NOMAD Creatives Menu
2020 – 2021 Q1 Gallery
As this year begins with yet another challenge, our students continue to persevere and push through with their artistic creations. This Gallery will represent all student works this year and will be grouped according to the quadmester model.
Quadmester 1
Gr. 9 iRAP Visual Arts – Words of Hope Project
Entitled, “Words of Hope,” the Grade 9 iRAP Visual Arts class ventured into the wonderful world of hand-lettering and created artworks that exude positive energy, especially in light of what is happening around us.
Each student carefully chose their words and expressed them in a simple sketch. While focusing on the elements and principles of art and design and colour theory, each student rendered their Words of Hope on their iPads using the Procreate App. Please note that this gallery will continue to grow as submissions continue to trickle in. Please note that this gallery is also posted on our iRAP Website. We hope you like them.
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Gr. 9 iRAP Visual Arts – What’s On My Mind Portrait Project
For our final project of the year, the grade 9s delved into the concept of self-portraiture as a cumulative experience that includes principles and elements of art and colour theory.
With mental health in mind, the class wanted to examine personal thoughts in times of isolation and challenge. Here’s a gallery the exemplifies what our ideas look like once drawn with pencil and pencil crayon and painted with watercolour. Please note that this gallery is also posted on our iRAP Website. We hope you like them.
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Gr. 12 Photography – Black & White Photography
This gallery represents a combination of all our Black & White images through 2 projects. In one of those projects, we analyzed the works of legendary photographer Fan Ho.
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Off-Camera Flash Portrait Project
New to the Gr. 12 Photography this year is the introduction of off-camera flash photography. Traditionally, studio photography is done, well, in a studio. But given the wealth of affordable and portable tech available to photographers these days, we were able to examine studio portraiture using portable Flash Guns and radio triggers. With a firm understanding of flash sync, and the use of flags and reflectors, our class were able to capture these stunning portraits while in school and socially-distant!
Grade 12 CPT – The Paired Photo Project
Inspired by the paired passage exercise (paired passages are passages that are connected or similar in some way) most commonly found in English Literature classes, we used our analysis of Fan Ho and our understanding of composition and design for this project. These paired images act as a means to use photography to explore conceptual connections between images.
Paired with a World Press photo of their choice, each student will apply everything they’ve learned this semester to draw connections using their own images.
Lorenzo A. (World Press Photo – top: Lorenzo Tugnoli, Yemen Crisis, 2018)
This photo was taken during the yemen crisis on May 20th, 2018. Children are sitting in a tent because of a four year conflict in Yemen. Since this conflict, 8.4 million people are at risk of starvation and 22 million people of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance. The conflict spread when Saudi Arabia began air strikes against the Houthis and by 2018 the war had led to the world’s most man made humanitarian disaster.
The element of content is portrayed in this photo. The tents and darkness represent that these people are stuck and alone living in these tents giving the scene a more dramatic and heartbreaking sense of feel. Since the Yemen crisis began these children are stuck without food outside living in these tents in need of help.
I chose this picture to relate to the Yemen crisis because during the Yemen crisis many individuals had no food and were starved. This picture shows the complete opposite, I have never experienced a crisis like the Yemen crisis before and have access to food. I can simply open my fridge and eat anything I want whereas the children during the Yemen crisis can’t and are doing everything they can to survive by finding shelter like the tents they are staying in.
Andrea A. (World Press Photo – top: Nicolas Asfouri, Hong Kong Unrest, 2019)
I think that this photo contains the element I chose because you can tell that the camera is slightly tilted up so it could focus on the poster . I think that the photographer used strengthening the perspective such as; allowing the focus to become unsharp to the distance. To achieve this element it doesn’t always have to focus on the middle as long as the photo itself attracts you to one direction only.
The first photo is a man protesting for people to wear a mask because for some reason their place banned wearing a mask. From my photo you can clearly see that the man isn’t wearing a mask and is close to the vendor. I just find it weird that there are people refusing to wear a mask when other people risk their lives to protest for people to realize that covid is real. My photo does not have the same element as the WP but they are connected in a different way. While i was taking this photo the man was yelling and was upset.
