-9/25/14-

These types of pictures can be taken almost anywhere in the school where students are doing something. A good photo can give even the most boring things an exciting story. I would like to visit the theatre or art areas where students are creating, the photo would be a creation  of a creation.
To get photos like the ones I viewed earlier I need only to focus on the elements and try and get a new perspective on what I am taking the picture of.

Jostens -9/25/14-

The Story

Feeding the Homeless
This, I think, tells a cool story. In the photo a group of volunteers are helping out in their communities, they are feeding the homeless. The volunteers, on the left, create nice balance with the homeless, on the left.

Action and Emotion

Water Lab
I think this photo shows both action and emotion. The water droplets flying through the air make me feel like any second I'm going to feel the quiet splat of them landing and the faces of the girls show their shock and surprise.

Filling the Fame

Illumination
This photo does good with filling the frame, everywhere you look you see something interesting, if you divided the picture into sixths every section would have something interesting.

In the 2012 photo contest my flavorite was a photo called "Drop the Bass" The main subject of the photograph is a spew of red-pink liquid shooting upwards from a bass speaker, covered with a plastic layer for protection. The droplets that have been shot into the air by the bass' deep thrum are in the air only for a second before they fall back down onto the layer of plastic, pooling in the divots and creating a pattern of red and black, leading to the center. Behind the spew there is a girl in protective goggles, dripping more red dye from a clear bottle into the mixture. The color in the photo draws your attention to the subject and the lines and patterned surrounding the main spew also make your eyes want to go to it.

http://www.jostens.com/yearbooks/ybk_cp_contests.html

http://issuu.com/jostens/docs/2012photos?e=4061883/1143151

-9/23/14-

This article talks about the ethics of photo manipulation. It goes over a few examples and explains that changing an image can change the way someone views a situation and how they formulate their opinions. I agree that it is unethical and shouldn't be done, it can warp the way someone looks at something.

This picture is the least unethical in my opinion. In this picture the pyramids were moved closer  together just to fit on the front cover of National Geographic. This still is very misleading but it doesn't effect it that much.

In my opinion, this picture was one of the most unethical. In the picture a black student was edited into the stands to try and show cultural diversity. This one makes me angry, if they wanted a culturally diverse photo, they should have taken one.

http://globaljournalist.jour.missouri.edu/stories/2009/07/01/ethics-in-the-age-of-digital-manipulation/

http://www.sree.net/teaching/photoethics.html

Reflection (9/11/14) -9/19/14-

I didn't encounter many challenges while looking for my prompt photos. Bowie was probably the hardest to find. 
For technical aspects I spend a lot of time on focus and I think I did a pretty good job on that, even if one of the square photos was a bit blurry.
Not much actually, I knew most of the basic rules already but I probably would have worked on framing a bit.
Everything else I would keep the same, I was pretty proud of it.
Yes, I think if I had a bit more time I could do better.


http://haileyphotojournalismblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/blog-post_16.html?showComment=1411490116372#c5483062526477300762

A Memorial -9/17/14-

9/11, as I hear, was now of those moments. One if those times when you remember exactly where you were when it happened. I wouldn't know. My history teacher can describe the looks on people's faces when they came into their early morning college class, expecting a normal day and getting the news feed for a tragedy that would shock the country playing on the screen.

One of the most photographed events in history, 9/11 is very well documented by photos, videos, and stories from people. With so many photos, some of them are bound to master pieces, photos with the guidelines of photography perfectly outlined. Here are a few examples.

Balance

This photo shows balance because the subjects are evenly distributed, two on the left, two in the center, and two on the right. Using balance can make your photo much easier on the eyes, balancing positive space, negative space, shape, and color can make your photo better.

Framing

Framing is using the surroundings  to give your subject a border, drawing your attention to the subject.  In this photo the blown out wall serves as a frame, a few of the dark shadows are even pointing to the fireman on the ladder, the subject.

Line

In this famous picture "Falling Man" line is used to draw our attention to the figure plummeting through the air.  Lines can be used in any photo to draw attention to its subject, improving the photo.

Merging

There are many kinds of merging, one of which is making things in the back ground seem like they are interacting with the subject, another is cutting people off unintentionally. In this photograph the woman in pink's shoulder is cut off. 

If you draw a tic tac toe board over amy photo, and place your subject over one of the x's the crossing lines create, your picture will become more pleasing to the eye. In this photo the firemen are placed perfectly on the bottom right x.

Simplicity

Simplicity is making sure the subject of your photo is clear and making sure the background doesn't distract. In this photo the Empire State Building is clearly the subject, in focus and sharp against the smoking sky.

Rule of Thirds

National Geographic -9/15/14-

This photo was taken by Cael Cook of a Rufous hummingbird, resting his wings at his perch on a pine tree. The photo looks unreal to me as the bird's chest flashes before fading into the low brown of the rest of its body. The focus is beautiful, perfectly trained on the bird, highlighting the branch it sits on. A photo I would take for this contest would be of my neighbor hood park, there is a small creek that is fed by a spring and it is beautiful when the light bounces off the water at midday.

