Although I hesitated choosing fire hydrants for my concentration because I wanted more depth; I began to realize, in the process, how easy it is to look over something I'm so accustomed to. When you begin to look, you will see that one is planted every 40 feet on a street frontage. A fire hydrant, something that is extremely simple, can be made magnificent if captured in the right angle and in the right setting.

Grace Cowart ConcentrationAP 2D Design

2010

I constantly found my eyes drawn to fire hydrants everywhere I went. I started off just taking pictures the way I saw them from an everyday perspective. After a while, I decided to capture the parts of fire hydrants that our eyes are not as accustomed to. I worked on getting close-up pictures to bring out the antiquity and detail. I also tried to put emphasis on the unique colors and settings incorporated in them by enhancing pictures on Photoshop. As my work progressed, I found myself trying to capture more unique angles. In slide 1, antiquity is illustrated with a sepia color scheme. In slide 2, I repeated reds but with more and more saturation as the alarm rang louder. In image 4, the urgency of the fire alarm is heard visually with saturation. Images 5-8 become more personal, as each individual hydrant stands alone. Image 8 is metallic and shiny, like a new fire station, while images 11-12 become neon in the focal zone to bring emphasis to the moisture, as water and fire are so closely linked. I enjoyed the process/journey that brought me to a greater understanding and appreciation for hydrants, and tried to illustrate the fun I had in my images.

Breadth