Abegale A. (World Press Photo – bottom: Alejandro Prieto, Roadrunner Approaching the Border Wall, 2019)
The first world press imagine that I picked goes along with the elements of design of texture. I think that texture fits well with this image because you can see the different textures within the wires on the left side, the little bits of grass and dirt and the sandy ground. You can see so much texture throughout this image with the long spiraling wire fence. It might not be obvious but you can also see the texture in the clouds in the sky in the background. I think the main quality of this image is the long fence that is the focal point and it is the first thing that I noticed when I saw this picture.
I shot this picture because it reminded me so much of the world press photo that I picked. I decided to replace the long wire fence with a long line of trees. These images have the same quality of having texture in the image. In the image that I shot is you can see the texture in the line of trees, the leaves on the ground as well as the grass. The images are also similar because they are shot almost the same way and the images are pretty balanced. I think that these images are connected because they are almost the same photo except mine is trees and the world press one is a wired fence. In each image, you can see in the distance that the trees and the fence just continue on for a long time.
Julian A. (World Press Photo – bottom: Heba Khamis, Black Birds, 2019)
The element that I chose for the world press photo is visual weight. The reason I chose this element is because there is clearly a focal point in the photo. The two people sitting on the log hugging is the main part of the photo. The element best describes this photo because it is the biggest eye grabber. Visual weight in this photo is what is really making the photo pop and takes up the visual attention. In the image there are two people hugging on a log in the middle of the forest. It seems to be a sad photo reflecting something. This is a great shot and the message is trying to be shown throughout the whole photo.
In this shot, it shows one person sitting on a broken-down tree. Only one person but in the world press photo, it shows two. This image connects to my world press photo I chose because it is also in the forest but with only one person sitting on the log instead of two. The reason there is only one person is that in life you can only really rely on yourself and to push yourself, your body and mind need to agree with you. Sometimes you don’t always need someone to rely on when you have yourself. Both photos have the same element which is the visual weight.
Ryan C. (World Press Photo – top: Brent Stirton, Pangolins in Crisis, 2018)
I think that the third World Press Photo I selected represents dynamic tension. I think that this photo represents this design element because of the way that the photo was shot, the angles of the trees are odd which makes them stand out and provide movement to the picture. Another technique the photographer used was shooting at a wide angle, this allows the trees, ripples in the water and the man also be visually pleasing. The man is the main focus of this image but without the movement from the water and the odd angles of the trees the image may not have been as interesting. Combining all of these techniques made the image eye popping and almost as if you were standing there taking the picture yourself.
My photo and the third World Press Photo I have selected are similar in design elements. I think that the photos have the same idea but are uniquely different. The biggest difference is that in the World Press Photo there is more going on in the background whereas my photo is shot from a lower angle and is more focused on the hill and the tone of the sky. The images are connected in terms of the main focus. In the photos the subjects don’t appear to notice that they are being photographed and remain doing what they are doing as if no one is photographing them. The images may only follow the same design element but the difference in the angles, different movements and subject matter are what make each of these photographs differently special.
Melina CB – (World Press Photo – top: Nayan Khanolkar, Big Cat in My Backyard, 2019)
The next World Press photo is Big Cat in My Backyard by Nayan Khanolkar. It depicts a leopard walking through a village near the national park it calls home. This photo is an example of “Dynamic Tension”.
In the photo, it shows the leopard is facing the left of the image, while the building faces towards the right. The photo I chose to go with it is a picture of two birds on a brick path in Toronto. The birds are facing different directions with the bricks creating a diagonal pattern.
I chose this photo because it shows a small fragment of nature amongst the man-made. Dynamic tension is created in both these photographs with the use of the energy in the various structures and using it to keep the eye alert and moving forward from the centre of the picture.
The leopard moving through the streets of a small town and the movement of the birds on the brick ground in the city create at first dynamic tension. But in most cases, dynamic tension in a photograph is strong and obvious at first but lacks the staying power and the eye is drawn quickly away to the next image.
