Photography

Event Portraits

Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T7, External Flash
Year: 2025-26

These are a selection of portraits I’ve taken for clients at several local events. I’ve provided photobooth services for 20s-themed, 80s-themed, and New Year’s parties hosted by nearby communities. Event organizers typically provided their own backdrop, while I brought my camera, flash, and laptop to photograph guests and provide the original JPEGs on-site. After each event, I edited the photographs and delivered the finished images to the event organizer through Proton Drive.

Light Painting

Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T7, Tripod, Remote Shutter Release, Various Lights
Year: 2023

The first time I took Digital Photography II, I chose to explore various light-painting techniques for my final project because I was fascinated by the possibilities of long-exposure photography. For many of the photographs, I created a lightsaber-like light source using a plastic fluorescent tube filled with multicolored fairy lights and wrapped in white tissue paper to diffuse the light. I experimented with the light’s remote to change colors at different intervals and used several other improvised light sources, including a fiber optic tree base, a small multicolored circle light, and a modified flashlight.

One of the photographs in this series, featuring the Ritz sign, was created by zooming the lens during a long exposure to create its distinctive effect. Throughout the project, I experimented with different exposure settings, light sources, and camera movements to see what I could create and better understand what my camera was capable of. As one of my earlier photography projects, it became an important part of my exploration into creative and experimental photography.

Light Painting on 35mm Film

Equipment: Pentax Asahi K1000, Kodak Tri-X 400, Tripod, Shutter Release Cord, Various Lights
Year: 2025

This was my final project for B&W Film Photography I. I wanted to recreate my previous light painting project on black and white film to see if I could achieve similar results. Many of my classmates were skeptical that the technique would work on film, which gave me even more motivation to prove that it could. Earlier in the semester, I had attempted a light painting assignment but wasn’t satisfied with the results, so I also saw this project as an opportunity to challenge myself to get it right.

I used my Pentax Asahi, which was the only film camera I owned at the time, and Kodak Tri-X 400, which I had been using throughout the semester. Because the camera only offered bulb mode and 1 second for extended exposures, I used a shutter release cable that allowed me to keep the shutter open while moving around the scene. For most of the photographs, I used the same homemade lightsaber-like light I had created for my previous digital light painting project.

I also wanted the photographs to have a sense of narrative rather than simply being experiments with light. My brother served as the subject throughout the series and suggested the idea of an investigator following mysterious lights appearing in various locations. To compare the differences between digital and film, I photographed each scene on both formats simultaneously. This allowed me to directly compare how the same lighting techniques translated between the two different mediums.

Each Photo was captured on Kodak Tri-X 400 and printed in a darkroom using an enlarger and Ilford Multigrade RC paper and the proper chemicals. These are the scanned prints from the darkroom.

These are a few of the digital photos side by side with their film counterparts. The digital photos were taken on my Canon Rebel T7 and were set to B&W on camera.

Photographic Series on 120 Film

Equipment: Mamiya RB67 Pro, Ilford HP5+, Tripod, Shutter Release Cable
Year: 2026

This was my final project for my B&W Film Photography II class. Throughout the semester, I had been working toward moving away from purely technical exploration and developing more conceptual storytelling in my photography. For this project, I chose to explore the preference for vintage objects over their modern counterparts and the nostalgia associated with them.

Each photograph pairs a darker, modern object in the background with a brighter vintage counterpart in the foreground, often showing a hand reaching for or interacting with the vintage object. I was challenged to find vintage items and consider which modern objects could serve as their counterparts. One of my biggest challenges was avoiding overuse of the phone, but as I developed the series, I realized how difficult that would be because the phone has replaced so many everyday objects from the past. In fact, the prevalence of the phone led me to consider an entirely separate series exploring how many different everyday objects it has replaced. Ultimately, I chose to keep the broader focus on the contrast between vintage and modern objects.

These images are scans of the final darkroom prints. I developed and printed the photographs using an enlarger, Ilford RC paper, and traditional black and white darkroom chemicals.

Artistic Portraits

Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T7, Pentax Asahi K1000
Year: 2025-26

These are a few examples of stylized portraits I’ve taken over the past couple of years. The portraits of the young woman were taken for a friend who asked me to photograph her graduation portraits. We traveled to a location we thought would complement the photos and worked together to create images that reflected her personality and style. The other portraits feature my sister and mother, captured during more spontaneous moments without the planning of a traditional portrait session. I enjoy finding these moments naturally, where a simple setting and genuine interaction can create photographs that feels more authentic.

Self Portraits

Equipment: Mamiya RB67, Ilford HP5+
Year: 2026

This was my very first project in B&W Film Photography II. We were challenged to capture artistic self-portraits through reflections. This was the first project where I began seeing conceptual elements in my work that I hadn’t intentionally created. I realized that I wanted to take the next step in my photography, moving beyond primarily technical photography and toward more conceptual storytelling.

