Kaley Rentz English 2269

IntroductionIn todays global economy I’m sure many of you know several products labeled with

M.I.C or Made in China, but for this project I would like to introduce you to a different type of M.I.C called Made in Canada. The process of being made in Canada is very different from other countries, including a massive interest in hockey, saying “aboot” instead of “about” and the constant “Ehhh..” at the end of every sentence.

For this project I will be demonstrating life in Canada through the eyes of an interesting product “me” or for those of you who don’t know “me”, Kaley Rentz. I was manufactured by John and Kathy Rentz and was released in Port Moody, Canada on August 7th, 1993. And since I am the only girl created by my parents I guess that would make me a one of a kind collectible item. My dimensions measure 5 foot even and I come with all the standard features of a Canadian, such as a hockey stick, hockey pads and skates.

This photo essay is intended to show you the true beauty of Canada, by using pictures from my personal experience and from the gorgeous scenery that Canada has to offer. Each photo was taken in Canada and shows a Canadian perspective of the land and the people. These pictures are in no particular order, they are just a general outline of what life is like in Canada. These pictures are mainly from the British Columbia Providence and particular places around Vancouver. They show the diversity throughout Vancouver and how the region is beautiful and full of nature and excitement. The photos are also from various seasons to show how the beauty is constant.

For my photo essay I intended for my audience to be diverse in culture and background. Since my essay was about growing up in Canada I wanted to show people that have never been to Canada what was like from my perspective. Having this type of audience in mind forced me to have to really capture the beauty and excitement of Canada because I wanted people to think of Canada as this amazing, beautiful, whimsical place. I achieved this by using photos that show the beauty and excitement throughout Canada while also using funny photos from my life to invoke a personal quality to the project.

Omer Wazir. “Vancouver.” Flickr. February 15, 2010. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/thewazir/4363976377/in/photolist-8qq4fW-8Tqb7e-9manjE-d7uPFG-9ErVAw-8qpNmw-4GZ5YD-buapqr-9m7j2Z-aD1Bup-a7omfW-7D8AhZ-7DCw92-8iucfR-8iucek-dzCfMG-9kHdnG-foiPSi-foyee3-69LWEP-foydtb-aDTsmR-aDXsTq-aDXqRo-aDXkPs-aDTvdB-88bPMJ-aDXozA-aDXsow-aDTpnT-aDTtzi-aDTtgX-aDXpAY-aDTxP8-foxJ4w-eiRWZ-b5pKPr-ar1fdU-ar1f1N-aqXA14-ar1faW-aqXA6T-aqXAg2-aqXA4H-ar1f8u-aqXAir-foyBUA-fsesHU-5JLWSL-5JLZJb

Kyle Pearce. “Quarry Rock in Deep Cove.” Flickr. October 16, 2013. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keepitsurreal/10583189254/in/photolist-h8cBsf-DHmDz-kyKP-fEdX5U-5hNsnJ-8qHkne-8qHhJx-6WfCwm-6WbK1n-8qHk38-8qLraN-6WbMVn-8qLur9-8qHmLv-8qHjMn-8qLrBJ-8qLtz7-8qLqzy-8qLuf7-8qLtiU-8qHiEa-8qHkCz-6WfG2C-8qHhZ6-6WbCF2-8qHmyZ-5hNu8N-5hNtEA-5hJ7cH-4aU1-6WfGwh-6WfKv3-6WfMyU-6WbHit-6WbAbD-6WfDao-6WbDTB-6WfHRo-6WfHad-6WfAGQ-6WbM9r-6WbDhM-dfdGrk-nbC8-nbtY-eJho9n-eJj2jZ-eJqBU9-eJiMbZ-eJhWb8/

Brian Fagan. “View of Vancouver.” Flickr. April 21, 2006. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/diamondace/5011618302/in/photolist-8CRRw7-9kUFhC-ehSo9g-d2d8DC-9Jf5Fj-9K9Y62-a1VxHA-8eAEKy-bUzR5P-bUzRnV-9j75Sm-kyQEA-adFSV8-h82HXR-9makC3-frYLBk-a7kw18-7CTLfo-6TjEVm-7D9iHF-n5GvVd-9E1h5C-9kEeS2-n5GDmW-8qn6Lr-9hg44a-9jbTJe-dzMxw5-k4csnx-dzHpfi-9aKiVZ-83oLmi-9aJ1iT-62c1Ae-9jf3uY-okcjZW-iRJG8M-97VtRT-8NBqxS-93Sn44-kyz7J6-a7ouBJ-a7ov5j-a7kBWB-8VJNDr-8HFnVe-9aRVtw-crz2zA-69LLk6-a7omn3

Madeline McClain. Facebook. May 12, 2012. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?

fbid=374904669189500&set=pb.100000099113463.-2207520000.1411340698.&type=3&theater.

