Academic Shoot Preview Assignment Part 2

My favorite picture was the "Melancholy" picture because it's really visually appealing. There are two beakers on both sides and they are being poured into a larger beaker in the middle. It shows balance and it focuses only on the subject - the background is blurred out.

1. I could take photos in a classroom or outside.
2. I would like to take pictures in any classroom where there is interesting stuff going on, for example, a lab or experiments as opposed to test taking and powerpoint notes.
3. I would use the rules of photography and make sure the subject is in focus and doing something interesting and I would make sure the picture is visually appealing.

Academic Shoot Preview Assignment

The Story

This picture tells a story because it shows a girl performing an action (picking up trash). It makes you wonder why she is picking up trash. Maybe there was recently an event like a festival that created a lot of trash or she was part of a club that picked up trash.

Action and Emotion

I think this picture shows the most emotion because it has two girls, both of them with looks of excitement and amazement on their faces. They are excited/amazed because they were doing a water lab that sent water everywhere.

Filling the Frame

This picture fills the frame because it has things happening on both sides and the subjects really fill the frame. The students/volunteers are on the left and the homeless are on the left, receiving food.

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

There are many examples of photographers that try to digitally manipulate their photos. Most of the time, this is not good. For example, one photographer edited a picture of a baseball team praying before a game because they lost some team mates in a car crash. In the background, there were some people whose legs had been removed digitally. When it is found that photographers digitally manipulate their photos, they are usually faced with consequences like losing their jobs.

I think this type of editing is unethical because it basically lies to the viewer. In some cases, it might also harm the subject of the picture, like if a picture of someone important was digitally edited to make it look like they were doing drugs, they'd get into a lot of trouble and get a bad reputation.

Brian Walski

I think this picture was the most unethical because the way the photo is edited makes it look like the soldier is going to harm the child or the man. 

John Filo

I think this picture is the least unethical because unless there is something other than the brightness/contrast that is changed, this picture isn't that bad. I think there is just a difference in this picture because different magazines thought there was a better way for the picture to look in terms of brightness/contrast.

Post Shoot Reflection

1. I struggled with finding a subject for all four of the prompts, but I think I struggled the most with trying to find one for metal.

2. I tried to focus on filling the frame to make the pictures more interesting. I also tried to focus on rule of thirds because it's a pretty easy rule to apply to pictures, but it makes pictures look a lot more interesting.

3. Now that I know more about the general rules of photography, I would try to apply rule of thirds even more and I would also try to apply framing, because it seems really fascinating and it seems to make pictures easier and better to look at.

4. I would still try to fill the frame and I would do most things the same, but I would try to apply photography rules a little bit more. I would also try to take pictures at different angles and come up with better ideas for pictures.

5. I am interested in shooting the same prompts again because now I have different techniques and ideas that I can apply to them.

I looked at Diego's pictures and commented on them.

I thought his pictures were really nice and I liked the colors. I also liked how he kind of thought outside of the box for his pictures. He could, however, changed the subject on some pictures like the Bowie one.

"The Falling Man" Reactions

       I found "The Falling Man" very interesting because it made me wonder what he was thinking when he decided to jump out of the building. Looking at the picture also made me wonder how many other people jumped out of the Twin Towers and what happened to them and their families. It was also nice to see different view points from the different stories.

Composition 9/11

Rule of Thirds

This is a good example of rule of thirds because the Twin Towers are not centered in the picture, but put off to one side. This draws your attention to the building/smoke and it makes the photo more interesting by showing more smoke and a lot of buildings. 

Lines

In this picture, the lines of the clouds and the lines of the building lead to the gaping hole. The lines add to the picture and make it more interesting.

Balance

This picture shows balance because there are cars on both sides of the picture and the sign is right in the middle. This draws your attention to the sign and cars and makes the picture look visually appealing.

Simplicity

This photo shows simplicity because it just focuses on the building and there is nothing in the background. It focuses our attention on the building and the smoke coming out of it.

Avoiding Mergers

This an example of mergers because the subject is this same color as the background. It makes it a little more confusing to look at.

Framing

This photo shows framing because the lamp post and buildings frame the smoke and debris. It really draws your attention to what's happening.

National Geographic

This was my favorite photo because it's really interesting to look at. I like how the photographer had one side of the photo show inside the bus and the other show the outside. I also like how you can see the outside rush by.

If I were to submit a picture that I took, I would take a picture of a forest/a bunch of trees.

Touching People

1. I thought that this project was a cool idea and it was very interesting to look at the pictures and everyone's different poses.