Going into the project, my mindset was, “Let’s take some cool-looking photos that will fulfill this assignment.” By the end, it had become, “I can find stories within my own work that I didn’t intentionally create. Let’s see what I can come up with this semester!”

Moments in Time

Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T7, Mamiya RB76 Pro, Pentax Asahi K1000, Mamiyaflex, Welmy 6x6, Kodak Portra 400, Ilford HP5+
Year: 2025-26

These are some photographs I’ve taken spontaneously during trips, while testing vintage cameras, or simply during moments I felt were worth capturing. Sometimes the best photographs are the ones you don’t plan.

Compositions

Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T7, External Flash
Software: Affinity Photo 2
Year: 2025-26

These images began as photographs I took in my room using a temporary studio setup with my camera, external flash, and a backdrop made from a bedsheet. I created the series as custom playlist covers for my Apple Music library after getting tired of using the same eight Apple presets. I developed a concept for all 34 of my playlists and photographed a setup for each one, although I didn’t return to editing the photographs until about a year later.

For each composition, I started by reviewing the original photograph, considering the playlist it represented, and gathering the visual assets I wanted to incorporate. I then adjusted the lighting and colors of each RAW photograph, cut myself out of the original background, and built the final composition with new backgrounds and visual effects. Some of the assets also needed to be edited or manipulated to fit the overall concept I had in mind.

These are a few of my favorite compositions from the project, with the playlist titles removed from the final images. Each final image is accompanied by the original photograph and the primary assets I used to create the composition.

Vintage Cameras I've Used

This is my collection of vintage cameras I’ve collected over the years. Most of them I’ve already had the chance to shoot with, while there are a few I haven’t used yet but plan to in the near future.

Pentax Asahi K1000 1976-97

Used: Yes
Film: 35mm
My first-ever film camera. I got this when I first started my B&W Film Photography class.

B&J Press 4x5 1946

Used: Yes
Film: Large Format 4x5
My first press camera and so far my only large format camera. I've never shot film on this one as sheet film is very expensive, even as the smallest of the large formats. But I have used B&W enlarger paper (Ilford MGRC) and made a few reverse prints.
I have some expired slide film for this camera I would like to experiment with sometime soon.
With this kind of camera, you have to load one sheet of film into the back at a time using a film holder. You have to load the film into the holder within a darkroom or dark bag, as the film cannot be touched by light.

Kodak Stereo Viewer 1952

This is the viewer for the stereo camera. When you look inside it with a slide inside, you get a really neat 3D effect of the photo you've taken. This only works with negatives from the Kodak stereo viewer, and most likely with other 35mm stereo cameras.
The slides for the negatives are no longer manufactured. So I had to redesign them by looking at a lot of pictures and taking some measurements from the viewer. Then I 3D printed and tested one slide at a time until I got it! I'm still thinking of ways I could refine the design to make it easier to put the negatives inside, as it's pretty difficult to get them in there.

Kodak 1A Pocket 1926-32

Used: No
Film: 116
This is one of my oldest cameras and the first one I have that used 116 film. This film is no longer manufactured, so you have to either buy really old and expired film, respool 120 film onto 116 film spools, or get or make adapters to make 120 film spools fit into the camera.
I've worked on making some adapters, and I have a couple rolls of expired Kodak Verichrome V 116. It expired in April of 1946, so we'll see how that works out.

Mamiyaflex 1949

Used: Yes
Film: 120
This is my favorite TLR. I got this as a backup in case I couldn't fix my RB. The original lens I got for this was broken; neither the aperture nor the shutter worked. I managed to fix the aperture, but I wasn't able to get into the shutter mechanics to try to fix them. So I had to get a new lens.
I was able to get a project done on time thanks to this camera.
One roll of film will get you 12 photos in the square 6x6 format. That's 6cm x 6cm.

Mamiya 23 Standard 1956-62

Used: Yes
Film: 120
This is my second press camera, and easily my oddest camera yet. It has a really fun handle with a trigger you press to release the shutter. You can also get different sized negatives depending on the back you use, including 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9. So far, I have a back for 6x7 and 6x9. I would like to design and print an adapter to make 6x4.5 and 6x6 negatives.
The couple of rolls I shot on this didn't come out due to light leaks during transportation, but I had a way to keep that from happening in the future.

Kodak Brownie Box Late 1900s-early 20s

Used: No
Film: 116
THIS is probably one of my cameras I'm most proud to finally have. The oldest and most original of cameras, and one of the first kinds of cameras to be mass-produced for everyday people. Basically the original point-and-shoot camera. I'm actually planning on light painting on color 120 film with this camera.
The handle you see here wasn't part of the camera when I got it. I got some leather and cut it to fit, and it works perfectly.