Madeline McClain. Facebook. January 14, 2013. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?

fbid=549796385033660&set=pb.100000099113463.-2207520000.1411340694.&type=3&theater.

Madeline McClain. Facebook. February 19, 2012. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?

fbid=445478988798734&set=pb.100000099113463.-2207520000.1411340698.&type=3&theater.

S.yume. “Canada’s Golden Moment.” Flickr. February 28, 2010. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4399623511/in/photolist-7GMdMM-ncRVtX-jkkT2X-9JKP67-7sWiSt-bW8XmN-jkwYut-bGZSW6-bWxfEF-iuR9Nc-6weBfm-7GMkEn-jkbere-7E7mcr-dqYTwP-p7SMT8-c1HfeY-7EhSFj-fCwyEC-7FiJiD-n5DFKD-afQfYG-crz1V9-dbYFDd-fC8u7i-kiiSmN-c1H4Fm-fG1jDJ-ngx7bj-knXsdg-dqZ31t-kcEvYr-cprTTq-4tr9D2-8pVwEf-5ic2Sm-p7YPDX-dyvd7-8dxY2p-8z6Ei5-oPgYYd-p8dmMo-8KiQN2-cT2gqu-n2jMGK-oVKbsc-8ak2zG-jjhcQJ-p6x6N3-p8z67B

S.yume. “Switzerland vs. Canada.” Flickr. February 18, 2010. September 21, 2014. CC BY SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4371459728/in/photolist-bGZSW6-bWxfEF-iuR9Nc-6weBfm-7GMkEn-jkbere-4BV1Nn-7E7mcr-dqYTwP-p7SMT8-c1HfeY-7EhSFj-fCwyEC-7FiJiD-n5DFKD-afQfYG-4n8kpc-crz1V9-fN5z3T-dbYFDd-fC8u7i-kiiSmN-c1H4Fm-fG1jDJ-ngx7bj-knXsdg-dqZ31t-kcEvYr-cprTTq-4tr9D2-8pVwEf-5ic2Sm-p7YPDX-dyvd7-8dxY2p-8z6Ei5-bPFtme-oPgYYd-p8dmMo-7n9qik-8KiQN2-cT2gqu-n2jMGK-6bG8X6-oVKbsc-8ak2zG-jjhcQJ-p6x6N3-p8z67B-9gG4Xa/

Artist Statement

For this project I used photos from my personal life as well as photos from Flickr and Facebook to capture the true magnificence of Canada. The text in my essay is only there to label the different parts of Canada and the elements portrayed in the photos. The text is simple so that nothing is taken away from the photo. The design of my project was to make the photos fit together and not look like a bunch of random photos just stuck together. I attempted to keep the filters and various photo shop methods the same to enhance the collectiveness of my photos.

Initially for this project I wanted to present something that was tied to me personally. I instantly thought of Canada because I am very proud to be a part of the country and the culture. At first my vision was to show the various places in Canada but as I began to find photos I noticed that what I really wanted to do was showcase “my” version of Canada. It was at that point that I decided to show photos of my life in Canada as well as some really incredible shots of the beautiful scenery throughout the country. I used the examples given to us in class to sort of inspire my essay, I don’t consider myself a particularly creative person so I attempted to become inspired by others work. During the course of this project I learned that it’s important to have an idea, not necessarily a set plan. You can do a number of different things with an idea, but you are extremely limited when it comes to a set plan. Keeping this lesson in mind will only help me to prove my skills and projects as I advance in this craft.

For this project I used various Photoshop apps that appear on Apple’s iPhone, such as “Photolab”, “Insta-size” and the filters given on the iPhones software. By using some different light elements I felt as though I was able to capture the emotion and essence of each photo. The light and dark contrast throughout the photos gave them depth and allowed the meaning of the photo to be better understood. The text from “Photolab” allows the creator to ehance the photo by using words to explain and that really helped throughout my project because I wanted my audience to know what was going on throughout. I also used the program gimp to edit the photos that were not taken by me personally. By using these various applications I was able to create different yet collective pictures that showcased Canada through my perspective. I used similar filters and colors throughout the piece to showcase the true beauty of Canada while using different focus elements as too draw the eye to what I wanted people to see. The technology was constraining at time because sometimes the filters wouldn’t look similar in every picture, this caused me to have numerous amounts of changes throughout the process in order to achieve a final result that I was proud to showcase.

Overall my photo essay does show Canada through my perspective. I was able to showcase my favorite parts and elements of Canada while still using my person photos to show how important my home country is to me. Canada shaped me into the person I am today and it allowed me to have the opportunity to really become an independent person. I owe a large part of my life to Canada and I wanted to capture that emotion in my piece.