Touching People -9/15/14-

I think this is an intriguing idea, and certainly a creative one. It forces people out of their comfort zones, makes them interact with strangers in a way they wouldn't otherwise. I like to think I would comply to someone asking me to be apart of a strange photo shoot like this one, if only so that I would have a story to tell and possibly a new friend. I think it would be interesting to get a group of random strangers together and have them play a game, Like dodge ball or freeze tag, something that would get people moving, something everyone knows how to play.I like the photography and it makes me want to print out a few of these and ask people if it looks like the people in the picture know each other or not.

http://bumbumbum.me/2010/08/26/richard-renaldi-touching-strangers/

-9/15/14-

This picture was taken by Jack Bradley of Harold Whittles as a doctor places an earpiece in his left ear, giving him his first taste of sound. My eyes were drawn to this photo, I think, because of the look of shock on Whittles' face, it made me want to know what had surprised him so much. The amazement of hearing for the first time must be huge, and it represents a step forward in medical sciences of all kinds.

A four-month-old baby girl, still in her pink bear suit, was miraculously saved from the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami after being missing for four days. Taken by Yomiuri Shimbun, this picture is in wonderful focus and represents a miracle. You can see the terrible wasteland the area had become in the back ground, while right up front is the baby girl, unharmed and innocent.

This photo, taken by Goran Tomasevic, is a Sudan People's Liberation Army soldier standing attention as South Sudan is granted independence from Sudan. One of the reasons I was drawn to this picture is the clarity. You could count the drops of sweat over his nose, running down his cheeks. I feel like I could reach out and feel the material of the soldier's hat. The photo also stands as a very important symbol, a last salute as freedom is won, an acknowledgement of everything that was lost in the effort.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/most-powerful-photographs-ever-taken#1ozxdey

-9/11/14-

Happy

Square

Rule of Thirds

Metal 

Bowie
Rule of Thirds

Warm-up -9/15/14-

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/14/flipping-photographs-upside-turns-ordinary-portraits-strange-alien-faces/

Thoughts…?

I think that Anelia Loubser's idea was marvelous, she looked at something that everyone does, portraits, and turned it into something no one has ever seen before. When I first saw the photos, it was on my neighbor's computer, and it certainly made me take a second look. After studying the picture for a moment I came to a conclusion on what the subject was but it was very nice to have to try and puzzle it out. I really like what Loubser has done here and I would love to try something like it, I'll get thinking.

The Camera -9/9/14-

Explain the “camera obscura” effect. How is it achieved?
If you make a hole in the wall of a completely dark room the light is focused through the hole and the outside scene is projected on the opposite wall.

What invention during the 17th Century helped man get a step closer to creating the modern camera?
In the 17th century Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens studied optics and the process of making high quality glass lenses and eventually perfected the art.

What were the parts of the first modern camera invented by Niepce?
In 1827 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the first modern camera, complete with A glass lens, a dark box, and film.

What do modern digital cameras have in common with Niepce’s camera?
Moderen digital camera's still use the same techniques and the same parts to take a photograph. It's just been a bit, well, modernized. 

What do digital cameras use to capture an image?
Digital cameras capture images with a CCD, an electronic sensor, replacing old-fashioned plastic films.

What is the difference between the Auto Mode and the Program mode?
In Auto mode, the camera will completely control flash and exposure while in Program mode you can control flash and sometimes a few other camera settings

What is the Portrait mode used for? How does it work?
Portrait mode is used mainly for portraits, taking pictures of people. The camera will blur the back ground and keep the subject in sharp focus.

What is the Sports mode used for? (not just sports) How does it work?
When you are taking a picture of something in motion, use the Sports mode. The camera will use the highest shutter speed possible to freeze the motion of the subject.

Why should you do a half press on the trigger button?
A half press will tell the camera to focus in on something and to lock the camera's focus on the subject. It allows the photographer to freeze the pint of focus before taking a photo.

What does this symbol mean?
 When would you use this?
The symbol shown is a lightning bolt with a circle with a line drawn through it over the bolt. This symbol means the flash is off and you might use it to inflict more emotion into a photograph.

What does this symbol mean?
When would you use this?
The symbol shown is a lightning bolt with the word 'AUTO' shown in small text next to it. This symbol means the flash is on auto, the camera will automatically fire the flash if it thinks the picture needs more light.

What happens to your photo if there is too much light?
With too much light, your photo will be washed out.

What happens to your photo if there is not enough light?
Without enough light the photo will simply be too dark and hard to depict.

What is a “stop.”?
A "stop" is a relative measurement of light.

How many stops brighter is the new planet if there are two sons instead of one?
With two suns instead of one the new planet would be 1 stop brighter.

How many stops brighter is the new planet if there are four sons instead of two?
If the new planet had four suns the planet would be 2 stops brighter.

What affect does a longer shutter speed of have? A shorter one?
If the shutter speed is longer then more light is let in and visa versa

What does the aperture control?
Much like the pupil of a human eye, it controls the amount of light let in.

When adjusting the aperture, how can you increase the amount of light?
To increase the amount of light, open the aperture.

-9/4/14-

Robert Doisneau
Bistro at Arcueil

Andre Kertesz
Wandering Violinist

Jerry Uelsmann
Untitled

-8/27/14-

This is my least favorite photo that I took. I dislike it because the lighting was off, the background was bright but her face is in a shadow. It's also out of focus, the people in the back ground are crisp and clear while the foreground is blurry.

I like this picture for many reasons. For one thing the lighting is good and you catch a bit of the suns reflection off of the edge of the fire hydrant. For another it has great focus, you can see the small wrinkles in the skin on her hands, you could count them if you want. The fire hydrant is also very visually interesting, the wrinkles and bumps in the paint make you take a second look.