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America's Favorite Photos · Exposure Grant

Sayf Farooq

Sayf Farooq

I am a freshman student and amateur photographer with a broken camera and an interest in capturing everything I see. I love to take photos more than anything else, but I am no one-track character; I am a jack of many trades, master of none. Crochet, amateur sketching, editing, I'm into it all.

Railroad Tracks

Railroad Tracks

First Avenue Trolley station during snowstorm

Fritters

Fritters

Lentil fritters in natural light.

Graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti in downtown area.

Studio

Studio

The studio setup where I work.

Downtown

Downtown

Just a view of PPG Place outside my school.

Barnacles on Branch

Barnacles on Branch

Barnacles or shells on a branch I found along the Manongahela.

Bridge Over River

Bridge Over River

One of the bridges over the Manongahela.

Incandescent vs Fluorescent Light

Incandescent vs Fluorescent Light

The lamp in my bedroom uses two different bulbs, here is the contrast.

Ray of Sunshine on Table

Ray of Sunshine on Table

The sun shining on my kitchen island through the window.

Desert and Flowers

Desert and Flowers

Traditional desert framed by flowers.

Since I can remember, I've wanted to be a photographer. When I was younger I'd take my mom's phone to snap photos of everything I could see. Eventually, she gave me her old digital camera, which I still use to this day for every photo. When that's not available, I use my smartphone. Either way, as I grew, my proficiency with my tools increased, and I found myself taking better and better photos. I have not won a competition yet, but I know if I take a good photo, I can get there. The reason I would like to be considered for this grant is because I believe the $1,000 I win would help me replace my camera lens, or at least get it fixed. See, the larger lens works great, but the smaller lens has a broken focus ring, so its depth of field cannot be adjusted. For this reason, any photos I take with it are often blurry, and I am not often able to photograph with it. If I could fix the focus ring, my range and style of photos would expand greatly, and I could improve my craft even more. I hope this helps, and I hope you consider my application. Thank you so much for your time.