The theme/concept for what made me uncomfortable and attempted to photograph was my fear of open windows at night. While taking these pictures I started by turning off the lights in my friend's apartment which instantly made me feel uncomfortable as the blinds were already open, this gave me a full view of the outside of the apartment which overlooks the alumni woods at purchase with the occasional streetlights on the road behind the woods. I then had my friend, Jason Mizwa, put on my trench jacket and a hat to cover his face which at first did not unnerve me too much until I realized how much a striking resemblance he then had to a serial killer from a movie called “The collector” whos face covering is another thing that makes me feel uncomfortable because of how fleshy it appeared to be in the movie. The act of going outside to the back area of this apartment also made me uncomfortable as being so close to the woods at that time of night (12 am) wether I was on campus or not was a very eerie feeling. This theme was not the first that I had chosen as I previously was contemplating doing the concept of being too close to people in tight spaces such as elevators or smaller rooms. However, after having the reminder of this particular fear instilled in me from a horror short animation I had watched years ago called “ I am a 911 operator” by snarled, in which a man is on the phone with the police while a smiling man stands outside of his window and another horror short called "Don't look away by Christopher Cox, I knew that I resonated with this fear on a more innate level than the other. My discomfort influenced these images through the choice of taking these pictures at a slower shutter speed and at night which was not too complicated once I had the help of the street lights and my camera's flash. Overall I did enjoy doing this project and while it did not at all help me overcome my fear or discomfort, it was cool to be able to have more control over my fear than usual.
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