Proposal

Project name: Downtown/ Online portfolio

Project description:

To photograph the existing store owners/personalities that are left in the once popular downtown Torrance area. I’m interested in making both environmental portraits as well as constructed realities of their current state. With this particular part of Torrance in danger of shutting down, I’m mostly interested in representing the nostalgic feeling one gets while there.

Simultaneously I will be working diligently to construct a website where my portfolio can be easier accessed.

Conceptual Concerns:

Working with people. My biggest concern would be fitting their schedules and not scaring them away with my arsenal of cameras. I really want to let the moment take me and not get too caught up with an ideal shot, so basically let things happen and embrace new ideas along the same lines.

With the website I’m interesting in making it easy to navigate though as well as an overall clean presentation.

Technical Skills Covered:

I will be shooting both digitally and with film. So I will be shooting in RAW as well as scanning and uploading. Trying out several new lighting techniques. Edit and mastering my color corrections skills are another must. I would also like to explore digital c-prints and light jet prints as an alternative to traditional c-prints.

As far as a website I will be researching, finding a server space and jumping into technical web stuff I would normally shy away from.

Formal Guidelines:

6-8 prints 16x20 in size

Website

Artistic Reference:

Alec Soth, David Eustace, Mary Ellen Mark, Eric Ogden

Readings:

Bonnie Mae Barnard Old Torrance Olmsted districts

Grade:

3-4 prints by mid term

Website up and semi-functional by 19^th of October.

To be graded on content, visual impact, conceptual execution.

Goals:

-Learn more about downtown Torrance financial state

-Attend Torrance committee meeting

-Meet and greet shop residence

-Interview residence

-Pre-shoot to figure out lighting

-Test out papers for printing

-Research website construction

-Buy a space and domain name

-Scan and copy stand work

-Build a stronger reading list

-Figure out my relationship to Torrance and its nostalgic effect on me.