.
Photography and Text by David Pang, Copyright 2016
.
After completing my first year at Penn, I’ve learned two things about the school: time flies and appearances are everything. Everything that can be seen: clothes, grades, looks, is judged. Everything needs to be flawless. And we become so caught up in maintaining these appearances that before we even have time to enjoy ourselves, poof! The year is gone.
For my final project, I contrast both of these ideas through my images of nature, showing the world with all its flaws and in all its beauty. Through my use of infrared photography, I portray a world that cannot be seen with the naked eye and, thus, cannot be judged. Through long exposures, I force myself to slow down from the stress of Penn life. To me, nature is the antithesis of my first year of college. The clouds move lazily across the sky, the trees bend in the wind, all without a care in the world.
From this project, I hope to remind myself that there’s more to life than Penn. With three years to go, there is a strong possibility of forgetting this and being swallowed up by tests, papers, and projects. But there’s another side of life that I need to hold on to. The side of nature. Away from school and human achievement. Away from judging stares and the pursuit of perfection. In nature, there is no mold of perfection, only beauty. There is no sense of urgency, only the present.
In nature, I just am.
.
About The Author: David Pang is a freshman enrolled in the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2019. To read additional articles by David Pang, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/david-pang-boston-ill-back/