melina desantiago

Day 43 Title: “Lighten the Night” Bring light into the dark....

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 01:13:24 -0500

Day 43

Title: “Lighten the Night”

Bring light into the dark. See the beauty in the world another way. It may be difficult at first, but once your eyes adjust, everything around you will become bright and beautiful.

Day 42 Title: “Running with the Wind” Be one with nature, run...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:08:00 -0500

Day 42

Title: “Running with the Wind”

Be one with nature, run wild and free alongside the wind and just let go. Let the cool breeze brush against your skin, let your hair down and flow in the air, and leave your worries behind. Be yourself and never let anyone hold you back, not even for a moment. Stay true and live for the moment.

Day 41 Title: “Leaving No Trace” Sometimes it is okay to be...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 02:38:00 -0500

Day 41

Title: “Leaving No Trace”

Sometimes it is okay to be alone. Leaving no trace for the world to find you, just so you can have time to yourself. Pondering about life, taking a step back and eventually deciding where to go next. All in good time, life will run its course, so there is no need to rush the life that you have.

Day 40 Title: “The Journey to the Other Side” A journey can be...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 02:54:24 -0500

Day 40

Title: “The Journey to the Other Side”

A journey can be long and treacherous, but when one has enough determination and goes the distance, it can all be rewarding in the end.

Day 39 Title: “Left in the Rain” Alone in a deserted place,...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:40:32 -0500

Day 39

Title: “Left in the Rain”

Alone in a deserted place, rain starts to pour and the feeling of loneliness starts to grow. Everything appears dark, all becomes silent, yet one must look beyond the darkness and find light in the midst of it all. Even pleasant surprises can be found in the darkest of times, even if one is left alone in the rain.

Day 38 Title: “As Free as the Little Caged Bird” This may sound...

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:10:43 -0400

Day 38

Title: “As Free as the Little Caged Bird”

This may sound a little weird, but sometimes I feel like a bird with wings ready to fly, but feel trapped as if I were inside of a cage. Sometimes I feel like I’m being held back by something I can’t seem to figure out yet.. Maybe it’s my struggle financially, maybe it’s the work load I take on, maybe it’s the wall I create for myself in order to take a step outside of reality, whatever it is, I wish I could figure a way outside of this invisible cage and move forward with my life. I wanted to create that feeling for this image here; I intentionally did NOT put my model inside of an actual cage, I wanted to express that she may look free, but she is only as free as the little caged bird that she is holding. I didn’t want this photo to be too literal, but something to figure out, at least with the title I gave it. Hope you like it!

Day 37 Title: “In a Vulnerable State” I Love this large, open,...

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:06:56 -0400

Day 37

Title: “In a Vulnerable State”

I Love this large, open, flat surface I have near my home. It’s nothing but dirt, with the exceptional trees and mountains in the far distance, but I can do so much with it. I decided to go a different angle and play with my depth of field on this one. Working on so many shoots all the time, it’s nice to try something different every so often. Once again, I was shooting at sunset, so I had a limited amount of time to use the light that was provided for my shoot. By the fourth shot, the wind had hit my dress just right, and with the sun casting such beautiful shadows, I had gotten my shot. Being out in the open like that, not only was it a moment to be captured forever, but a time and a place where I was once at peace, just enjoying the little while I had to do the shoot, feeling the warm breeze against my skin, sinking my toes into the cold dirt, losing sight of all my worries and frustration. Until that moment has passed, I can only wait until next time where I go on another adventure out into an open field or explore a creek, somewhere beyond the hills outside of where I live…for now, it’ll only be those places within the boundaries of which I can explore.

Day 36 Title: “Running Away to Find New Adventures” When I came...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:40:19 -0400

Day 36

Title: “Running Away to Find New Adventures”

