April Riley
As a beginner in photography, I always found myself becoming frustrated with how my work felt worthless. I struggled with trying to create photographs that would portray what I thought were the right messages. I had always wanted to produce work that connected to the importance of one’s roots and the opportunities and obstacles humans face throughout life. However, eventually, I began to produce work that I was happy with, at my own pace. Constantly carrying a camera around, I used different outings with close friends to create work that felt free. I could give each picture its own personality and striking essence to make it more personal. I began to feel comfortable enough to think about different aspects that would make my work better, such as composition and depth of field. I’m inspired by Jake Chamseddine, Corey Wilson, Kimberly Douglas, and Grant Spanier. Their use of light, motion, and blur complement their subjects and landscapes and let the audience interpret the emotion depicted in the images for themselves. They put a lot of creativity and detail into their projects, but the work looks effortless at the same time. In my work, I begin by creating relatable concepts or stories about change, or experiences that can be expressed through a photograph, and work around this material until I’m satisfied with the outcome. Looking back on some of my pieces, I can see the different mistakes I made or how they can be better, but I do like the overall simplicity of the meaning behind my work and the style that ties it all together.
Close to Home, 2020New Heights, 2020