As one Chinese proverb describes: “A falling leaf will return to its roots at last, and everything will return to its home eventually [translation mine].” However, although China is my hometown as my original root, perhaps I will not return to my country after I graduate from Emory University in three years. After undergoing various experiences and developing a sense of home in America, especially at Emory, I would like to regard this place as my current and future home to stay.
With the influence of Emory University, I behave less likely as a nerd, and begin to go outside to observe and enjoy the beauty of nature. Before I studied at Emory, I did not have any interest in observation of nature at all because I would rather study in the classroom than go for a walk outside. Since I was educated under the traditional Chinese compulsory education system for nine years, whether I was satisfied and happy or not depended on the grade I received for my class. Thus, I was used to mainly focus more on my academics than any other thing. Even though I had lived in the boarding school for six years, I was not aware of the school’s environment, and I did not know if the flowers bloomed or if the leaves turned yellow. However, after I chose an environmental science class at Emory, the professor told us to slow down and to visit the woods and gardens every week. With observing the leaves and other plants, the professor also asked us to practice meditation. Closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the stream, I felt peaceful and relaxed and even to forget the worry of my life. Thus, I form a habit of slowing down and sometimes even stopping in order to integrate myself into nature.
In order to record my observation of nature at Emory, I take different pictures to create a photo essay. I also use different techniques such as blurring to emphasize the objects and expressing the way that I observe the nature carefully. For example, from the first photo which shows the vibrant golden leaves and trees on the rear view mirror, I want to reveal the idea that people need to slow down or they will ignore the beauty of nature. By combining the scene of a rushed car and the tranquil atmosphere of the Emory campus in autumn, it reveals the comparison of motion and stillness. Besides, I also blur the surroundings of the golden trees because I want to separate the scenery of autumn in space. By blurring other parts except the golden trees, the photo can catch the eye of the audience and people will notice the color of yellow at first. Furthermore, in order to emphasize the golden color of trees in the rear view mirror, I also change the relative lightness and darkness of the color. By deepening the yellow hue and lightening the hue of surroundings, the yellow color of the trees is more obvious to appear to change when seen against the background color, and the yellow color also reveals my optimistic and energetic mood when I take this photo. Actually, when I took this photo, I was hurried to rush to the library to submit the project of a business class. When I walked in front of the Callaway building, I was attracted by the scene and I felt really peaceful and forgot the worry of my schoolwork. I really loved the yellow color of the leaves, and I believe that they were like the sunshine to light the cold campus.
With the influence of Emory University, I behave less likely as a nerd, and begin to go outside to observe and enjoy the beauty of nature. Before I studied at Emory, I did not have any interest in observation of nature at all because I would rather study in the classroom than go for a walk outside. Since I was educated under the traditional Chinese compulsory education system for nine years, whether I was satisfied and happy or not depended on the grade I received for my class. Thus, I was used to mainly focus more on my academics than any other thing. Even though I had lived in the boarding school for six years, I was not aware of the school’s environment, and I did not know if the flowers bloomed or if the leaves turned yellow. However, after I chose an environmental science class at Emory, the professor told us to slow down and to visit the woods and gardens every week. With observing the leaves and other plants, the professor also asked us to practice meditation. Closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the stream, I felt peaceful and relaxed and even to forget the worry of my life. Thus, I form a habit of slowing down and sometimes even stopping in order to integrate myself into nature.
In order to record my observation of nature at Emory, I take different pictures to create a photo essay. I also use different techniques such as blurring to emphasize the objects and expressing the way that I observe the nature carefully. For example, from the first photo which shows the vibrant golden leaves and trees on the rear view mirror, I want to reveal the idea that people need to slow down or they will ignore the beauty of nature. By combining the scene of a rushed car and the tranquil atmosphere of the Emory campus in autumn, it reveals the comparison of motion and stillness. Besides, I also blur the surroundings of the golden trees because I want to separate the scenery of autumn in space. By blurring other parts except the golden trees, the photo can catch the eye of the audience and people will notice the color of yellow at first. Furthermore, in order to emphasize the golden color of trees in the rear view mirror, I also change the relative lightness and darkness of the color. By deepening the yellow hue and lightening the hue of surroundings, the yellow color of the trees is more obvious to appear to change when seen against the background color, and the yellow color also reveals my optimistic and energetic mood when I take this photo. Actually, when I took this photo, I was hurried to rush to the library to submit the project of a business class. When I walked in front of the Callaway building, I was attracted by the scene and I felt really peaceful and forgot the worry of my schoolwork. I really loved the yellow color of the leaves, and I believe that they were like the sunshine to light the cold campus.
