My name is Claire O'Brien. I take a photography class at my middle school. I love pictures with bold composition and great color. Photography is really about emotions though. To me, good pictures capture a moment or a feeling. That doesn't necessarily mean that it is of a person showing great emotion but just of something beautiful that takes your breathe away.

That said, my favorite subject matter is people. Not just portraits, but just people doing cool artsy things. Inanimate objects are not my favorite but part of being a good photographer is being able to take anything and make it look beautiful and interesting.

My favorite inanimate object to shoot is probably water. Water fascinates me and I love capturing the perfect ripple in the lake or the moment when a droplet joins the rest of the water.

Another concept that I really enjoy in photography is just that, concept. I like a picture that has meaning and makes you think about what was going on in the seconds before and after the shot was taken.

Something I absolutely can't stand on photography is over-edited pictures. I do use Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 to edit most of my pictures but I usually just do touch up. I very much dislike the effect over effect over effect look that some photographers like to use. I also don't like the super over-saturated look that makes the photo look so abstract and color-fied that it just hurts your eyes.

I use a Nikon 3100 for most of the pictures that I take. I have used other cameras but the Nikon is definitely my favorite.

As a high school-er I hope to continue taking pictures and capturing the brilliance that is in the world.