Max Mitchell

Introspective Isolation

My name is Max Mitchell, a second-year student majoring in Digital Media Production. Every place I go, I become inspired by the beauty around me, whether that be the architecture, a person, or a landscape. The surrounding areas speak to me, and I capture what they give. Most of my pictures just happen- there is not any preparation or preliminary notions of what I want to capture. There are different moods and energies that I feel in any given location, and I harness this emotion through my camera. There can be different interpretations or varying feelings that my pictures evoke, depending on the person viewing them. My primary medium is digital media – specifically video and photography. When taking a picture, I constantly think about composition and framing, which elevates a photograph.

This photo was taken in Atlanta, Georgia on 35mm film. I was driving back home from school and stopped in Atlanta to visit my brother. While he was in class, I spent a couple days exploring the city and surrounding areas by myself. I enjoy history, so I strolled through the Atlanta History Center. The center has several buildings on the grounds including a wood cabin where this picture was taken. The foreground contains an empty wooden cabin, with light spilling in from the doorway. The doorway reveals a remote forest and an empty rocking chair framed within the door.

I entitled this picture Introspective Isolation because the image speaks emotions of solitude and contemplation. I imagine an apparition of a bygone era sitting in the chair, rocking back and forth, reflecting on who they were. Walking through the empty house was both haunting and peaceful. The whole time I thought about who lived here and what they did, but I was also appreciating the sounds of the wind and birds and felt the warm Georgia springtime.