Photography has never really been my thing. Although I am a very artistic person, I’ve always had trouble with taking photos. The perfectionist side of me would constantly hold me back, making me think things like, “This picture isn’t right. It’s one degree too much to the left. It’s not tilted at the right angle. At this rate I’m never going to take a good picture,” etc. That thought process itself showed that I never really knew what photography was. It’s not all about taking “perfect pictures”. It’s not about analyzing every single detail and thing, although there’s nothing wrong with doing so.

This unit made me realize what photography was really all about. It’s about capturing moments. It’s about having fun. It’s a form of art, and the thing about art is that every single art piece is going to look different. Not everyone’s art is going to be “perfect”, but it’s exactly that imperfectness that’s going to make it stand out from the rest. For my photo essay I decided on showing what it has been like for me, an artist, during quarantine. I think it’s very fitting as both photography and paintings/drawings are forms of art.

Gallery • 6 Photos

BRINGING VIBRANCE TO THE DARK On a night of curiosity, I try to decide on what to paint for the day. Rather than seeing the color white as a blank canvas, my brother, Ali Khalil, viewed black as a blank canvas. “It’s a lot more beautiful to bring vibrance and color to the dark than to what was already light,” Khalil ‘21 said.