Unusual and Interesting Photos

1. I find Christian's work to be interesting, but I don't think it's absolutely amazing. But it's cool to look at.

2. At first I thought maybe he duplicated them, but then it said no post-processing so I'm really not sure.

3. I think the Frost Tower in downtown Austin would be cool to take photos like this of, and it's close so it would be easy to have access to it.

Academic Shoot Preview part 2

My favorite photo was the one titled "Melancholy". Int he photo a student is conducting a science experiment and is mixing green and blue colored substances to create a purple colored substance in a beaker.

1. I picked this photo because I really enjoyed how they focused on the action the male student was doing, and how the background was blurred out with the aperture setting.

2. The photographer used filling the frame and the lines created by his fingers and the substances could be considered as leading lines. They also used the element of simplicity to make the photo more interesting.

Academic Shoot Preview

The Story

This photo displays the students from a school feeding the homeless. The girl who is the main subject is preparing a meal for the homeless women in front of her, and you can tell the homeless are very fortunate for the teenagers.

Action and Emotion

The action of this photo is the water shooting everywhere from whatever the girl did to the cup, and the emotion is written all across their faces. The are happy, surprised, and delightful.

Fill the Frame

There is really no empty space in this photo. Every aspect is filled, but not in an overwhelming way. We can see what is going on, and it draws more interest towards the subjects.

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

       On April Fool's day in 2009, a newspaper in Israel ran a photo in which someone working at the company used a photoshop program to replace women ministers with men to create an all-male cabinet.  Though the U.S. considers image manipulation a terminal offense, it seems to be a normal thing in the Middle East. Many published images continue to be photoshopped, for example Iran's Revolutionary Guards ran a photo of an missile test launch that was also manipulated.  Digital Photo Manipulation is considered an ethic in the Middle East, and it is not limited.

       I believe that photo editing is unethical, because it is basically lying to everyone who will see it. Altering a photo majorly, as in replacing someone's face, removing a person, or adding to the quantity of the subject, is considered dishonest in my opinion.

I think this photo is the most unethical considering it didn't even happen. The fact that they ran a photo that was completely 100% made up says it all.

In my opinion this is the least unethical photo. I think that just altering the contrast isn't that big of a deal, and it is way better than completely changing the photo.

Post Shoot Reflection

1. I couldn't decide what I wanted to shoot for Bowie, so that was a bit of  challenge.

2. As far as technical aspects go in this shoot, it was helpful to have the camera on program, because then I didn't have to adjust the lighting (shutter speed, ISO, aperture). I was focused on getting the right angles, positioning the subject right (rule of thirds).

3. I already knew the basic rules of photography since I took yearbook last year, but I guess I would try to find another subject to shoot for Bowie.

4. I would keep my subject for Square, Metal, and Happy the same.

5. The rules of composition I used were leading lines, simplicity, and the rule of thirds.

6. I enjoyed shooting the prompts, but I would like to shoot different ones or at least be allowed to shoot them outside of school so we can capture different subjects.





http://reagansphotoblog.blogspot.com

Reagan's photos were nicely taken, and I enjoyed the subjects and how well they related to the prompts.

I loved the photo she used for Happy the best. It was really pretty and I liked the colors.

Though I enjoyed looking at them, I think one thing that could be improved is that she could look for better angles instead of all of them being a normal perspective. But overall I think they were really good.

9/11 Composition

Framing

In this photo, the buildings on either side of the explosion provide vertical boarders to the action and event taking place. The street light curving over the puffs of ash, smoke, and dust, as well as the stoplight at the bottom create horizontal frames for the subject. All of these objects frame the attack, and make it obvious what the center of focus is.

Avoiding Mergers 

From the girl placed in the middle of the photo, to the metal rail and buildings behind her, and also the smoke that looks like it's coming out of her back. The subject is interacting with the background without intention, and it appears as though she's on fire.

Balance

In this photo, the police officer and the distressed women are balancing each other out. If it were just one of them, then we most likely wouldn't know what's happening. Besides the people, there are objects on both sides as well.

Lines

This photo displays leading lines in a more subtle way. There's the line of the sidewalk running down the street, the lines at the bottom of the buildings, the lines on the signs, and the street light in the background. all of these lines draw our attention the subject of the photo, which is the person in the alley with the lines leading towards him.

Rule of Thirds

When looking at this photo, the first place you look is the firefighters on the crane. If you placed the rule of thirds grid on this photo, the subject would be placed in the bottom right line intersection. Our eyes draw to them first, before we look at the rubble. The rule of thirds draws more interest as well as attention to the subject. 

Simplicity 

This photo represents simplicity, because we can easily tell what it is we are looking at, and we know right away what the subject of the photo is. The blue background of the sky doesn't distract us from the main focus, and it also doesn't interfere with it.

National Geographic

Robert Spanring 

Though all the photos were magnificent, I've picked this one by Robert Spanring as my favorite. I love the idea of it, and I think taking a photo of someone's eye reflecting the scene before them is genius. Not only is this photo beautiful, but it's also original. While viewing the other ones, this picture wouldn't leave my mind. I think it's simple but lovely at the same time. 

If I were to submit a photo into this contest, I would probably go and obtain a shot of nature, or maybe the culture in downtown Austin. I'm not quite sure what I would take a picture of, perhaps it would be the rain or a lightning bolt since those seem to be pretty rare here, but again I honestly don't know. I'd submit something worth viewing. 

