Virtual Synergy 4

Over the past 4 months, during the pandemic, I have been making photographs using Zoom as my studio. The longer we spend in quarantine the more my photo portrait series grows, and the more I experiment with this new photo environment.

JENNA ARVELO

Jenna is an incredible artist and a beautiful model, who I was lucky to meet at Rutgers. I was always fascinated with her work, and when I called her through Zoom, I instantly got inspired to create something that will represent her artistic nature. In the background of her room I saw a few paintings and decided to implement that in the photo collage. I quickly grabbed semi-transparent tracing paper, a couple of markers and blue pastel pieces to create abstract compositions. I moved the pieces around, ripped, and added more to create interaction between the model and the drawings. At some point I even painted with watercolors, which happened to dry out instantly into droplets, straight on my screen to create an effect of even closer connection. With this new technique she truly became a part of the digital painting. Discovering such a simple solution allowed me to see that there is no limit to this – I can use any painting/drawings supplies and the compositions and ideas will always come out different. It’s a new field of experimentation! Jenna inspired me to combine the physical and virtual worlds even further by creating digital paintings.

ANGELINA ROMANOVA

Angelina and I have been friends for almost a decade. We met in school and physically parted ways when I moved from Russia to the USA. However, distance didn’t separate us. We know we have each other’s back in times of struggle and need and are always there together to celebrate all accomplishments. It was only natural when I asked who else wanted to become a part of the series that she replied with enthusiasm, “Me!” Taking photos of my best friend was easy, fun and felt like a part of me was truly there, in Russia, laughing on the couch next to her. I experimented again, this time cutting Russian letters out from alphabet tape. I formed sentence “Where am I?” to create a narrative and play with typography. At some point I took my old kaleidoscope and quickly learned that it is possible to create all sorts of funky effects by using it. Angelina teleported my spirit into Saint Petersburg and allowed me to feel connected yet again despite such a long distance between us.

RYAN SHAWN

Ryan was the first stranger I took photos of through Zoom. We “met” through Instagram and both really enjoyed each other’s content. He records beautiful videos of nature, going camping and hiking with his photo and video gear. We would constantly show virtual support to each other, yet he was a complete mystery book when I invited him to be my model. Ryan turned out to be a professional model without him knowing it! Following the same technique that I used with Jenna, I tried to represent Ryan’s love for adventure by including little pastel drawings. I used orange and brown hues to compliment his room colors. During the photoshoot I experimented with a flexible ruler as a special effects element that would reflect or alter the image in an unpredictable way. This photoshoot showed that meaningful connection is possible through Internet in the era of the digital age.