“An unforgettable thought” by Natalia Álvarez

“An unforgettable thought”

By: Antía Formoso, Nerea Veiga and Carlos Maceiras.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….. 2 2. Photograph analyse.……………………………………………………………. 2 a. Observation skills. ……………………………………………………… 2 i. Action. ……………………………………………………………… 2 ii. Characters. ……………………………………………………….. 2 iii. The story behind it. ……………………………………………. 2 b. Technical knowledge…………………………………………………... 3 i. Photographer’s point of view. ………………………….….. 3 ii. Lighting. …………………………………………………………... 3 iii. Framing and Cropping. …….…………………………….….. 3 iv. Symbols and methaphors. ……………………………….….. 3 c. The real story. …………………….…………………………………….… 3 3. Natalia’s biography.…………………………………………..……………….… 4 4. Natalia’s photographs…………………………………………………………... 5 5. Conclusions………………………………………………………….……………... 6 6. Bibliography.…………………………………………………..….……………..… 7

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1. Introduction.

We chose this photograph because we think that it has a great story behind, then we are going to talk about this story.

On the other hand we are going to understand a photograph, to talk about the different ways to analyze it and the techniques that you can use.

2. Photograph analyse. a. Observation skills.

We see a boy inside ​a suitcase with a smile and we think that the subject is the boy.

We think that he is four years old and he is from Galicia.

In the background we can see some stones and grass. The camera and the photographer are in the foreground.

The child is dressed with elegant clothes and he has a beret and the suitcase is old.

This photograph was taken nowadays, because the photograph is in colour, and in Galicia because it has a lot of grass.

We think that the photographer was thinking that this boy had a great story inside because it is not​ ​usual to see a boy inside​ ​a suitcase as if he remembered his past.

iii.

The story behind it:

We think that the boy is dressed like this because his grandfather dressed like this and he is inside the suitcase because his grandfather has travelled ​out to work and he has never seen him since then.

He has a face full of happiness and he is smiling and remembering that moment.

We think that after this photograph the boy went to live to another place where he and his family won’t remember his grandfather.

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b. Technical knowledge. i.

Photographer’s point of view:

Maybe the photographer is crouching because in the photograph you can see the child, and the stones are at the same level of the camera, and the grass is not in front of it.

The child’s eyes are very important because they are a full of happiness.

ii.

Lighting:

We think that the photograph has a natural light because it is daylight and the colour of the grass is natural.

The light is coming from above, it is bright and clear, you can see that in the child’s face.

iii.

Framing and cropping:

We think that outside the photograph there is nothing, maybe more grass.

We think that the photographer chose that frame because ​the child is the most important.

iv.

Symbols and methaphors:

We think that this photograph has a metaphor. It is that the child is inside a suitcase because he thinks that he will travel to other country.

c. The real story.

Natalia said: “This photograph was the result of a session that I did in 2014. The idea of the suitcase as a simple object of decoration but, in a moment, when the child had confidence I told him to do what he wanted with the suitcase. He surprised me getting inside and this is the result of this snapshot, the spontaneity and naturalness of a 5 year-old-boy. He is my boyfriend’s son and in this session we met each other”.

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3. Natalia’s biography.

Natalia was born on 08/07/1991 in Galicia but she is living in Madrid now.

She always liked photography, she liked taking photos of everything. ​When she watched a film she payed attention to analogical photographs.

When she finished Secondary Education, she knew that she wanted to be a photographer. She studied art subjects as a level and she got very good marks because she wanted to get an advanced degree in audio-visual communications in Coruña. Those two years were incredible apart from hard but she was doing what she liked and learning.

When she finished her degree she was in Ferrol TV on work placements but as she didn’t work with photography she left.

There she started to do photo sessions more seriously because she had more time.

While ​she worked on TV she continued taking pictures but not at a professional level.

She assembled a study in her house and she carried on taking photos both on the outside and in her study. She met her boyfriend when she was making a session and they are getting married next summer.

Now she does sessions in Madrid but when she travels to Galicia she takes photographs here. Before entering school she bought her first reflex camera, after saving a year for it and when she had it, it was a tremendous happiness and two years ago she changed it and gave the old one to her boyfriend also helped her with the sessions as he had also drawn attention to photography, ​she involved ​him even more and she taught him little by little, an​d sometimes they did sessions together.

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4. Natalia’s photographs.

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5. Conclusions.

Antía​: ​I like to work with photography, so I really enjoyed this project. I learned newforms to analyze a photograph and especially to look at what is really behind.

Finally, I think that all members of this group didn’t work at the same level.

Carlos: I like to work in projects and I also like the photos. In this project I learned to analyze in parts a photo and I would like to continue doing projects of this type.

Nerea: ​I don’t really like photography, but this project I really liked and I had a very good time. I learned a lot about analyzing a photograph and now when taking a photograph I stop to look at the light, the contrast… I would like to continue working in groups as it is more entertaining.

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6. Bibliography. ● Álvarez, Natalia; Natalia’s facebook <​https://goo.gl/iCHuWM​> [Accessed 31/05/17] ● Álvarez, Natalia; Natalia’s instagram “@nataliaalvarezfotografia” [Accessed 31/05/17] ● Álvarez, Natalia; Natalia’s gmail “ <nataliaalvarezfotografia@outlook.com>” [Accessed 03/06/17] ● Lago ​Loly; “Visual Literacy-Theory” Project: Working as a Photo-Journalist , Virtual Classroom, ​<​https://goo.gl/SR6uQA​> [Accessed 31/05/17] ● Lago, Loly; “Working as a Photo-Journalist-The project” Project: Working as a Photo-Journalist, Virtual Classroom, <​https://goo.gl/Pel0bA​> [Accessed 31/05/17]

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