Nick Kline
Undergraduate Student
Graphic Design/ Photography
Graphic Design and Photography student, Nick Kline enrolled in the Photographic Field Studies course at Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) in Newport, Summer term 2017. Kline decided to focus on invasive species, hoping to provide an educational opportunity through his art to teach people about the ocean.
“The silhouette is the invasive species (and) the rest of the image is the animal that it impacts. The photos are supposed to have a little bit of mystery, some abstractness. The visual interest is the hook, and the informational text block is the sinker.”
Kline explains his process: “I took macro photos of the animal that is being invaded on (in this case it is a basic mussel) and the image that I Photo-shopped in is highlighted is the animal that is invading (in this case a zebra mussel) this in harming the native species.”
Kline highly recommends this class because it is different from traditional studio classes. It also gives students a chance to understand the professional side of photography in a unique environment. “I get to see a little bit of how putting something up in a gallery works, the nitty gritty side, as well as what happens in the background of a place like Hatfield. I just got to look at another way of producing a photo project. It was eye opening.”