The Connector
The Connector

The Nailed It! series focuses on moments of personal victory, both big and small, that encourage us to keep pushing forward towards our goals, continue to tackle fears and to pleasantly surprise ourselves with our own awesomeness. Here we share triumphs over everyday struggles we encounter as SCAD students, as artists and as photographers.

Olivia Gamadanis, a B.F.A photography student, shares about getting out of her comfort zone.

“My real interest in photography didn’t start until I signed up for a class in high school. I didn’t expect to pursue it, but I ended up taking classes for the rest of my high school career. I started to gain a real grasp of the vastness of photography when I considered using photography to tell stories. With this in mind, I started branching out of my comfort zone of taking photos that were simple and “pretty.” Using my family’s abandoned property as a backdrop, I took on the challenge of creating an unusual narrative, something I had not done before. Having never been inside of the house, I was a little nervous about what I would find. It was a dark cold winter day, and the place was admittedly creepy. Despite being uncomfortable with this unchartered territory, literally and creatively, once I started shooting I began to love the results. Playing with the gentle light peeking through the windows was something I really enjoyed, and something I still try to incorporate in my photos today. In the end, I was so glad I tried something different, as the photos turned out better than I could imagine and helped me realize that photography was really something I loved and that I wanted to pursue.”

Olivia definitely Nailed It!