Agnes Lam
shadows and petals
I really love art, from sculptures and crafts to paintings and photos. For me, art isn’t just a ‘pretty piece’ but a way to express things words can’t quite capture. What I wanted to capture was, in fact, a photo worth a thousand words. The driving force behind the creation of my pieces was my desire to convey the
powerful emotions often found in today’s society. My desire to make this photograph relatable and personally relevant informed my decision to use humans as the main focus of the image. I wanted the audience to be able to take away a feeling of loneliness and disappointment and be more aware of people who are alone, whether at school or at work.
Angela Qu
The Streets of Barcelona
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In this photograph, my intention and goal was to bring an appreciation of the light and shadows
created by architectural buildings in the streets of Europe. My recent trip to Barcelona gave me the
opportunity to capture the unique infrastructure and nature of the city for the first time. I got to explore the beautiful city with my peers, learn, and visit famous artifacts. As I walked through the city streets, I noticed that when the sun hit the surface of the buildings, it reflected back to me a shadow shaping the structure. By highlighting these shapes with their depth and dimension, I hope you will allow yourself to feel as if you are walking through the streets of Europe and are reminded of a time you cherish
Anna Marie Calaro
A Night Walk
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When the world is turned upside down and the midnight oil burnt out. When a new day begins to dawn and the scent of morning dew infuses the air. When warm rusted hues go from a nuisance to nostalgia. A rekindled hope arises, with novel dreams just over the horizons; seemingly impossible, improbable, yet always within reach.
Ava Cao
Illumination
The driving force behind my work was the principle of beauty. Beauty is always everywhere within
the universe, in the simple form of existence, even in the smallest sizes. Shadow and Light is obviously the main foundation of the concept, but I allowed my interpretation to be subjective. My idea was to connect using the idea of astronomy as a form of expressing my thoughts. The Sun and Moon relates to this topic because as we all know, as one of the most iconic stars of the universe the Sun shines the brightest in the daytime, giving the Earth natural light. Meanwhile, the Moon is only seen when night comes, and is often compared to be the opposite of the Sun. During the phases of its cycle, the phases can make it only partially visible to the human eye, essentially creating its own “shadow”. Another fun fact I’d like to mention is that when you stand in certain directions outside while the Sun is shining, your body creates a shadow.
Elain Dong
Streetlights
In this photo, I’ve captured the night where the streetlights are bright. This reminds me of the
times when I walked home with friends after going to the park or after a long day of hanging out, playing and walking around the same street shown in the photo. The shadow and light in my photograph are metaphors for the positive and negative aspects of my personal experiences with friendship. No matter how dark the times, my friends were always there to support and encourage me through them. Just like how
light eventually overpowers the shadow when it’s daytime, friendship strengthens and overpowers other conflicts and problems. Friendship to me is a warm bubbly and joyful feeling that I wanted to implement into my photo. The light in my landscape photograph represents the warm and joyful memories that my friends brought me.
Elizabeth Fry
The Light
My idea for my photograph was to take a portrait somewhere downtown. I find that in downtown,
you can find many different beautiful sights with the buildings and the people because it is very busy. My theme is curiosity, and I think that my portrait shows how there are so many different questions that the world throws at us. My photo demonstrates shadow and light because of the type of light that I have used. Personally, I have a lot of experience taking pictures of landscapes, and the spot where I ended up taking my photo was on the highway, near downtown Toronto. I made my photo black and white so that when you see it, you are able to see the shadow and light.
Eric Wen
Desolate Hall
The inspirations for my work were photos of man made environments like cities, streets of cars
and busy people, or live events near town halls and famous city points. By taking all the people and busyness away, you’re left with a silent and desolate area. These photographs can be altered or given different props to give a hidden meaning of tone of emotion. My example is the Toronto City Hall. I took a picture there with my family during an event downtown. I altered the photo to be devoid of people. A City Hall is known to be busy filled with politicians, businessmen, tourists or residents coming from different areas for their own purpose. By removing this attribute, a once known as a busy or almost filled area becomes devoid of any sign of life.
Evan He
River Under Sunset
Photography is also an art, and I like to photograph things at dusk. The light of the setting sun shines on the earth, making everything in the world look extremely beautiful.
Hailan Wen
Schooling Fish
I am just deeply saddened by the sense of inevitable stagnation that seems to pervade the human species and how people have slowly begun to lose faith in themselves as the harbingers of their own realized desires. We’ve convinced ourselves that there is nothing left to do — that because we were born too late to explore the earth and too early to explore the stars — we must content ourselves with nothing, a living death, as life itself begins to forget us. The pursuit of knowledge, freedom, and truth will lead to a path where one is bound to suffer, but it is ultimately a path that is walked by choice. It’s the realization of the latent agency of the individual — something that the world at large seems to be actively attempting to withhold from us. I believe that there is something beautiful to be found, just beyond the shadow cast by our inhibitions. The carousel will never stop spinning — not as long as we continue to spin with it.