When I came up with the idea for this image, I really had been craving to do a shoot with my sister, Christina. I didn’t have much for wardrobe at the time, except for these two long, flowy gowns that I thought would work perfectly together. It was getting late and Christina and I had to walk through this field of itchy, dead grass while holding up our dresses so they wouldn’t tear at the bottom with all this dead grass pulling at them. Once I had my camera set up on my tripod with my settings and timer adjusted, Christina and I were running back and forth into the shot as many times possible before the sun went completely down. So we had a strict time limit, and all I needed was a shot where we both were looking back at the camera (and no funny faces), a shot with our dresses flowing back showing the movement of us running away into the distance, and to make sure, overall, every part of us looked decent. Running in dirt that sinks, grass that has been long dead and is now extremely itchy to the touch, while throwing our dresses back in soon to be darkness was a challenge no doubt, especially with our dresses going in every which direction not cooperating in every shot. Overall, I am happy with the final outcome of this image, but I had shot this so long ago, if I were to do this shoot over again, I would come better prepared and not have so much of a challenge getting the shot. That’s why I am doing this 365 Project, to keep pushing myself and keep learning with every shoot that I do. I may not always like the outcome to every shoot, but I post anyway to show my weaknesses, my strengths, and my journey during this project.

Day 35 Title: “Far from Home” With this image, I wanted to...

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:25:00 -0400

Day 35

Title: “Far from Home”

With this image, I wanted to express a lost princess far from home, which can lead her to new adventures that can be both frightening and exciting for her. As she finds herself in a new world, she is forced to step outside of what she is use to and adapt entirely to new ways of being, in order to survive a mysterious world unknown to her. Life challenges can be necessary to learn and grow from; you can become the better you that you can be, if handled the right way.

Day 34 Title: “Til Death Must We Part” Creating this image was...

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 01:51:00 -0400

Day 34

Title: “Til Death Must We Part”

Creating this image was quite an experience. I felt very spooked the entire time doing this shoot, thinking there might have been someone else there lurking in the distance watching my every move, aside from my boyfriend, Lonnie, there to be a part of my shoot. So I limited my time to get this shot within literally a few minutes so we could get on out of there. I visualized Lonnie and myself in black clothing for more of a funeral look, expressing a death taking place. Then I created a glow of light in the midst of the clouds faintly glowing down towards the couple, showing it was their time to go, given a pathway to leave this world. The usual saying goes “Til Death Do Us Part”, but finding true love can be one of life’s struggles, it’s difficult to understand why one would consider parting with their other half even in death, if they had finally found their true love.

Day 33 Title: “Arisen Darkness” This piece is a bit darker than...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 07:19:06 -0400

Day 33

Title: “Arisen Darkness”

This piece is a bit darker than most of my work, but that’s what I intended for this one in particular. To shed light onto darkness, to see the unseen, to gain knowledge of what was once unknown, all things we learn to be afraid of. What if the world grew dark, with creatures unheard of roaming the earth, what would you do then, would you live in fear or become one with darkness? Only then, would there be chaos, but then how is that so different from the world today? It is the fear we install in our minds that keep us from moving forward at times. Wherever there is darkness, there may be a glimpse of light, or in other words, a glimpse of hope to be found. In search of light, don’t lose yourself in the dark.

Day 32 Title: “A Longing Fulfilled” Boy do I gots some...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 03:55:32 -0400

Day 32

Title: “A Longing Fulfilled”

Boy do I gots some esplainin’ to do! Well this is my photograph taken for day 32 out of 365, and I am actually up to 270 photos now, but I have been chaotically, insanely, overwhelmingly stressed beyond my limit with work, edits for other jobs, more work, and more edits for other other jobs…Gawd! I…AM…EXHAUSTED! Yet all I want to do is just edit photos from my 365 project. Sadly, I am only human and have to sleep sometime so I can’t keep up with all my editing for this project, though I am trying my hardest to keep up with my shooting everyday :) ..For now, here’s another one of my ghostly images that I’ve created, which I’ve titled, “A Longing Fulfilled”. Let me know what you think and what kind of story you get from it ;)

Day 31 Title: “Chasing Dreams” To chase your dreams and pursue...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:01:23 -0400

Day 31

Title: “Chasing Dreams”

To chase your dreams and pursue what your heart desires no matter what obstacles you may have to overcome; a reality is no good if there is no dream to chase after.

Day 30 Title: “Seek A Painterly Dream” This creek is certainly...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:05:22 -0400

Day 30

Title: “Seek A Painterly Dream”

This creek is certainly my go-to spot when I want to find a beautiful location to do a shoot. It’s so stunning to me, with all kinds of trees, rocks, leaves flowing everywhere; it’s everything I love. I had gotten this basket full of fruit and leaves as a birthday gift and I’ve been wanting to use them as a prop for one of my shoots, so finally this was my opportunity. I took this image straight out of a dark fairytale and turned it into a painting. I honestly love when I can turn an image around and make it look as if it were really a painting and that’s what I did here. If you’re to look closely, the detail in the image looks as if the medium I used were paints, and I absolutely adore that aspect to it; only to seek a painterly dream.

