snow and let it melt in my hand. I also edited it to be a cool toned black and white so that it would portray a cold feeling. For the second photo, day 6 (find me), I wasn't really sure what to do for this one. I ended up putting my arm against a wall in the light and shadows created by blinds in a window. For day 7 (seven seconds) I took seven different photos of a small clock and layered them on top of each other and changed the opacity in photoshop. For day 8 (prisoner) I took a photo holding some bars on a balcony. My first idea for this photo was to use rope and wrap it around my hands/arms like a prisoner, but I didn't have any rope available to me. For the last day of this week (like stardust waits...) I though of fairy dust or sparkles. I used some pearl pigments that is meant to be mixed into paint and I dipped my fingers in the shimmer and took a picture in direct sunlight so that the sparkles would catch the light. Even though this week was more disorganized, I think that it still went fairly well. I think that I struggled a little with some of the prompts this week because I am having a hard time incorporating myself into the photos. I think that my favorite photo this week was day 7 (seven seconds).
WEEK 3
day 10: on the evening sky
2/18/19
day 11: the portal- revisitation
2/19/19
day 12: purity of purpose
2/20/19
day 13: beyond all
2/21/19
day 14: the prismatic experience
2/22/19
week 3 reflection
Week three was a little bit of a challenge due to the snow days and time off of school. I wasn't able take every photo on its corresponding day and I had to catch up towards the end. For day 10 (on the evening sky) I wasn't sure what to do and I ended up playing around with some photos in photoshop. I took a photo of the sky as the sun began to set and I layered a photo of this crystals star that I help up in the light. I then drew some and dots around the star to make the photo have a galaxy feel to it. For day 11 (the portal revisitation), I took a picture of the same mirror I used for day 1 (the portal) and edited it in black and white like I did with the first portal. For day 12 (the purity of purpose) I took a picture of a dried rose because I felt that there was a purity to flowers as well as a well intended purpose in giving someone a flower. For day 13 (beyond all), I wasn't sure what to do, but I ended up taking a picture of an origami crane because I felt like there was a connection between birds and the concept of something being beyond, or far. I also liked the shadow that the crane created on the wall. For day 14 (the prismatic experience), I put a flashlight up to a glass with some water in it, and then took a picture of the reflections it made on the wall. I then layered this photo with a photo of my eye and used the gradient tool in photoshop to give the picture a prismatic feel. Overall, this week went okay, but I am looking forward to getting caught up and on track for week 4.
WEEK 4
day 15: the kaleidoscope of being
2/25/19
day 16: a warrior's journey
2/26/19
day 17: the misty veil of rebirth
2/27/19
day 18: black and white, loss and deceit
2/28/19
day 19: the discipline of passion
3/1/19
week 4 reflection
Week 4 took me a while to complete. After catching up on the days we weren't in school, I was behind for this week. I also found that I didn't really love some of the prompts this week and I struggled to know what to come up for the photos. For day 15, the kaleidoscope of being, I took a picture of my hand up to the light because it reminded me of how you hold a kaleidoscope up to the light in order to see the colors/shapes better. I also overlaid some different colored polygons in order to give the photo a kaleidoscope effect. For day 16, a warriors journey, I took a picture up close to my shoes in a walking stance because when I think of the word "journey," I think of walking. For day 17, the misty veil of rebirth, I took a photo of a plant and drew some white lines around it. When I think of rebirth/birth, I think of life, and that makes me think of plants. I also associate the color white with both mist and veils, so I drew some white lines around the plant. For day 18, black, white, loss and deceit, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I ended up taking kind of a random photo because I wanted to give a sense of confusion or loss, and I edited it in a dark black and white. For the last day of this week (19), the discipline of passion, I took a photo of me writing because when I think of discipline, I think of control and precision.
WEEK 5
day 20: the day
3/4/19
day 21: a knock at the door
3/5/19
day 22: find another day
3/6/19
day 23: the release of knowing
3/7/19
day 24: passionately alive
3/8/19
week 5 reflection
Overall, I think that week five went pretty well. For day 20, the day, I thought of the sky and I wanted to take a bright, sunny picture of the sky, but unfortunately the weather was cloudy. What I ended up doing was taking a photo of the sky and increasing the exposure and saturation to make it look a little bit brighter. I then layered a photo I took of me in a mirror over the sky. For day 21, a knock at the door, I took a photo of exactly what the prompt says. I took a photo of me knocking on a door and edited it minimally for a simplistic feel. For day 22, find another day, I wanted to revisit day 20 (the day) with another photo of the sky. For this one, I took a picture of my arm pointing up, so it was like I was "looking for/finding" the day. I layered this with another photo of the sky and painted the top and bottom of the photo with a muted taupe-gray color. For day 23, the release of knowing, I took a photo of my legs in the air because I associated the word "release" with being free or floating. I also like the glow of light that showed up on the edge of this photo. For day 24, passionately alive, I thought of something living and growing, as well as something red. So, I took a photo of a bright orange/red daisy and I held it up so that it covered the light. This made the flower look like it was glowing, which I thought was fitting for this prompt, almost like it was glowing with passion.
WEEK 6
day 25: defiance of reason
3/11/19
day 26: the color red
3/12/19
day 27: your choice (wallflower)
3/13/19
day 28: your choice (untitled)
3/14/15
day 29: your choice (find a loophole)
3/15/19
week 6 reflection
Week 6 was a little bit different from all of the previous weeks because it involved multiple days where we had to chose our own prompt. It was challenging to choose a prompt first, and then shoot for it because I found myself taking photos I liked, and then trying to come up for a title for it. For day 25, defiance of reason, I took a photo of a sparkly ruler that I had and I adjusted the shutter speed so that the camera captured the movement of the ruler and the reflected light it gave off. I thought that this was fitting for the prompt because it looks kind of confusing, and the prompt suggests confusion, or a lack of reason. For day 26, the color red, I thought of red crayons, so I took multiple photos of different shades of red crayons. Using these photos, I made a collage and added some noise to some of the photos as well as some lines to the photo. For day 27, the prompt was a choice, I titled my photo "wallflower," and took a photo of my arm against a wall with some flowers in my sleeve. For day 28, the prompt was another free choice. I was unsure of what I wanted to title my photo, but I knew what I wanted to take a photo of. I took a picture of my dog laying on my lap and did not title my photo. Day 29 was the third free choice photo, and I called it "find a loophole." I took multiple photos of loops and spirals from different sketchbooks and notebooks. I layered the photos together and then added some circle graphics to the picture.
WEEK 7
day 30: thirty
day 31: your choice, grand finale
week 7/final reflection
The final week! Week 7 was much shorter than the other weeks, with only two photos. For day 30, the prompt was thirty, and I took a photo of a star shaped paperclip and then wrote the number 30 inside the middle of the star. I liked how the star acted as a frame for the number, which emphasized the prompt. For day 31, grand finale/free choice, I took a photo of the sun shining through a small shell. I thought that the sun was representative of the prompt because it was bright, overpowering, and dramatic, like a finale of something. Overall, I liked the 31 Nights project, but, I did not like taking pictures of myself. I ended up mostly taking pictures of my hand or arm. I think that this project was good for me because it forced me to be producing art everyday. This pushed me to challenge myself and also come up with ideas in a quick manner. I am glad that I did this project, but also excited to be done with the confinements of working in self portraiture only.