Untitled: David’s Masterful Magazine
Media provided by David C. ’24.
As all current sophomores and upperclassmen know, the year-round process of developing a March Madness project is no easy task. The endeavor takes months of time – consuming and stress-inducing work, beginning at the start of the school year through late March.
David C. ‘24, a photographer, is exemplifying what a March Madness project should look like. Using his passion to inform his project, David devoted himself to creating a fashion photography magazine. Despite his hard work, many faculty onlookers may review his project with the sole purpose of inputting a grade into the gradebook (high pass, low pass, or pass), but receiving a high pass has never been David’s central motive.
David has been interested in photography for years, which allowed him to define his project’s focus without hesitation in early September (much earlier than most other sophomores can articulate their plans). In an email to the Gazette, David wrote, “I chose this topic because photography has been my passion for years now, so having a project that includes all my favorite aspects of photography in one, without feeling restricted to one style, seemed like a perfect idea for me.”
Art is meant to provide the viewer with some kind of emotion or new understanding. Similarly, David intends for his art to “get someone to learn something about someone else.” With the pages displaying different forms of expression, David hopes to “show a little bit of someone’s personality in the photos and allow the viewer to experience the style of different people as they flip through each page.”
Media provided by David C. ’24.
David has titled his photography magazine (or “zine” for short) Untitled because “there was no better word to describe the project because the label doesn’t restrict it to one style or another.” David went on to explain that his magazine aims to avoid the exclusion of any one style. Although David has made major progress in the development of his project, having “15 of 25 pages done,” the process has not always been smooth sailing.
David mentioned that, of course, things didn’t always go according to plan: “Getting a bunch of different people to take photos and scheduling all of that has been the hardest part.” Yet, when David’s plans come together, he often comes to the realization that, “It is all worth it in the end when we’re taking the photos and they turn out amazing.” David finds a great amount of self pride when he looks at the beginnings of a final product.
David also highlighted the ways in which his project has been deeply enjoyable and not at all like a tedious assignment that he dreads. David exclaimed, “The process has been a bit difficult, but really fun overall. It’s been great to be given the chance to really work on my passion and be given time inside of school to focus on something I love so much.”
David detailed the method behind his photography, saying, “Basically, it starts with me asking someone if they would want to be in my project. Then, we plan the shoot and execute the photos according to the vision I have in my head. Next, I edit the photos into a magazine page format and create their page using Photoshop. Eventually, it will be printed with maybe 10 or so copies, with an additional copy for everyone who is in the magazine to have. I will also make an online version so it can be seen by more people than just people who know me personally.”
Media provided by David C. ’24.
As David reflects on his process and the experience so far, he grows more and more excited for the future of this project: “I’m just excited to take some more photos of people, whether it be friends or just acquaintances. I need to work on scheduling some time for more shoots and making sure I’m getting it done without rushing so I can be as proud of it as I can be.”
David’s work is an exemplary model of a determined and successful March Madness project. The amount of dedication and passion David has exhibited should be what we all aim for when conceptualizing our projects.