2. If someone asked me to participate in a photo shoot and touch a stranger, I'd feel a little uncomfortable.

3. You could bring around a random object and tell different people to pose with it to see how people interact with it differently.

4. I thought that the photos were very good, because everyone posed differently and it was interesting to look at the backgrounds as well.

Top 40 Photos

Kim Ho-Young

1. I chose this picture because I thought it was a really powerful image and it really captured the effects of the war on families.

2. I really like the way the photographer had the crying man on the left and his relative in the background on the right because it lets you see more than you would if the man were in the middle.

3. I think this picture made the top 40 photos because it's interesting to look at and it shows how separation from the war affected people.

Eric Gay

1. I chose this picture because it shows how Hurricane Katrina affected everyone of all age and race.

2. I like how there are many people in the background of this picture and the placement of the subjects.

3. I think this made the top 40 photos because it's a really powerful image and Hurricane Katrina was a really important event.

Stan Honda

1. I chose this photo because it's really interesting to look at and it's just a really happy picture.

2. I like how there are no people in the background and how Siegel and Kopelov are in the center of the picture.

3. I think this made the top 40 photos of all time because it's a really nice picture and same-sex marriage is a pretty controversial topic.

First Prompt Shoot

Square

In this picture, there are lines that lead to the subject and the subject fills up the frame. There is also a bit of rule of thirds. The roof/top also frames the sky so that adds color to the picture and makes it interesting.

Happy

The ice cream machine in this picture fills up the frame, but there aren't really any other rules of composition that I could find.

Bowie

This picture has subjects that fill the frame and there's also examples of leading lines that can be found on the roof and some rule of thirds.

Metal

I don't think this picture shows any rules of compositions, except maybe lines.

Warm-up

1. I thought that it was a very good idea and it was interesting to look at.
2. When I first looked at the pictures, it did take me a second to realized what I was looking at.

Great Black and White Photographers -- Part 2

Robert Adams was born Orange, New Jersey in May 8, 1937. At the age of 12, he got polio but eventually recovered, though he still had some medical issues such as asthma problems. He attended the University of Colorado, University of Redlands and University of Southern California and got a Ph.D. in English. In 1960, he married a Swedish woman named Kerstin Mornestam. While teaching English at a college, Adams bought a camera and started taking pictures of nature and buildings. He learned more about photography as his interests spiked and eventually came to work as a full-time photographer. Adams published many books, like Why People Photograph and Summer Nights.

The Camera

The Camera

1. The "camera obscura" effect is an optical effect that is acheived when you have a dark room and there's a small hole in one wall which acts like a lens and projects the image from the outside into the room upside down.

2. The invention of high quality glass lenses brought man-kind one step closer to creating the modern camera.

3. The first modern camera had film, a glass lens and a dark box.

4. Both modern digital cameras and the first camera have a lens that light passes through to expose the film and create a photograph.

5. Digital cameras capture images with a CCD.

Camera Modes

6. The difference between Auto mode and Program mode is that Auto mode completely controls flash, and exposure while Program mode lets you control flash and other options.

7. Portrait mode is used for portraits and it tries to blur out the background by using the fastest aperture.

8. Sports mode is used to capture fast-moving objects and it uses the highest shutter speed to do so.

The Half Press

9. You half-press the trigger button so that the camera can focus in on the subject and it has a faster full-press response.

Controlling Flash

10. That symbol means that flash is disabled and you'd use it if you don't want any flash at all, which often times is the best choice.

11. That symbol means that flash will turn on if the camera thinks it needs more lights and it's the often times the default setting.

Introduction to Exposure

12. If there's too much light in a photo, it will be washed out. 

13. If there's not enough light in a photo, the photo will be too dark.

The Universal Stop

14. A stop is a relative measure of light.

15. A planet with two suns as opposed to one would be one stop brighter.

16. A planet with four suns as opposed to two would be two stops brighter.

Shutters and Aperture

17. A longer shutter speed means more light.

18. A shorter shutter speed means less light.

19. The aperture controls the amount of light.

20. You can increase the amount of light by decreasing the F-stop number.

Great Black and White Photographers

Robert Adams

Bill Brandt

Dorthea Lange

First Day Photos -- Best and Worst

I thought this picture was the best mainly because I liked the colors and how vibrant it is. I also like how Sarah is looking the opposite direction because that makes it deep and interesting to look at. It's also interesting to look at because instead of having Sarah in the middle of the picture, she's on the side which applies rule of thirds.

I think this picture is the worst because it's too far away and it's too bright/washed out. Maybe if I had zoomed in closer and angled the camera differently, it would've came out better. It's okay to look at, I guess, because it's symmetrical but that also makes it a little boring to look at.