PHOT 130 “Portfolio Production” Student Work Spring 2022

Photo 130 Portfolio Production

In this class, students produce a cohesive portfolio of photographs using whatever style, format, themes, and subject matter they want.  Students are encouraged to create a portfolio that excites them and aligns with their goals.  Over the semester, we use an iterative process, along with written and verbal critiques, to refine the portfolio, sequence the images, and bring each student’s vision to life.  To support the photographs with a total portfolio package, students must also write an artist’s statement and bio, design a promotional “leave behind” piece, and build a basic website.  The final portfolios produced by this spring’s class were quite diverse, from portraiture to landscape, commercial to fine art, surreal to documentary, abstract to whimsical. – Prof Sarah Christianson

About each artist:

Elizabeth Anne Bertolino’s whimsical portfolio “Lorenzo Goes Bananas in Paris” was inspired by her job teaching kindergarten students.  In her artist statement, Elizabeth Anne explains that Lorenzo is a plushie monkey that “navigates the city’s metro, experiences culture and cuisine, and dreamily admires La Tour Eiffel. He’s falling in love with Paris as any tourist does while taking in the tremendous views from my favorite places.”  Elizabeth Anne wants to publish Lorenzo’s adventures as a series of children’s books to inspire and spark imagination with his globe-trotting antics.

Ephraim Calbert’s portfolio is called “Signs and Doors.”  In the artist statement, he explains that the series “uses the framing capabilities of the camera.  With the selective use of angles and perspective I can provide the viewer information, not necessarily of what exists, but the story that I, the image-maker, want to share. As an artist, I want to pass on my interpretation of a truth and begin a dialogue within my community on how we interact with each other.  I use muted humor and the straight, topographic style of artists like Robert Adams and Henry Wessel to show a perspective of not only what I believe to be true, but what I think might not be so.  After the initial chuckle, I want people to wonder why I chose to explore that idea at all…is there truth here?”

From Laura Cohen’s artist statement: “I am a San Francisco based artist with a diverse artistic practice. As a photographer I create kaleidoscopic double exposures in-camera, on 35mm film while traveling the world. These surrealist images invoke the feeling of travel through layers of random overlapping ‘happy accidents.’ Instead of trying to recreate faithful representations of the places I’ve been, I aim to convey the imprint of those locations. I find joy in not knowing exactly what the image will look like before being developed as I cultivate a body of work that is built on fortuity.”

Katelyn Dever is “a portrait, fashion and commercial photographer, as well as a painter. My work blurs the line between dreams and reality, to call attention to the unusual nature of our existence. I use mixed media, abstraction, and saturated color to build intimate stories around my subjects and transport my viewers into fantastical worlds.” 

Dovile Dirsaite’s portfolio is called “Fragments of San Francisco.”  From her artist statement: “I create abstract diptychs of architectural details in San Francisco. Pairing two different buildings around the city, I aim to create unity of two although unrelated yet connecting places. My work celebrates the small, often overlooked details of buildings. I create these pairs for viewers to isolate themselves into a world where details create harmony and alleviate one’s mind. As places might appear obscure, I also invite my viewer to predict the location by providing the latitude and longitude coordinates.”

Marion Faymonville’s haunting portfolio “Black River” combines the landscape of Northern California with staged photographs.  In the artist statement, Marion explains, “While isolating in our remote house during the early days of the pandemic I began photographing my daughter; her boredom and also her resilience. A blond wig, that she coveted when little, became the inspiration for an ambiguous drama that we created with things found around the house. On hot days I twisted her hair, and at night we slept in one bed escaping the outside world. Evening walks to the river generated both solace and fear in a silent landscape, occasionally interrupted by distant gunshots.

I read about the history of photography and its complicity in white supremacy and the creation of myth; and I worried about raising a biracial child in a country that has never collectively faced its racist past. Black River is a memory of our time together and our experiments with photography. It explores how an Arcadian dreamscape is harnessed by the reality of a larger world and how a violent history can impose a narrative on the landscape.”  

Raphael Greenberg created a portfolio of infrared photographs that “captures light outside the visible spectrum that our eyes cannot see.  By making the invisible visible, infrared creates rather surreal and unique textures in the images:  blue sky becomes a deep black; foliage and grass turn varying shades of white; and the details of buildings become very crisp, almost stark in appearance.  As I rely on public transportation, this new form of photography allowed me to re-explore the same local areas I often create images – San Francisco, Berkeley, and Emeryville (my hometown) – from a different perspective.”

Shelley Hodes created two handmade accordion books that “explore my various emotional states, the difficult judgments we place on ourselves, and nature’s way of reflecting back ways in which to heal and learn.”  In “Permission,” the “dense tangles [of foliage and limbs] mirrored what I was experiencing inside. These tangles and chaos are crucial parts of nature’s perfection.  With this divine gift of permission, I could move through my darkness because I could embrace the same unique beauty within myself.”  In “Assent,” Shelley photographed “the symmetry and flow of hillside grasses with devotion and reverence.  I could see that these grasses were a testament to its willingness to yield to the external forces imposed on it.  I find deep integrity in this assent, displayed with such dignity and composure.”

Claire Maen created a three-part portfolio on Palm Springs that reflects its history and precarious future.  In her artist statement, she explains, “When arriving in Palm Springs, the first things I saw were giant wind farms over desert fields and miles of gated condominiums, golf courses, swimming pools, stores, and parking lots. I was uncertain whether I was entering a vacation paradise or a community fighting for its survival.  I felt like travelling in time, torn between an abundant past and a sterile future, awe and despair. It took me some time to figure out the trajectory of the place: a disappearing oasis. I waited for a rain that never came – and I ended up with my feet buried in the sand.”  In April, the first part of Claire’s portfolio was published online by Dodho magazine. 

Matthew Chan’s portfolio “Waves” is a personal project that uses triptychs to “visualize my anxiety and how it comes in waves.  These black and white images were created in San Francisco near Ocean Beach and Lands End. The monochrome images show how anxiety can distort our thinking into the all-or-nothing, black and white. The series starts with an out-of-focus image, calm, airy, with no tension. The second image has more movement, tension, things are beginning to go awry. The third image is total chaos, an altered state at peak anxiety. This ebb and flow pattern repeats, seven times, hinting at the cyclical nature of this emotional state.”

Mishell Ramirez specializes in studio and commercial photography.  She writes, “The photographs featured in my portfolio contain different types of props that make a connection with the main subject photographed.  The images are directed to the average consumer, it attracts them to the item that is being featured.  Each image contains multiple vibrant colors to keep the audience engaged.  All of the images are created in my small living room using minimal equipment.” 

Yingshi Li’s portfolio “The Separation of Beauty” was inspired by a friend who underwent plastic surgery because they were not satisfied with their appearance.  Yingshi created “a set of self-portraits…for people to understand that the imperfections of our bodies are our ‘most unique beauty.’”