It’s been 10 days since I started my [self] project. Here are some thoughts on each of my photos and an explanation behind some of the symbolism behind each one.

My first photo was actually inspired by something I read on a friend’s “About Me” section. It had been a while since I had done black and white, and to really make the photo stand out I chose to forego the shirt. Turns out it caused quite the stir! Bonus: those of you who are perceptive will notice that I am holding an iPod Touch that has an Android sticker on it.

This photo was pretty tough to shoot. After experimenting outside for 15+ minutes, I ended up setting my camera on the ground and hoping I would get lucky with the focus. You can see the faint outline of leafless tree branches- they symbolize attempts to hold me back from moving forward. I chose to look left at the trees to embody a temporary turning back to where I came from. But regardless of how daunting the branches may be, my body is positioned for forward motion.

My sister bought this shirt for me on one of her trips to China and since then it has become one of my favorites. I had felt like doing a photo in my room again (day 1 took place in my room facing the opposite direction), and I got the idea for this after remembering my line of photos that encircles the room. The pictures symbolize my past- many of them are from high school and taken with some of my most influential friends. Just like day 2, my leftwards glance represents looking into the past.

This is one of my favorite shirt/tie/vest combos, and since I hardly wore it to school I thought it deserved to be pictured. This photo was taken shortly after I got the email telling me that I didn’t move on to the next round for Student Regent. The lighting and serious-looking facial expression denote resilience and determination, an audacious drive to persevere and keep moving forward. 

This photo references one of my former profile pictures and current Twitter wallpaper where I am wearing a white shirt and sporting some awesome white Oakleys. I really wanted to wear something red, and I thought it would be cool to try out my sunglasses for a shot. Contrary to day 2 and day 3, looking left represents the future. For those of you who know Japanese, you can also make out the “tasty” on my shirt. Preparation today = a tasty future tomorrow. 

This was taken shortly after I began reading In The Plex, the first book to take an insider look at Google. I was pretty pumped up on everything Google, and felt like I should take a picture that 1) coneys a visionary feel and 2) captures how much of a techy geek I can be sometimes. I sported a shirt/sweater combo worn similarly to my young CSE (computer science) professor. The lighting of this photo was to show the “bright future” of technology- something I hope to very much be a part of.

I had been dreaming up this photo for a while and I’ll admit that I had done several poses in front of the mirror a while back to come up with this one. You can’t see it, but my shirt has “geek.” written on the front of it. Also, you may notice my keyboard faintly lit in the background. I wanted a photo that would capture the musical side of me and showcase an instrument that holds a very special place in my heart (and hopefully will play a very special role in my future). If you saw the album, my quote was “You can’t get harmony if everyone sings the same note.” This photo is a testament to my individuality and drive to make harmony in a same note world. Sometimes there will be dissonance, but every so often I’ll hit the right note to make a beautiful chord.

I had my uncle’s DSLR sitting around, and since I owned two tripods (the one that isn’t pictured is a smaller one for my flash) I decided to get creative. I was actually inspired by a photo I saw on Tumblr of a camera taking a picture of the Eiffel Tower, and wanted to replicate the style for a self-portrait. This is the only photo that was photoshopped (all others were edited in Aperture), as I wanted to get the special b&w/color contrast.

This one was taken after one of my close friend’s commented on how I was never smiling in my [self] album. So, I decided to use my TV as a black backdrop and wore one of the favorite Calvin Klein shirts to bring out my skin face. I wanted to convey joy and a servant leader attitude- a reminder to myself of how self discovery is often done in service to others. (in reference to my quote “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself serving others”)

In thinking about what to do I remembered that most people would come across this photo on Easter Sunday. I pulled out my City Church “Jesus Is___.” shirt and decided to use a wooden backdrop (a closet door) to symbolize the wood of the cross. One of my initial thoughts was to photoshop the word “life” into the blank, but I felt that it was better placed in the description as the caption.