madimcsherry

Madi McSherry’s Final

For my final I wanted to document the personal effect COVID-19 has had on my family and me. More specifically I wanted to document specific things that have to be modified within the household. I chose to photograph various things such as my basement turned classroom to 6 feet apart outdoor playdates. For this project I chose to stay away from my typical black and white style. I wanted to capture raw moments how they are. My house consists of 2 parents, 1 whom works at home, an elementary schooler, middle schooler, a high-schooler, and a college student and a puppy. I wanted you to be able to hear the picture in a sense. whether it’s from the TV seen in the background or the stuffed animals my little sister was playing with talking. To complete this project and capture these pictures I carried my camera around the house for 3 days straight, snapping pictures whenever I felt there was a photo- worthy authentic moment.

For my first picture I chose to show the transition of my little sister’s room becoming mine. Due to the pandemic sending us home earlier than expected, my family was still renting an apartment one bedroom short for our size family. Because of this I was given my sister’s room and she moved into the parent’s room.

The next picture was of my mom and sister doing schoolwork. I wanted to show how our basement’s bar has had to be turned into a makeshift office cubical and kindergarten classroom. Not only this but the look on my mom’s face reflects the stressful nature of having to become a teacher and bank employee simultaneously.

After school is when my sister has time to wind down and play. That is why I chose to photograph her in her dress up costume organizing her toys. In the fireplace. Since the quarantine we have all had to find different ways to get creative and this is a prime example.

After my mom gets done work is when we typically go on walks. Walking has been taken up by many people during these times so it’s always likely to see friends along the way. In this photograph my little sister is in focus while you can see her friends and his family in the background.

When the day starts coming to an end, I find it to be popular for us all to migrate to our parents’ room. Their room has not only become the ‘common area’ of the house during this pandemic but also a gym, doubling as a toy for others. In this photo is my stepdad and sister talking and hanging out with the puppy as my littlest sister is taking a spin on our new Peloton.

When the sun starts to set I’ve noticed people around the house get bored with where they’ve been all day. Because of this, we tend to end up in each other’s rooms, whether the owner of the room is ok with it or not. In this picture, my little sister has not only taken over my little brother’s room, but also his TV.

Night time is when my other little sister tends to get crafty. Pictured is her finding older clothes from attic and cutting them to make them more in trend. This has become a very popular activity that we both partake in together.

For my last picture I included one of the few times we treat ourselves to ice cream outside of quarantine. I wanted to capture the sign to let the audience be aware of the location as well as people wearing their masks and social distancing.

Photo Assignment #4: COVID-19 At Home

For this set of images I chose to photograph how COVID-19 was personally affecting my family and I. A big transition we’ve had thus far is at home schooling. In my family, I have a sibling in elementary school, a sibling in middle school, a sibling in high school, and then me, in college. On top of this we have our mom who now also works at home. Because of this things can get overwhelming with schoolwork. Since my youngest sister, in elementary school, has the most hands- on work, managing a schedule for her while balancing all of ours can be difficult. This is why I chose to photograph our basement. Since the quarantine our basement has been turned into a make-shift school area/ office. The first photograph is of my little sister’s work station and the second is where we keep her lessons/ classwork for that day. The 3rd picture is of my mom’s space where she does work throughout the day. I specifically chose to photograph these 3 areas because I feel that they are most representative of our situation at home.

Additional Images:

Photo Assignment #3- Madison McSherry

For my first image I wanted to photograph the church right around the corner from where I live. I felt that this was an important aspect to how my community was handling the pandemic. This is because the sign is right off of our town’s main road, meaning plenty of people pass it every day. From the very beginning of the pandemic, this church always had uplifting quotes to raise the hopes of the community.

This image is of a parking lot that is notorious for being packed. Its a development home to the local gym, laundry mat, nail salon, wine & spirit store, and plenty of restaurants. I wanted to capture the emptiness caused by the pandemic and make it stand out from just another empty parking lot. That is why I photographed in the middle of the day, when most businesses are usually busy. Also I believe that the few scattered cars hints that its not an “off day” for the stores, but that something else is keeping the customers from rolling in.

This picture was taken outside the local Giant. I was sitting in my car getting ready to leave when I noticed this glove laying on the ground. I feel that it is very symbolic to the measures people are taking in order to stay safe from contracting the virus. Plastic gloves are a very common sight in my town during this time, so I felt that this picture was very representative of that. I chose to leave so much negative space because I wanted to capture the feeling of emptiness in a time of hysteria.

Additional Pictures….

Photo Assignment #2

Madi McSherry

This picture was taken by the American photographer Diane Arbus in 1966. This piece is titled “A young man in curlers at home on West 20th Street“. What compelled me to this photograph is the sense of femininity captured. Diane Arbus frequently photographed men in a feminine light. From the long painted nails, smeared mascara, plucked eyebrows and hair curlers, many of the elements in this photograph emit womanly vibes. What I believe makes this photograph so successful is the black and white contrast, adding extra emotional depth to the photograph, and the man’s slim features adding to the female essence.

For this picture I wanted to relater to the color, crop and femininity of the original picture. I had my model wear lace clothing, put on smeared mascara and highlight his slim body frame to emphasize the female feel the original picture emanated.

My goal for this picture was to establish eye contact. Eye contact creates a sense of intimacy which is commonly associated with woman. In this photo I still have him wearing makeup and have the lace shirt straps visible in the background to keep the womanly aspects consistent.

For my last picture I took a more up-close approach. I added the prop of the rose to incorporate my interpretation of femininity; beautiful, but sharp and bold on the edges. The all black background but highlights on the petals of the rose and face are specifically highlighted. Overall, my main concept for this picture was to successfully capture the male in a feminine light.

Other Images From This Shoot

Photo Assignment 1 Madi McSherry

This first image of Cecil Beaton was taken by Erwin Blumenfeld in 1946 as a part of a private collection based in Switzerland. This picture is a gelatin silver print. Blumenfeld was known for experimental techniques in the darkroom, Dada and Surrealist influences, and groundbreaking street work. Blumenfeld had a lot of influence in the fashion world because of his combination of elegance and eroticism. His portraits typically embodied dramatic lighting. This picture provided my inspiration because of its eery- mysterious vibe it emanated.

My response image was taken in the Pattee and Paterno Library. I wanted to mimic the partial inverted feel of the original image. To do so I went into Photoshop and selected a portion of my model’s face and applied a colored gradient to it. I added color because I wanted to add my own touch to my response. I darkened and added contrast to my picture to hide the shadow in effort to create an ominous feeling. I took this picture under a low-hanging ceiling light to produce the harsh lighting that Blumenfeld’s portraits typically had. Because of lack of eye contact in my photograph, I had the model take off his shirt to make the image more intimate like my inspiration photo was.