Isadora Zhang
A Light I Saw
Sometimes you can’t help but feel alone. But in the darkness of one’s seclusion, a sliver of hope may yet present itself as a beam of radiance gleaming in the shadow. I, the subject, am no stranger to this dynamic. In despair, hope stands out like a light in the dark murk, and that is what I wish to project the most in my photograph. It is my hope that this sentiment resonates with all who have felt distant from the light. And perhaps they will be reminded that even a tiny flame may be enkindled and spread its warmth to depths most light can’t reach.
Ivan Qiu
Untitled
The camera becomes a tool for self-reflection in this nighttime setting, turning the quiet of the night into a canvas of soft tones and light. The picture shows a peaceful moment of rest in the city when the night’s veil hides the busy skyline. The piece reflects on the lights and shadows of everyday life; the unseen
glare between the artificial lights and the shadows they create, inviting the viewer to find comfort in how
the obvious and the invisible interact. The city has many points of light, each telling a story of distance and closeness, of being alone in a town full of people. This picture doesn’t just show the time and place; it’s also a tribute to the quiet nature of the world when it’s not busy. This world lives next to the noise and chaos of the day and is just as full of stories and mysteries.
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Jaycee Cheung
The Veil in Light
This planet and the natural form of the areas around us are the most beautiful and cherished
thing to me. I love to express the beauty that nature has to offer. Through photography, one short moment that can become something calming and delicate. In creating this work, I searched for the perfect moment where I could capture photos that shine bright and create a scene that emphasizes the elegance of light and
shadow most. As the sun begins to set it creates a veil of light over the clouds. The light beams through from top to bottom creating a sense of comfort and graceful atmosphere. A scene that almost looks heavenly.
Kayla Mabaquiao
Untitled
Shadow and light, two opposites that correspond with each other to make up our world. Modernity
and tradition, also two opposites that work with each other to make up our world. As a growing and developing society, we lean towards the light, towards modernity, but sometimes we forget about the traditions and culture we leave behind. Though Japan is a very developed and modern country, its culture and traditions are highly preserved and kept safe. My photograph captures one of the many long paths of Torii gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is also The Gateway to Sacred Grounds. The light peeking past the gates, shining on the woman in the beautiful Kimono, focusing your attention on her rather than the people wearing all black outfits. I intend to share a hint of the beautiful culture Japan has to offer as well as give a sense of awareness to the many cultures we preserve in our world.
Lydia Wang
Untitled
This photograph I captured by the beach shows contrasting moments in nature. The sunset
and its bright light reflect on the water while the darkness of the night slowly creeps in. Within the shadow is a glimmer of light, and for me, small moments like these are important to remember. These moments are part of who I am, and the journey I’ve been through. My inspiration for the photograph was my love of nature. Things in nature that we tend to ignore hold strong meanings. I believe that paying attention to the
little things that happen around us is what we should focus on. Some of my best memories are of spending time outdoors during the spring and summer and I cherish and enjoy every moment. They may be small; but will stay with me forever.
Kevin Zou
Untitled
As an artist whose inspiration stems from a genuine love of nature’s natural beauty, my artwork intends to take viewers to a moment of calmness. It is a photograph of a single tree facing a peaceful and quiet pond with its reflection casting gentle shadows. I decided to add a slight vignette effect and modify the saturation levels to make it feel like it was taken on an old style film camera. My piece was inspired by the delicate interplay of light and shadow in the scene. The purpose of these deliberate editing choices was to evoke feelings of nostalgia in the audience, encouraging viewers to connect to the scenery and maybe
reflect back on their own outdoor adventures.
Maddi Campbell
Enchanting Night in the Mist
Capturing the essence of a misty night, this photo invites viewers to embrace the beauty of the unknown. The soft glow of the streetlights creates a dreamlike atmosphere, a sense of wonder and curiosity. It’s a moment frozen in time, where reality and imagination intertwine, leaving us captivated by the enchanting night.
Nabeela Fatima
The Versatility of a Pond
My piece is called The Versatility of a Pond. My intent was to capture a picture that encapsulates nature and spring, and I feel that I did it pretty well with this picture. Growing up, I’ve always felt connected to and in love with nature and animals, like most little kids. As I grew older, I displayed this feeling in my photography.
This photo was taken at a park near my house that I visit quite often. I chose the title of the photo because it shows the complexity of life forms that can coexist in a small place, such as a pond, with the different types of ducks and seaweed. The shadow of the tree and swamp correlates with the shadow of the colour of the patterns and flowing water. The message I wanted to convey through my photography is
that there’s layers of beauty and perfection, shadow and light, in even the tiny things you might disregard, such as a duck pond at your favourite park.