Lilian D – (World Press Photo – top: Carl Gianferro)
The World Press Photo I chose was a photograph by photographer Carl Gianferro. This photo suits my chosen element balance because everything is equal. The woman and plant which are the focus of this photo hold your interest equally. One side isn’t heavier than the other. The balance in the composition is what makes the photograph very strong. Without balance in this photograph, it would feel like something is missing. One side of the photo would catch your attention more and could make the photo less appealing. This photo has shadows behind the plant and the woman that add dimension to the photo. This photo also has contrasting textures. You have soft textures like the clothes and rough textures like the stem of the plant.
The photo I took is of my grandparents. My photo is similar to the world press photo as they both have the element of balance. My picture is equally balanced as both sides catch your attention. One side doesn’t hold your attention more than the other. My photo is also similar to the world press photo as you have the contrast of smooth and rough textures. The rough textures are the wood and the smooth textures are the clothes. Where my photo differs is that I have two people in the photo whereas the other photo only has one person.
Hannah D – (World Press Photo – top: Matic Zorman, Waiting to Register, 2016)
One element that is shown a lot in Matic Zorman’s ‘Waiting to Register,’ is pattern. Pattern is created in the bars. In the photo the bars are set at an equal distance apart. This creates a pattern and directs the viewer’s eye around the photo. The bars draw the viewers up towards the girls hands as she clutches the bars, and then to her face as she is looking through the bars. Once you look at the girl’s face you start to follow her raincoat across her face and through the rest of the picture and back to the bars. This is a really good use of pattern, as the photographer uses the pattern in the bars to draw focus to the girl and the situation that she is in.
The girl in the picture is a refuge. In 2016 a lot of people were trying to escape the middle east and the violence brought there by terrorist organizations. This girl is leaving her home in hopes to find safety and peace in an unknown world. Today many people are trying to get back to their homes and loved ones as the pandemic has caused people to be separated from their loved ones or homes. People are now trying to get back to their homes to feel comfortable. In my photo, I tried to create a similar pattern to the bars with the window panes. The pattern draws the viewer’s eye up to the subject’s face so that the viewer can see that she is wearing a mask. This is also similar to the World Press Photo. In the world press photo, the girl is wearing a raincoat to protect her from the weather conditions. The raincoat gets blown by the wind and ends up covering her face in the photo. In my photo, the subject is wearing a mask to protect themselves from Covid 19. These similarities show how much things have changed since 2016. Back then people were fleeing their homes to get safety and now people stay in their homes for safety.
Matthew G – (World Press Photo – top: Adam Pretty)
I think this picture shows balance because of the ways the colours are both separated on each side of the image and are divided by snow which seems to make a white line separating both colours. This image to me looks like it fits the balance category but could probably fit in some others like the contrast.
I chose to shoot this image because I thought it was similar to the world press image, but also a bit different. I think both images show balance and a separation between the ground and the sky, one done with snow and mine done with the trees. Both images are outdoorsy but in their own way. The images overall look different but still have the same elements as one another, such as balance.
Colton J – (World Press Photo – right: Chuck Close, Kara Walker, 2008)
The second world press photo I have chosen to analyze is this photo of the silhouetted side profile of a lady. The main element I noticed right away in this photograph is contrast. It uses the dark colours created by the silhouette to be contrasted/compared to lighter colours in the background and because of it, it causes the lady to pop out of the picture a lot more and stand out. After the dark contrasting against the light catches your attention, your eye may begin to wander around the photo and the ladies head and you will notice that the photo isn’t just black and white as you may have thought from a quick glance. You begin to notice other colours such as blues, and greens and yellows, and can point out crisp details like individual hairs on the lady’s head which I think also assists the diversion of your attention.
These 2 photos are similar in many ways, but the main similarity is both of them having a great emphasis on the element of contrast. My photo does not emphasize and rely on contrast too much, but there is still a silhouette type effect being created with the sunset and my subject’s dark coloured hair. Contrast makes both of the photos pop and helps catch your attention in both, but in two different ways. In the world press photo, your attention is caught due to the dark colours because they take up the most primary space in the picture. In my photo your attention is grabbed by the bright colours of the sun shining into the camera and then once it has your attention, your eyes shift over to the silhouetted model. A feeling of flow and rhythm with the highlights at the bottom of her hair is also created and allows your focus to travel all around the photo after blurring off of the blinding, warm sunlight.
