"Dominant Traits"

   This series is an appropriation of old family photographs that have been passed down from many generations. My great great grandmother was of Native American descent, and my great great grandfather was of Irish descent. They passed down their physical traits along with these photographs, so I attempted at showing the result of those traits being passed down in a recreation of the photographs. 

   Because I wanted the pictures to look as authentic as possible, I chose to make the colors look as if they were greatly faded and wanted there to be a strong presence of a light cream-ish tan color. Along with the slightly faded colors and illusion of overexposure and lack of sharp detail to add to the authentication, I added texture over the photographs to give them a slightly worn look, making them look even older. 

   I love family, and the concept of the closeness of how, even though me and my immediate family and my ancestors live in different time periods and cultures, we are still united by the direct bloodline which passed down our own unique traditions, beliefs, morals, and even physical traits. This series reminds of how dear to me my family and all that is encompassed with my immediate family which has been shaped by our ancestors. To me, there is no greater gift of this world, than to have the blessing of family.

Antique family photos

Love Story

Book Worm

Rain-E Day

Hopefully you can understand my play on words here ;)

Snow!!!

My theme finally came down to, things I enjoy the most. In each sequence I tried to capture what these things make me feel and put together in a way that appeals to the eye. This was a lot of fun and I put a lot of work into it, and the theme kind of progressed as I got further and further with the project. I was also finally able to get the perfect lighting I wanted to work with, and then decided to add a little yellow in the post-edit to get some character. Enjoy!

I use photography as a means of self-expression – I make pictures for myself, to identify with hidden qualities of my character, to better understand my reality, and to express my interpretation of the world around me. A clearer understanding of myself and of my world allow me to explore fragments of life as an abstract form, and also to interact with people I would otherwise not be able to engage with. My goal is to use my camera like Alice’s rabbit hole, to open an unexplored world, a place of curious self-expression, but also a world of new relationships, new chances new beginnings and most importantly new stories.

My choice of subject comes from a place of intuition and is fuelled by an impetuous desire to partake in the stories that unfold around me. I seek the unknown and I look for the light within the shadows, the stories that are not at first obvious and the uncommon in the common. I photograph people in their environments because I am curious of what lays behind their eyes, where they have been and where they hope to go. My photography evokes the passage of time. I use slow shutter speeds and double exposures to explore the nuances of movement and the modulation of time as it passes from past to present to future. Recently I have begun to work with landscapes, attempting to illustrate abstract, evocative scenery as a motif to epitomize the idea of imagined space, a reminder that what I create through the viewfinder is only real to me.

I am inspired to compose by the contrast of light and dark, while I use the changing light of day to arouse the mood of my dreams.  Strangely, colour has appeared in my work, slowly and without intention, concealing the black and white imagery of my past. This colour conjures images of my favourite foods – mangoes, chocolate and spicy masala chai, and surprises me.  Gone with the black and white is my concerned with documenting a story, rather I find myself interested in the results of immersing myself in the story and recording my own reactions and actions to my world.  The photographs of Faces and Places come from that immersion. 

Elisa Paloschi