LAKES REU: Environment Through a Camera Lens

If you ask my friends and family what I like to do for fun, they’ll all tell you that I am an avid photographer. Five years ago I got my first camera (Canon Rebel T3i) because my family’s old one broke, and we needed to be able to take high def pictures on special occasions. I first played with the camera like it was a toy, pressing the buttons and twisting the lens back and forth. I didn’t know what I was doing and wanted to take pictures properly without the automatic settings, so I surfed the Internet for countless hours watching YouTube tutorials and reading about aperture, focal length, ISO, shutter speed, composition, etc. To practice what I’ve learned, I brought my camera with me everywhere I went (in one year I took about 2500 photos) to the point that everyone knew about my hobby. People started to ask and even paid me to take pictures for them, from family portraits to senior pics. I saved money from these small gigs to buy better equipment, and over the years my collection has grown to 2 camera bodies and 5 lenses.

I fell in love with photography because it showed me my potential for creativity (which I thought was nonexistent) but also forced me to become more aware of my environment. I often take portraits outside, so during photoshoots I am always scoping out the location for spots with good natural backgrounds. This habit of constantly observing my surroundings is what led me to notice some unpleasant environmental characteristics of my urban hometown. I planned a senior photoshoot at Hilltop Park because it has an expansive view of Long Beach, but the sky in my photos didn’t come out as blue as I liked because of the gray smog that covered the entire city. When I took pictures of my friends at Seal Beach, I couldn’t help but wonder why the water was murky and brown there but not at beaches down south like Dana Point.

This hyperawareness of physical surroundings is what sparked my interest in environmentalism. I first recognized environmental problems visually through photography and later learned about much more through political attention and courses from Oxy’s Urban & Environmental Policy Department. When I decided to major in economics, it was obvious that out of its many subfields environmental economics could help address my growing concerns about air/water pollution and climate change. A research career in this subfield is how I currently imagine myself best contributing to the efforts for sustainability. Economic arguments are powerful because it can bring people across the political spectrum all together on the same page, so as a future economist I hope to produce work that can be used to craft a convincing argument for environmental policies and regulations.

I have to thank my family’s old broken camera for getting me into photography which then got me interested in environmental issues. I really regret not bringing my camera to Menomonie (when packing I didn’t think I would have much leisure time to take photos). Since I wrote a lot about how I’m into photography, I should probably show some photos that I’ve taken.