These self-portraits, the urban setting, and the pictures of nature were inspired by All the Bright Places. In some of the self-portraits, I’m holding the book and I’m seated on my bay window where the sunlight was adding a radiant affect to my face. These particular photos were inspired by Violet’s nickname, “Ultraviolet Remarkey-able,” as well as one of my personal favorite quotes from the book: “You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.”

I tried to be somewhat creative with the last self-portrait. I used the image overlay feature on my camera to overlap a photo of flowers on my face. The photo of the flowers was taken when I was exploring my favorite creek.

As I captured the moment of the bird seated on a tree branch, I instantly thought of Finch and his iconic quote: “I am on the highest branch.” This is one of my favorite photos in this collection.

Something I tend to do while reading books is visualize how certain things described in the book would look like in reality. When the scene with the Before I Die wall was described as well as the scene with the World’s Largest Ball of Paint, I pictured lots of bright colors splattered on a wall. This collection of photos includes a wall covered in graffiti that I found in San Francisco. The urban atmosphere and luminous colors of this wall quickly took my mind to All the Bright Places and Finch’s rules of wandering. There’s an instance in the book where he says, “Even the smallest places mean something,” and I was reminded that no matter how grand or small a place is, the importance should be in its beauty and appreciation.