Final Project

Jenna Baker: A Survivor


I met Jenna Baker in my 2D Design class this semester.  We quickly became friends, and I thank God for that.  She inspires me whenever I am around her.  My struggles do not compare.


Jenna has awful things I cannot pronounce.  So maybe it should come from her:

"When I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis, an auto-immune disorder that causes you to lose all your body hair, from head to toe. I was in 6th grade, and by the time I was ready to enter 7th grade, all of my hair had fallen out. I started middle school completely bald. I chose not to wear a wig and to just enter the world of junior high just the way I was. Turns out, it blessed me in ways I can not describe- it shaped me into the person I am today. 

Then, when I was 17, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points where slight pressure causes pain. Fibromyalgia occurs in about 2 percent of the population in the United States. The constant pain caused me to miss a substantial amount of my senior year of high school, and has caused trouble since moving out to Provo to attend BYU.. I have had to miss a lot of class and work due to the pain. 

Most recently, October 2010, age 20, I was diagnosed with an Oligodendroglioma. It is a rare form of brain tumor that occurs in approximately 9 in 1 million people (usually in middle-aged adults; more likely in men than women). I have had two brain surgeries where the tumor was removed- the first surgery in Utah by Dr. Reichman, and the second in Virginia by Dr. Watson. Starting January 3rd, I will begin Chemotherapy. The treatment will last 6 months and will consist of 5 days on, 3 weeks off for those 6 months. 

So, medically, I have a history that would blow your mind. But what makes me special isn't that I am bald, or that I have a brain tumor. What makes me special is that I don't let it get me down. Every day I find something that helps me be happy. I let life happen, and I make the most out of it. I choose to be happy. That's what makes me special."

Jenna's roommate drew faceless portraits of all their roommates, and Jenna's is obviously in the middle. Jenna is not shy about her baldness...it is just a part of her life.

Fibromyalgia is painful.  I cannot tell you how painful because I do not know.  But I do know that Jenna would take the elevator to our class on the fifth floor of the HFAC because climbing the stairs was too painful on her knees.  

Her family was extremely affected by her health problems, but were always supportive and optimistic.  Jenna nannies for her niece, Addie.  Fortunately, Jenna is able to have children despite her chemotherapy (and multiple other) treatments.  

Jenna is blessed to be alive.  I think there must have been a time when her family and friends begged for those eyes to open again.  Her eyes were also reopened to a new perspective on life.

Jenna knows sign language, and here, she signs "pain."  It is a motion you put wherever the pain lies, and though there is pain in many of her muscles and tendons, she chose to put it by her head.  

When I asked Jenna why she chose not to wear a wig, she said that she was young at the time, and chose to be herself...she stuck with it, and only wears a wig (sometimes) on the Sabbath, to dress up for church.

The amazing thing about Jenna is that she loves life, family, friends, and God so deeply, and doesn't let her health get her down.  I have only known her for a couple months, but she is a wonderful example of survival, strength, humility, gratitude, and love.  

Jenna's blogs:
http://virginiaisforloversisforjenna.blogspot.com/p/what-makes-me-special.html
http://livestrongjenna.blogspot.com/ 

Assignment #7 - Diptych

I am not good at diptychs!  I think part of the reason might be that it takes twice as much creativity and forethought.  Also, I had a hard time thinking about telling a story with two images.  I can do that more easily with one image or five+, but 2 siamese photos sort of freaked me out.  I did appreciate learning how to put them together in Photoshop though.  I started out with so many ideas, but it was difficult getting my exhausted roommates to model for me at night, and I didn't feel comfortable doing self-portraits because I would have to leave my camera unattended...also, although it is Provo, I felt like I needed a buddy at night...and there were no volunteers.  So I ended up shooting at home, and I didn't quite get the results I wanted for this project!  Diptychs are something I really want to work on.

Assignment #6 - B&W Portraiture

My sister Sophie:

Alexis:

Dani:

Dani is a friend I made last semester...it was my first day and I asked a slightly frightening looking girl if she knew where my class was.   She said she didn't, and told me "good luck."  I found my class, and she (Dani) walked in five minutes later.  Partners in physical science for the rest of the semester.  She is such an individual...she wears smudgy eyeliner and loves dressing goth.  She wears a cross (but is still super LDS and spiritual) and spiky dog collar on a regular basis.  She defies the conformity most students at BYU expect.  For this shot, I asked her to express her frustration with the cookie-cutter conformity we see a lot of at BYU.

Self-Portrait (I am NOT currently praying/looking for romance):

I love black and white, so I really enjoyed taking and editing these photos.  I loved learning more about color adjustments in B&W, because it really improved the photo and tailored the picture to how YOU like it.  It was also super important to go back and redo the lighting adjustments or even save them for the end.

Assignment #5 - Portraiture

Someone I did not know:

Someone I do know:

I love portraiture, so this assignment was really fun.  Except for the self-portrait because I found it really difficult to get the right angles and focus I wanted when I was not behind the camera...I had to use my roommates to have them sit where I would be sitting, to focus and compose the photo, but they were not the exact same height, etc, so it was difficult to get a good shot.  I thought it was a great experience to photograph someone I did not know.  She is my roommate's friend from home, and it was good practice to tell someone I wasn't necessarily comfortable with how to model.  

Assignment #4 - Color Theory

Analogous:

Analogous:

Complementary:

Monochromatic:

Complementary:

Complementary:

I enjoyed this assignment a lot, because I had never put much thought into the colors in my photos.  I always thought you simply photographed what colors were there.  But now I know that there are many different kinds of matching when it comes to color, and each is pleasing to our eye in different ways.  I also learned that color changes a TON depending on the light around it or passing through it.  The green skirt I was wearing actually turned blue when the sun was behind me, so I had to do a tiny bit of adjusting in Lightroom.  I found that I don't like red and green together (too Chrismassy), but I love yellow and purple!

Assignment #3 - High Key/Low Key

Photos with 'correct' exposure according to camera:

 

I definitely feel pro at bracketing now.  I also realized its importance!  A photo can be just a tiny bit under or overexposed, and it's better to have a bunch of pictures with different exposures than to go into Photoshop or Lightroom and fix it because you don't lose data in the photo.  I also got more used to using a tripod and shutter remote, which made the process much more efficient.

Assignment #2 - Numbers

 

#1 - Chopstick

(Not meant to be offensive...she was tired)

#5 - Keyboard

#17 - Seventeenth Fret

#20 - Self-Timer Hands & Feet

#21 - Forever 21

#23 - Book Page

#33 - Change

 This assignment felt sort of tedious, but was great practice for shooting in manual because we couldn't take multiple shots to trial and error.  It felt like shooting film because every shot counted.  After about twenty five, my pictures got increasingly uncreative and...lame.