Ruth Vinoth
Untitled
When I visited Sri Lanka as a child, I never really perceived the country’s beauty. However, upon
returning from my recent visit, I received a newfound appreciation and awe for my Motherland. My perception matured, allowing me to observe the unseen beauty and rich culture of the environment that had always existed but was once overlooked. My ambition for this piece was to display the inner beauty within nature, unveiling the culturally rich narrative behind the diverse landscapes of Sri Lanka, the place my parents once called home. I wanted to dive deeper than surface-level beauty and capture the history behind it all. Every current carries its own story, and the winds whisper secrets of old. The transcriptions of the past are
engraved into the mountains, and the leaf riding the breeze unfolds a tale of adventure. If we can perceive a beauty unseen and hear a story untold, we will find value in unlikely places we would have never thought of, like the gift of nature itself.
Sana Mughal
LoneLily
As an artist, I tend to create art when I’m bored or when I want people to see a deep meaning
in life. I like to create many sorts of designs, but mostly work that explores mental health issues or problems we face in life. I like to show others that they aren’t alone. For this piece of art, Rinko Kawauchi was the artist who really inspired me. In her practice, Kawauchi normally observes objects and finds meaning in them, and so do I. This work explores loneliness, specifically a girl named Lily walking alone on a rainy day with nothing but herself and her umbrella. I consider the trees and light as other people “around her” but in reality, she’s all by herself and doesn’t have anyone to walk with. This piece really defines loneliness in my eyes.
Sara Chen
Trapped Inside
For this work, I drew inspiration from my observations of both natural and artificial light. I want to share with everyone that social media isn’t everything and that there are bigger things out there. In the photo, we see the figure engaged with a Chromebook, engaged in the artificial light from the screen while the beauty of the natural light goes unnoticed. We have become so glued to our screens that it has led us to pay less attention to the things around us. Because of this, we haven’t been truly able to appreciate the beauty of nature, letting worthwhile moments slip past our fingers.
Susanna Cen
Shelter from the Storm
Art is incredibly diverse. Everyone has their own unique style and their preferred mediums.
Artmaking is also a way for me to escape reality, put my emotions out there, and bring my imagination to life, which, to me, makes art so beautiful. The inspiration for this photograph came from my desire to find protection in this complicated world, as the umbrella is a source of hope and shelter from the storms of life. Even when a person feels alone, there will always be someone or something to help get them through it. And as the road through life is very bumpy and challenging, I wanted to dedicate this photo to that because I know many others can also relate.
Tay-shawn Rodney James
the river of sound
I am a grade 10 student who is currently going to Agincourt Collegiate Institute. The artwork
I created is a picture I got close to at my old school. It was a river, and I wanted my art to show nature. My inspiration is Ansel Adams, and the reason is how open and spaced out his art is. It also helps with the use
of shadows and light; for example, White Stump and Dunes, Hazy Sun, White Sands National Monument. But it was also nature and just how peaceful and relaxing it can be. The message I want to give the viewer is
about nature and just why you should go outside, whether for a walk or more, because it can also help with your mental health, physical health, and more.
Trevion Rodney James
looks are deceiving
I love trying different types of art, and this one took the cake. When I was coming up with my
final vision for this project, I concluded that I should do something about the problems young people tend to face in their homes. So I got my phone, started drawing my ideas, and landed on two rocks with different shadows and sandpaper, which is an example of how some people can be good at hiding problems that need to be solved or addressed. The inspiration behind the style of my work was Ansel Adams’ use of lighting,
depth, and texture. My message is to show young people they can get help and live a better life, and keeping problems to themselves can be very detrimental. In conclusion, I’m glad I’m a part of this assignment.
Zuha Zubair
Reflections of Resilience
My photograph reflects my personal journey and the struggles faced by many in my community.
As an artist, I explore the complexities of identity, particularly within cultural and societal expectations. My inspiration arises from my own experiences and from artists like Shirin Neshat, who confront identity and oppression. The driving force behind my work is challenging stereotypes and misconceptions around hijab-wearing individuals. Through powerful imagery of my mother before a mirror, I convey the internal conflict of many Muslim women, caught between their vibrant exterior and the distorted self-image shaped by societal prejudices. My message is one of empowerment and self-awareness. I want viewers to understand the emotional toll of living in a world that questions and diminishes one’s identity. By depicting a cracking mirror and blurred reflection, I hope to encourage introspection and empathy, urging viewers to confront their biases and recognize the resilience and strength of those who refuse to be defined by external judgments.