I love photography and I decided to use ISM this year as a way to pursue this interest of mine more seriously. For our first project of the year, original work, we have to come up with a product related to our topic that is beneficial to society or the community. I chose to create a digital portfolio consisting of a compilation of photographs of scenic/possible tourist areas in Frisco.

At first, I thought Frisco wouldn’t be enough. My original idea was to photograph the entire DFW area. Then, I narrowed it down to just a few cities: Frisco, Plano, McKinney, and Allen. When I started making a list of all the places I wanted to shoot, I realized that Frisco actually would have plenty of locations that I could photograph. Surprised but intrigued, I decided to only photograph the Frisco area.

Frisco Central Park, Frisco Heritage Museum, The Star.

Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I actually had to cross off some locations on my list. This made me realize that Frisco actually has a lot of nice areas that are overlooked or maybe not even known about. This revelation added a new side to the goal of my original work: remind Frisco citizens about the beauty of their own home.

I’ve shot at quite a few places now, some of the most interesting being Frisco Commons Park, Frisco Square, and Texas Sculpture Garden. I’m almost done with my list, and I can definitely tell you that I’m actually bummed. I’ve had so much fun this past week going to new locations and seeing the different things that can be done, and with all of this being in my own city? The city that I’ve lived in for almost my whole life? It’s mildly but nicely shocking. 

I’m really grateful for this project. It’s allowed me to view Frisco in a new light, a perspective different from “Oh, Frisco’s so boring.” As a photographer now, I have all of these locations that I can shoot in my back pocket, whether it be of people or of the actual area, and these places are all in one city! Frisco is actually really interesting… you just have to see it from a new lens.