Touching People

1. The project is quite comical, and a totally random, unexpected idea that I find really creative.

2. If someone approached me with a camera and asked me to touch someone for a photo shoot, I'm not so sure what I'd do. Part of me wants to say that I would participate, but I'm really awkward so then I'm not so sure.

3. I think it would be interesting to take photos of people around a city and see how many pedestrians photo bomb them.

4. I sort of liked the photos, I wish they were a little more interesting.

Top 40 Photos

by Aaron Thompson

Looking at this photo, you automatically feel all the emotion that took place in this moment. I picked it because of the feeling it gave me when viewed it. The angle is spot on, and you can see everything that is happening. I think that the emotion on the little boy's face says it all, and that's the reason this photo was picked to be one of the top 40 photos ever.

Again, looking at this photo you can feel every bit of emotion displayed. The photographer used the rule of thirds, which i think makes this photo ten times better. This photo is spectacular, because the photographer captured the look on the mother's face which gives it tons of emotion.

by Marc Riboud

This photo is beautiful. From the colors to the way it was shot, it's just amazing. Not only are the angles spot on, but the contrast between the dark soldiers and the pink of the flower and the woman's suit also make it super great. The photo has this light, airiness to it, and I believe that is how it made the cut.

First Prompt Shoot

Metal 

Happy

Bowie

Square

Warmup 9/15- Flipping Photos Upside Down

1. I found this unique idea to be extremely interesting, and it was also a bit comical.

2. It took me a couple of seconds to process what the photo actually was. Reading the title of the article helped and cleared things up a lot.

3. Hopefully sometime in the near future I will be able to shoot something as original as this was.

Great Black and White Photographers, Part 2

    Ralph Eugene Meatyard was a famous American photographer born May 15, 1925 in Normal, Illinois.  Wanting to continue his trade as an optician, he moved to Lexington Kentucky after marrying Madelyn Mckinney, and worked for a company called Tinder-Krausse-Tinder that sold photographic equipment.
    In 1950, he purchased the his first camera to photograph Michael, his son, and shot with a Rolleiflex medium-format camera after the fact. He joined the Photographic Society of America and the Lexington Camera club in 1954. At the Lexington Camera club Meatyard met Van Deren Coke, who influenced some of his work in the early years. Coke displayed some of Meatywards work in an exhibition titled "Creative Photography in 1956 for the university.
    He attended many workshops during the summers in the mid-1950s. Meatyard often left his film undeveloped for large periods of time, and then worked hastily and immensely in his make do of a darkroom at his house. Ralph used his children as props and subjects while hitting home on the idea of "the surreal "masks" of identity and the ephemeral nature of surface matter" (Wikipedia).
    A lot of Meatyard's work was taken at abandoned farmhouses in Kentucky bluegrass regions. He also took an interest towards writing. Ralph Eugene Meatyard died on May 7, 1972 in Lexington Kentucky at the age of 46.

Untitled

(Michael and Christopher outside brick building)

1960

Untitled 

(Michael in front of deteriorating wall)

1960

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Eugene_Meatyard

http://fraenkelgallery.com/artists/ralph-eugene-meatyard

The Camera

1. The "camera obscura"effect is known as the first camera. By creating a small hole located in one wall of a dark room, the light focuses through the hole and projects the outside scene upside down on the opposite wall.

2. During the 17th century, Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens invented high quality glass lenses that brought us one step closer to the modern camera.

3. The first modern camera invented by Niepce included a glass lens, a dark box, and film.

4. Modern digital cameras are similar to Niepce's in the way that light passes into the camera through the lens, and reveals the film, which results in a photograph.

5. Digital cameras use digital film that is called a CCD and can be stored on resizable computer memory devices.

6. Auto mode means that the camera will control the flash, where as if you're in program you can control the flash yourself.

7. Portrait mode is used to blur the background in a photo by playing with the aperture.

8. Sports mode is used to freeze the motion of the subject you are shooting. It applies the settings, mainly the highest possible shutter speed, for you and adjusts itself to the appropriate lighting.

9. Half pressing the trigger button focuses the image before you shoot it.

10. This symbol means that there will be no flash, so the natural light is used in the picture.

11.This symbol means auto flash, and it means that the camera controls the flash for you.

12. If there is too much light the photo will be washed out.

13. If there is not enough light, the photo will be too dark.

14. The word 'stop' represents a relative change in the lighting/brightness of a photo.

15. It would be one stop brighter.

16. The new pant would be two stops brighter.

17. The longer the shutter speed, the longer the shutter stays open to allow light in, meaning the photo will be brighter.

18. The shorter the shutter speed, the quicker the shutter stays open to allow light in, meaning the photo will appear darker.

19. Aperture decides the amount of light let into the photo.

20. By making the aperture opening larger, more light will be let into the photo.

Great Black and White Photographers

Gary Winogrand

 Untitled

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Untitled (Michael and Christopher outside brick building)

Robert Doisneau

Down to the factory

First Photos: Best and Worst

best photos: 

 I picked the first photo of Arianna to showcase as my best photo. Since red and green are opposites on the color wheel I found the green of the vines in the background contrasting really well with Arianna's red hair. This is one of those photos that you just happen to take at the last second, and it ends up being great.

worst photos:

I picked this photograph of Melina as my worst. She was an awesome model, but I dislike the shadow that's over her face in this particular photo. The colors were pretty, and if the shadow wasn't there this might've been one of my favorites. I think this photo is a good example of finding the right angles while in a photo shoot. Not every picture you take is going to be fantastic, so you have to experiment and find ways to make it work. The photo of Melina in the best section also supports my statement of finding the right angles.