In the second photo which depicts a bookmark in an open book, I want to express the idea that people need to study and read while they also need to go outside and integrate themselves into the nature. Firstly, I take the pictures of an open book and a bookmark and the scene of two colorful trees in front of Cox Hall at Emory separately, then I combine these two pictures into one photo. The reddish orange hue of the bookmark is similar to the yellowish hue of the open book, and the photo of two colorful trees on the bookmark seems to melt into the background. Additionally, I also blur the surrounding buildings around the trees to emphasize the color and the sense of autumn in the photo. In order to express the significance that people should not overlook the nature and need to give themselves some time to stop reading and working, I also blur most parts of the books to make it seem to be less important. The main hue of this photo is orange, which reminds the audience of the warmth and the beauty of autumn. Thus, this implication shows the positive attitude towards nature when I take the photo. When I took this photo, I walked rush to the biology class and tried to figure out one question in my mind. I felt so nervous because I would receive the midterm grade in ten minutes. When I saw two trees in front of the Cox Hall, I could not help myself stopping and taking the photo. These reddish orange trees reminded me to be energetic even though I encountered the challenges in my life.
In the third photo which shows one yellowish leaf that I pick up under the tree, I also use different techniques such as blurring to make the audience concentrate on one leaf. Even though there are diverse trees that change colors in autumn, few people stop and observe one leaf carefully. I want to remind people to slow down and to pick up one leaf or other plants to observe. From my view of the photo, the audience can observe the small vein and the black and brown spots on the surface of the leaf. Thus, this macro photography reveals the details of small objects that people used to ignore. In addition, I also deepen the light of the background to separate the leaf from other leaves on the tree. The hue of this photo is also vivid yellow and orange since I also want to express a pleasant surprise when I find this symmetric leaf through the implication of color. When I found this leaf, I finished the last class before the Thanksgiving Day and I would fly to Boston to meet my friend. At that time, I felt so excited and I decided to wait for the taxi under a tree. When I observed this leaf, I regarded this leaf as a gift, because it was so symmetric and I found this leaf among various leaves at once. This perfect leaf reminded me that the life was full of surprises if I tried my best to discover them.
For the last photo, it reveals the scene that my friend and I stand in front of some leaves. From the gesture of my right hand of the shadow, I have already picked up one leaf and I would like to observe it. The leaves surround the photo of shadow are our collections of fallen leaves. The yellow hue of the leaves melts with the background of the shadow photo, and all of these yellowish elements express the sense of autumn. In order to focus on that we indeed slow down and observe the leaves, I do not choose a pile of leaves in front of us when I take the photo. The audience can observe from the photo that there are few leaves in the shadow photo, because I want to express that if people do not slow down they cannot discover some relatively insignificant objects in the nature. When I took the photo, I had a walk with my friend behind the gym on campus. Even though we talked about our majors and the worries for the future, I still felt relaxed because of the colorful trees and leaves. On the way to the dorm, I noticed that the school had asked people to clean the paths and the pile of leaves had disappeared. However, we still found few yellowish leaves when we stopped and crouched down. I believed that people who were always in a hurry could not notice the insignificant beauty of nature.
From all the photos I take, I want to express my change with the influence of Emory. I use different photography techniques to show the beauty of nature, which many people and including me in the past used to neglect. I believe that autumn is the most beautiful season at Emory, since colorful trees are like the fire and the gold to make the entire campus vivid. However, if I was not changed by Emory, I still would overlook the leaves, the trees, and the vivid color of the nature on campus. I go outside my tiny and limited world to immerse myself into the nature, and my mood indeed becomes more optimistic and positive because of the strength of nature. I hope the audience can slow their steps to be more relaxing and peaceful.
From all the photos I take, I want to express my change with the influence of Emory. I use different photography techniques to show the beauty of nature, which many people and including me in the past used to neglect. I believe that autumn is the most beautiful season at Emory, since colorful trees are like the fire and the gold to make the entire campus vivid. However, if I was not changed by Emory, I still would overlook the leaves, the trees, and the vivid color of the nature on campus. I go outside my tiny and limited world to immerse myself into the nature, and my mood indeed becomes more optimistic and positive because of the strength of nature. I hope the audience can slow their steps to be more relaxing and peaceful.