Throughout this trimester in Digital photography, I have seen myself grow a lot. I have greater knowledge when it comes to the physical device of a camera, as well as the elements that go into making a successful photo. of course I still make mistakes and I know I will continue to learn as I grow, but I am thankful for the knowledge this class has given me. I can remember when we were first dispersed to go take photos in the school and how I was excited but also a little disappointed by the lack of color in our high school. I still struggle with making an extraordinary shot out of the mundane, but I think this skill will improve with time. The images below are some of the worst (and one of the best) that I took during the trimester. As we delved into elements of composition and were then able to sign cameras out for the weekend, I felt a newfound sense of freedom and excitement. It felt so nice to be able to take control of the assignment and see for yourself what techniques work in which settings, and what styles you are partial to. For instance I found that I really enjoyed photographing nature. On a particularly lovely day in February, I took a walk by myself for the first time and although the storage of the camera allowed for a mere 29 photos to be taken, I reveled in the beauty that the tucked away trees held that day; I had not been that happy in a while. Photography gives one the power to capture the world as they see fit. The view may be a bit biased or one sided, but it is the way they have chosen to capture the world around them, and that is something to ponder. I know that I will do my best to never look a photograph passively. I will question the stylistic choices of the photographer, the light manipulation, the colors they have chosen, the lines, the placement of the subject, the mood they have created, and ask myself what do they want to evoke with this photo? I hope people ask themselves the same question as they view my work.
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For this assignment, we learned about the process of taking a portrait with a greater level of professionalism. When taking portrait photography, you have to be aware of the subject's body (if it is filling the frame, centered, and natural), the lighting (bright, soft, even), and of course the you want to make sure the person is expressing the emotion you are trying to capture. I think it's fascinating to observe the similarities in composition of the photos below; I see a lot that is in common, but the personalities of the subjects shine through in their own ways.
This past weekend I went to the Detroit Institute of Art to see the Monet exhibition which was touring at the museum. The art was absolutely stunning and I was reminded time and time again why the work of impressionists has been celebrated throughout the world; they capture what the camera cannot. In addition to the beautiful artwork, my head was turned by the architecture of the museum. Even the lights in the various sections were carefully selected to enhance the theme. I chose this photo as my best one because it's such an abstract look at the ceiling in the lobby. 3.5 - 1/20 - 200 I liked the shades of the colors, so I simply did a little cropping. In this open ended assignment I decided to create a ripple effect, overlay a forest on a subject's face, and make a woman's natural hair into a field of flowers. Although I find photoshop difficult to work with, I enjoyed this project. It was really nice to have the freedom to alter photos in a way that you could choose.
Ripple: https://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/water-reflection/ Forest overlay: In-class tutorial Hair-flower: In-class tutorial While working on this project, it dawned upon me why the food industry refuses to advertise with legitimately edible items; you can easily take photos of meals that look appealing when your cereal is at the surface of the bowl thanks to the "milk (glue) or your vegetables are organized neatly (pins). Additionally, photos of food generally end up with the color or texture being skewed so that it is not apparent on the other side of the screen. I struggled with this unit, but it was fun trying to capture various essences of food. 2.8 - 1/30 - 250 I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness. It's aways entertaining to imagine a world where you have a twin or perhaps several clones. Creating this illusion, however, is a spectacular feat in itself; leaping onto banisters, sliding into chairs, and sliding down stairs, I believe it is safe to say this assignment was a workout in addition to being a productive experiment. I wanted to create various scenes with my "clones," so I tried to be as creative as possible.
This week, I knew I wanted to spend sometime outside taking photos. The weather had warmed up a few degrees, the snow was melting, and I was ready for a little adventure. I pulled into a park off of Textile, zipped up my coat, and began walking down a path marked with footprints and icy patches of grass. I really liked this particular assignment as it forced you to get close to your subject and consider new perspectives. Additionally, I had access to a newer camera, which allowed me to capture the subject alone, and blur out the unwanted items in the frame. The only issue I ran into was storage. After taking 29 photos, the camera told me the card was full, so I had to delete a photo and then take one until I thought I had enough decent shots. 4.0 - 1/250 -200 Here are the rest of the photos I captured during my walk in the woods... As with the majority of photoshop projects, I struggled with this one. I think it was a very fun assignment, but the execution is where I fell short. This began with the photo I took of the school. Not only could I not find a prime area for the contextual confusion to take place, my camera was not responding to adjustments. Aside from these setbacks, however, the openness of the library ended up lending itself to my needs fairly well. I decided to choose the theme of Brazil/ The Rainforest for this project. And the windows, which are the majority of the entire outside of the media center, allowed me to add a new dimension of the country into my photoshop creation.
This week I wanted to focus on the beauty of nature. Because it was cold outside and my friend had given me a bouquet for my birthday, I thought it would serve as a nice, vibrant subject. So for most of my photos I captured the flowers, which proved more difficult than I thought it would. The lighting was hard to gauge and shutter speed was not quite right. 2.8 - 250 - 160
For years I have looked at panoramic photographs and been unaware of what goes into the making of one. The first time I saw one, I was about eight years old and I couldn't comprehend the notion that a picture could be manipulated so drastically. After spending some time with them this past week, I can now say I have a greater understanding. This photoshop assignment allowed me to alter photos so that they capture a greater amount of detail within the shot, which I think will be a nice skill to have in the future.
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