Day 29 Title: “A Glow of Magic” I absolutely love going to this...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:50:00 -0400

Day 29

Title: “A Glow of Magic”

I absolutely love going to this creek to do shoots. There are just so many amazing elements in this one creek, giving me so much to work with, which I love. I’ve had this long, silky dress in my closet for quite sometime now and I wanted to use it for this shoot because of its silky smooth texture and the way it shines when the light hits it. I love changing up my light in my images and having full control in the edit, so I’m really pleased with how my edit for this particular image turned out.

Day 28 Title: “To the Depth of a Photograph” Can you figure out...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:08:00 -0400

Day 28

Title: “To the Depth of a Photograph”

Can you figure out which of my photographs is in the last frame? So I was looking at a print that I had showcased at my portfolio show when I was graduating AiCAOC back in September 2011, and for some reason I wanted to photograph this already-made print of mine and make it into some kind of a maze. I had never thought to do anything like this before, but I thought it would be neat to do; and why not try something new for my project. Well have you guessed the image yet? I’ll give you a hint…I’m wearing the exact same wardrobe from this particular photograph. Check out http://melinadesantiago.com/ and you might just find which photograph I have in the last frame.

Day 27 Title: “Fly Away on the Wings of an Unknown Destiny” I...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:59:48 -0400

Day 27

Title: “Fly Away on the Wings of an Unknown Destiny”

I have been wanting to do a shoot where I was floating in mid air for sometime now, and I thought using my angel wings would work perfectly with this particular setting. I knew I wanted to make this shot look heavenly and by giving it that golden color, to me, it brings the image into the Greek period, which I love. I didn’t plan for it to look that way, which is why the wardrobe doesn’t fit right into the Greek time period, but I thought I would give it that golden color anyway because it felt heavenly. It’s not all bright and colorful for a reason; to be on the wings of an unknown destiny, I had to make the image dark in some parts, looking as if she is coming out of the darkness and into the glowing light. Hope you like my image for Day 27, still have much more to edit.

Day 26 Title: “She Wore Her Red Dress for the Night” This image...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:47:00 -0400

Day 26

Title: “She Wore Her Red Dress for the Night”

This image was completely inspired by my favorite movie of all time, Moulin Rouge. The film is filled with such a colorful, burlesque theme and I wanted to create something that took inspiration from the lyrics in the song, Roxanne. I created this soon after my birthday trip in Vegas, and I had just gotten this amazingly fitted red dress, so I was itching to use it in a shoot. For those who aren’t familiar with the song, Roxanne is about a woman who feels she must walk the streets of Paris for money, sung by her lover, who can’t help the jealousy every time she goes out into the night. It’s a tragic love story.

Day 25 Title: “Wear Your Beauty Inside Out” I truly believe...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:10:56 -0400

Day 25

Title: “Wear Your Beauty Inside Out”

I truly believe that beauty is found in the eye of the beholder. I feel like beauty is all around, surrounding us; you either decide to notice it or ignore it. I feel like many people try and look for flaws, they seek out the negatives, when it should honestly be the other way around; look for the beauty, all the positives. Beauty isn’t all about the outside appearance, there is so much more to be found within a person. That’s why I titled this, Wear Your Beauty Inside Out, because if everyone’s inner beauty were to show through onto their outer appearance, the search for true beauty wouldn’t be as challenging for so many people.

Day 24 Title: “A Sacrifice of Atonement” The definition for...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:54:29 -0400

Day 24

Title: “A Sacrifice of Atonement”

The definition for Atonement: satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends. This photo is about sacrificing yourself in order to better yourself, to better what lies ahead of you. This image doesn’t have so much of a narrow storyline; I’d much rather leave this one to the viewer, however you guys would like to depict the story. Regardless, I will always have a story to each of my photographs, vague or in depth, but I always like to hear a viewer’s perspective and how they see my images. It always brings an interesting point of view, and what better opinions than from the fresh eyes viewing my photos. So let me know what you think!