Colin L – (World Press Photo – top: Martin Roemers, Metropolis)
This picture shot in Mumbai, India shows how busy a marketplace is by creating a long exposure of the area. He shoots the picture from an intriguing perspective. The overhead shot displays where the heavy traffic areas are. The more blurry/flow a motion has, the more movement there is. This movement creates a dynamic tension between the moving people compared to the vendors and stationary people. The commotion of people moving around everywhere creates chaos. But it is also supported with the ease of people staying still. There is a considerable contrast between the two.
I believe there is a similarity between the two photos. There is a commotion in both pictures as well as objects staying still. The main idea of dynamic tension and the style of the photo taken is similar. The difference I believe is the location. One is shot in Mumbai, while the other is shot in Montreal. When you look at the two images, it reflects how different countries are. One is shot in a first world country while the other is a third world country. The culture and clothing of the people are apparent as well as one is wearing colourful long dresses and selling miscellaneous items on the street while the other is a train station wearing black, grey, and white tones. Although there are people moving around in both pictures, the difference in development is huge. I wanted to show the contrast between the two to show awareness.
Delan S
I think that this World Press image best suits my photo because in both these photos these people had to leave their homes and the others are in a pandemic but still find time to laugh and have fun.
This is a photo of me and a few of my classmates having fun hanging out at the McDonald’s parking lot since we can”t go to each other’s homes due to the pandemic. In my opinion I believe that this photo connects with the WP photo because, even though Abigail’s family had to evacuate their home and stay at a temporary evacuation centre she turned that bad situation into a good situation by enjoying herself and having fun with her friends. In my photo me and my friends were enjoying ourselves and having fun even though we are in the middle of a pandemic.
Sophia Y – (World Press Photo – top: Ivan Kurtov, Anatoly Golimbievsky)
The first photograph is one of veteran Anatoly Golimbievsky by Ivan Kurtov. We see 4 young cadets on one side of the photograph saluting a veteran, who is passing by. This picture is a good example of Balance vs Imbalance. The elements on the left are “stronger” since they have a bigger contrast with the background, are more numerous, and occupy a bigger area of their side of the photo. However, the lines in the background, the bridge, the water, the buildings, lead to the right side, which helps to balance the picture. Also, the subject on the right compensates for his smaller occupation of the space by being more interesting. We can see his whole face, which attracts the eye, he is unusual in that he has no legs, and he has many medals, which adds a texture and distinguishes him.
I pair it with a photograph of my great-grandmother, who is sitting on the couch and looking through an album. Both subjects are veterans during WII and have been through many horrors. Golimbievsky is showing physical damage from the war, since he lost his legs, and my great-grandma had many psychological wounds from it. Yet, we see that both are smiling and peaceful in their picture, they are not just survivors, but are able to overcome their experience. They wear their victory with pride. My great grandmother had 2 children and 2 grand-children, still the happiest day of her whole life remained on the 9th of May.
Those pictures do not have similarities in design, as one is the second picture has one subject, one strong element with none other to oppose it.
Ricardo Z – (World Press Photo – top: Ivan Kurtov, Anatoly Golimbievsky)
The second photograph I picked was taken by Olivier Papegnies and it is called “The Gouandé Gazelles.” The photo shows a young lady performing a soccer move in front of one of her relatives, the lady in question is part of a soccer team from Gouandé, a village in northern Benin that gives young women more control over their futures through sport. The picture uses the “looking and interest” element, showing in the background that their living conditions aren’t the best, it gives the audience a real look at what kids from Africa have to overcome to be in the world of sports like run down equipment, clothing etc.
The photo I used to pair up with the other shows a white suburban kid shooting a free throw. The difference between the two photographs is clear, one showcasing poverty and soccer, while the other showcases basketball in a fairly wealthy area. The ball is basically new, the clothing is expensive and the playing conditions are much better. The “looking and interest” element is also used in my photograph, although balance and content also play a big part in the picture.