To begin, the focus of my Hidden in Plain Sight series consists of images from a coffee and ice cream shop that I hold near and dear to my heart, Jamie’s Ice Cream Co. in Cambridge. It is what jump-started my graphic design and marketing career. A little backstory: I secured an internship at Jamie’s from Jamie herself, who is an Emmanuel alumna. After my summer internship came to an end, she offered me an assistant graphic designer and social media marketing position. Designing and being at Jamie’s constantly for my job became second nature to me, but I thought, what about the people who are not here all the time? That is how I came up with the subject matter for my series. I photographed all of the cute shop items in Jamie’s Café that are “Hidden In Plain Sight,” and from my marketing and design background, I shot all of my photos from a branding and marketing perspective. All of the available items in her shop were captured as if they belonged on the front of a magazine or in a catalog, and that was my intention. Overall, I had an amazing time working on this final project, as this was something I was very passionate about photographing, and I had so much fun doing so. I was able to get up close and personal with all of the ice cream and the machines they use, which really helped me have a hands-on experience. I was also very fortunate that her shop was filled with big windows and was always well lit with natural light, which gave me optimal results when shooting between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Although I am not a photography major or minor, this course really gave me a whole new perspective on design. Since my work is very digitally heavy as a graphic designer, the skill set of being able to shoot photos from a designer’s perspective is still really important to have, and this course really helped with that.I was able to shoot at a place I was familiar with taking digital photos at, and be in the moment with my film camera, as there was no immediate gratification of seeing how my images turned out. Going through the whole cycle of shooting film, developing film, mixing the chemicals, and developing and drying contact sheets and prints really immersed me in the photographic experience. In the end, it was amazing seeing my results, as I knew how much work was put into getting them, making every image a bit more meaningful. I encourage everyone to take this class, as it was a very hands-on experience and produced results that are tangible things to hold and to see that will last a lifetime.

Applications Used: Nikon FE 35mm, Arista Edu & Ilford HP5 Film, Darkroom