Senior Anthony Reynoso has taken all years of photography classes. The photo “Bundle of My Roots” has creativity and the little details that go with it are mind-blowing. When shooting this photo, passion and determination is evident in the line of art, and in the inspiration behind it.  

“I started experimenting with my phone camera, because I developed an interest in making memories “last.” At the time, I was going through some personal challenges in my life, and photography helped me find peace. Later on, my mom bought me my very first camera, and that moment really started my journey with photography,” Reynoso said.

 Reynoso’s mom inspired what was to come next: Taking photography classes at H-F.

 “I’ve gone through the full photography program at my school, including Photo 1, Photo 2 and Digital Concentration. I also took AP 2-D Art, which really helped me learn how to add meaning and symbolism to my artwork and think more deeply about the message behind my photos,”Reynoso said.

Ultimately this path gave Reynoso the tool he needed to make “Bundle of My Roots”. Reynoso used his knowledge of film to make the compositional choices for the photo.

“It took a few different angles to get the shot right because of the lighting,” Reynoso said.  “In the end, we decided to place the light above, which gave the photo a more cinematic look. The hardest part was probably getting the yarn to stack the way we wanted it to, but the model, Amy Garcia, did an amazing job.”

Reynoso wanted to represent Garcia’s Mexican heritage and her crochet artwork in the photo and came up with creative ways to symbolize this important part of Garcia’s portrait. 

“I wanted to represent her culture through her form of art and show the deep connection she has to it. The blurred background represents how people may know she is Mexican, but don’t always see the deeper details of her identity. The yarn balls in the colors of the Mexican flag become the central focus, symbolizing both her culture and her creativity,” Reynoso said.