CHROMA magazine
Concentration
june 2018
CHROMA magazine
A publication celebrating young & talented creatives from the VSAA photography community & beyond. Volume 3 Issue 7 June 2018 Based in Vancouver, Washington
Editor: Kastine Cook Advisor: Abby Harris Staff: 07 issuu.com/chromamagazine chromamag2015@gmail.com All photgraphs belong to the artist and have been published with their permission. DO NOT copy or share any images without explicit permission from Chroma Magazine. Thank you for respecting the photographers featured and the integrity of their work.
EDITOR’S
letter
Concentration; sustained investigation of a specific visual idea After months of continually producing beautiful and inspiring work, Chroma magazine will take a summer hiatus. When Chroma returns in the fall the wonderfully talented Ben Kautz, Mireyli Quinonez, & Nadia Stupski will take the helm as they transition into the shared Editor position. The last issue of the third volume of Chroma Magazine is meant to serve as a final way to celebrate student work; specifically in an area of their choice. The prompt is simple, choose a concept, ideology, or aesthetic to further investigate. The only limiting factor is the photographer’s own fear to try the impossible. As this is my final issue as an editor, I’d like to thank Abby Harris for her continued faith and guidance throughout the process of continuing Ruby Becker’s vision of Chroma Magazine. I would also like to thank the amazingly talented photography students at the Vancouver School of Arts & Academics. Your dedication to the art form and ability to think outside what photography can be has and will continue to inspire me. Although I will not be returning this coming fall I know that Chroma will continue to be the inspiring publication it has become. I hope you find inspiration in the work of these very talented individuals & thank you for reading Chroma Magazine. Kastine Cook Editor (2016-2018)
CONCENTRATION STAFF GALLERY ellie josephson // 08 maria vara // 14 reyli quinonez // 22 salem pitkin // 30 trillian vieira // 38 james hurst // 46
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kastine cook // 54
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ON THE COVER: kastine cook // 56
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ELLIE JOSEPHSON My goal in this series is not to make a political statement but to practice unbiased photojournalism; to remain a voiceless vessel, purely sharing what I saw. It is important to understand the power one can have when capturing a specific moment in time and deciding to share it. To find, rather than create moments is a challenge most photographers face. Not just focusing on a general theme, but to find diversity in one event pushes me to get creative with my subject and compositional diversity. I took images during a national school walk out to acknowledge those we have lost due to school shootings. The morning of april 20th my school was provided the opportunity to perform a peaceful protest for 17 minutes for the 17 minutes it took the parkland school shooting to occur. Signs held high and voices unapologetically shouted; I captured these moments. The point of the school walkout is to raise awareness that there is problem that we need to fix. Not that we should take away all guns, or not focus on gun policies at all, but rather this is about sharing the truth of what’s going on.
chroma // 09
PRETTY PEOPLE COMMITTEE Maria Vara These pictures are a interpretation on social media steryoptipes that could become an idea of admiracion and a reflection of desire created by thoughts, points of views and experiences. My concentration is all about creating an illusion of a refleccion on today’s generation of teenagers. If you pay attention on the poses of my models, their clothes, their faces, and simply what they are doing; you would be able to tell how their moods represent a distinguished idea of this generation in this specific culture. @yukim.nomoto @phantasmagorianv_ estigue @m.ad.y @jamierxnee @benkautzz @maiacombs @take.me.to.the.mountain @ms._arlecchino
chroma // 17
Reyli Quinonez Balance “You’re so plastic and that’s tragic Just for you I don’t know what the hell you’re gonna do When your looks start depleting And your friends all starts leaving You’re so plastic and that’s tragic Just for you” -two feet Andrea Fernandez - Jade Miller - Jillian Haney - Kaeley Jonsson - Jacob Reppeto - Ben Kautz - Sydney Hale
chroma // 25
STREETCAR Saylem Pitkin My concentration series, named after the song Streetcar by Daniel Caesar, was inspired by the fact Portland is not like many other cities. I made the artistic choice to make the series black and white for the emphasis of simplicity in a somewhat busy place. I believe Portland holds a beautiful elegance and intrigue in the way that it welcomes people open heartedly, which very much made me fall in love with the series. Portland, Or Ejub Mesic
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TRILLian Vieira Off I’m feeling slightly off today. I’m not quite sure why. The air has a scent of freshness. But I feel as though there is a warp in my perspective. My awareness of space has brought angle to the colors in my atmosphere. Yet, these strange positions I seem to find myself in are a few seconds of relief. I feel both in and out of focus. Sebastian Hauskins
chroma // 41
James Hurst take your pills I utilized pills, a model, and lights to create a series centered around drugs. I viewed a documentary entitled, “Take Your Pills” in which the director was reporting on the abuse and excess medication of ADHD pills such as Adderall in the U.S.. I was inspired by this series to encapsulate that same idea that the U.S. is highly over medicated through photography. I focused on utilizing compositional tools such as, symmetry, leading lines, and rule of thirds in this shoot. I learned that the majority of children are diagnosed with ADHD before they reach the age of 6, I utilized symmetry and leading lines to reflect a child like simplification in my photographs. I created custom labels for my pill bottles with the mantra, “Take Your Pills” written on them. I chose this saying because it was quite prominent throughout the entire documentary as a common theme because, many parents use ADHD pills as a form of lazy parenting. An interviewee recalls his mother calling up to him everyday, “Take your Pills!” I chose to implement this same aspect of repetition in my piece through harnessing patterns created by pills to reflect this repetition. I chose to make every photo black and white with high contrast as another way to simplify the photographs, just as we simplify the world to a child, or tend to opt in for the easiest solution to a mental problem, such as drugs. In the photo with the pills on the model’s mouth, I do this to reflect a metaphor that the user has become dependant on the adderall to perform even basic functions, such as those involved with a mouth. There is a photo with the model in profile where there is a symmetrical pattern to the left and a scattered pill field on the right. I do this to show how at first the user is in control of the adderall, and the drug is performing as it should, helping the individual be efficient and focused but, eventually the user will need more and more pills in order to receive the same level of satisfaction.
chroma // 49
Kastine cook loops I was interested in reflecting on the concept of childhood and the simplicity it entails. I sought to use elements from my own childhood throughout the series. I used bright colors found in the cereal Froot Loops as the inspiration for the shoot. In my series, I placed special emphasis on perspective and depth. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to include elements from my childhood that were important to me when I was growing up and would be aesthetically pleasing in the context of a photo shoot. I wanted to use a shallow depth of field throughout the series of self-portraits to create a soft look. The goal of this series was to create a bridge between the viewer and the photograph. I chose to include my house rabbit throughout select photos. I have experienced much of my personal adolescence growing up with her. I chose to include her in the photos to emphasize the concept of the series. Other elements I chose to include were bubbles and the cereal Froot Loops. My final piece is a photo of myself apart from all these elements. I am alone without any of the identifying objects from my childhood. As I move on from childhood and into my adult life, I am reflecting back but moving forward.
chroma // 59
CHROMA magazine