Unusual and Interesting Photos- Part 2

(photo cred: James Morgan) 

I picked this photo because it's so interesting to look at. This photo was in the environmental category where it won second place. The thing that the photographer did that sparked my interest was mainly the angle. The men are all lined up in a row, and there's so much balance. I love how the jungle is framing the picture and how you can see the trail of water ripples where the boat has been. I think the subject of the photo played a major part in the judges' decision.
To get this photo, the photographer had to stand up on a boat that seems to be moving rather quickly.

(photo cred: Robert Stolarik) 

I picked this photo because of the emotions it creates in me. This photo was in the Domestic News category where it won AE1. What the photographer did in this picture that caught my attention was capture the feeling of despair. The colors (rather, the lack of colors) really play into the tone of the picture. The subject of the photo probably wasn't focused on too much by the photographer; I think they focused on the picture as a whole.

(photo cred: Andrea Gjestvang) 

I picked this photo because it has a little bit of everything. Emotion,  great photo elements, and it's very interesting to look at. This photo was in the Portrait Series and won 1st place. What the photographer did that caught my attention was the lighting of the picture and the pose of the main girl is also interesting. The subject of the photo probably heavily influenced the decision of the judges. To get this picture, the photographer had to go find a victim of the shooting they were focusing on and then get her to pose for a photo. They also had to get that interesting lighting coming down through the trees.

Unusual and Interesting Photos

The photos Christian Rhum took are very interesting. They're really artsy and elegant. I have no idea how he made these photos; maybe he took multiple pictures from different angles then edited them together? An interesting building he should get a picture of is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I think that would be an interesting photo because the Tower is already at an angle.

Academic Photo Shoot Preview

My favorite picture was the one called "Political Secrets". It was so dark and mysterious, it left a lot to be interpreted. The picture was of a man and women in a dark room with a flag to their left, with the women whispering something in the man's ear. I picked this photo because it's so intriguing. Rule of thirds is evident in this photo, as well as framing, lines, and no mergers.

Next class, I will take pictures in either a math or science room. All the academic pictures that I liked seemed to be in science or math rooms, so hopefully I will be able to get some pictures similar to those. I don't know whose room I want to go to specifically yet, I might just choose randomly. When we go to take photos, I'll try to use what we learned about photo elements to get a good picture.

Filling the Frame

 The frame in this picture is filled with interesting stuff. There's that steam rising from the liquid they're stirring, as well as the outfits the people are wearing. Everything about this picture is interesting, at least to me. The photo elements used are balance, rule of thirds, and lines.         

(Photo cred: Dylan Grey) 

                                                      

Action and Emotion

I love this picture. It has plenty of action and emotion in it. The look on the main girl's (the girl in red) face has so much emotion, and how the photographer captured that and the water droplets flying up into the air makes this picture magical. The photo elements in here are great; there's balance, no mergers, even the water droplets form lines.

(Photo cred: Casey Simmons) 

The Story

This picture tells a great story. It has a lot of emotion and power because of the visuals. There's a circle of people with hands joined and heads bowed around one object and it's just overall a very good picture that tells a great story about a community coming together. There are some good photo composition in here. There's rule of thirds, no mergers, good balance, even some framing.


(Photo cred: Sam Alexander) 

Photo Editing

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

In this article, we hear about multiple cases of people doctoring or editing photos. While some probably had good intentions, others knew what they were doing. The biggest rule in photojournalism is, "Do not lie," and there people violated that rule. I believe this type of photo editing is unethical. You're lying to your consumer and giving them false information, and I think that's wrong.

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

This photo is very unethical. It's very misleading to the reader; it would make them think that Saddam and Bush actually had a debate. I'm sure there was some confusion for awhile due to this picture.

This photo isn't as unethical as the other pictures. All they did was try to make her teeth look nicer. I believe that this was done with the good intention of making Mrs.McCaughey look nicer. It is a lie, however, and it shouldn't have been done; but it wasn't really misleading.

Post-shoot Reflection

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get the photos of your first 4 prompts (Square, Metal, Happy, Bowie)
I had a hard time getting a picture that I actually liked. I didn't know the rules we learned about other than rule of thirds because I used to take art. 
2. What technical aspects of photography or the assignment in general (focus, framing, holding the camera, etc.) did you find yourself thinking about the most? Provide a specific example of what you did to do this correctly.I was mostly thinking about focus and holding the camera. Those were just the only things I was focusing on.
3. If you could do the assignment again, what would you do differently now that you know some basic rules of photography?
I would change the angle of my pictures and try to use more of the rules.
4. What things would you do the same?
I would take pictures of the same subjects, just with different angles.5. Finally - go back and edit your blogs with the 4 photos (square, metal, happy, Bowie), tell me what rules of composition (which you just learned about) did you end up actually achieving? Did you have any?
I ended up using rule of thirds, balance, and lines.
6. Are you interested in shooting those same prompts again, why?
I would like to do this prompt again because I think I could get better pictures this time. However, I would like to have a new prompt just to have something new.

http://catherinesphotojournalismblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/1st-prompt-shoot.html

This photographer had lots of the rules we learned about. She tried to keep her pictures simple and showed good examples of rules of thirds. She could've focused more on the subject, however, and tried to eliminate the unnecessary things in the background.

Mergers

This picture has a merger. The subject (I'm assuming it's the man running near the camera) has a branch growing out of his hoodie.

Framing

This picture has a nice framing from the broken window. It draws attention to the subject without making us focus too much on what's going on inside the building.

Balance

I thought this picture represented balance well. The people running in the picture make a square and they balance each other out. It makes it interesting to look at, because it feels like the square is about to be ripped apart due to them running in different directions.

Lines

This picture wouldn't be as dramatic if it had just the sky behind the man. The lines help to show where the man is going and it gives it a very suspenseful feeling.

Rule of Thirds

This picture shows a very good example of rules of thirds. The plane is off center and so are the building. It may not show simplicity too well, but it is a good example of this rule.

Simplicity

In this photo, the background is solid and doesn't draw away from the main object in the picture. The subject is obvious because there isn't anything else that could be the subject. This picture is nicely shot and to the point.

National Geographic

This is my favorite picture of the photo contest.
Personally, I love landscapes simply because it's my dream to travel the world. This landscape looks like a painting out of a storybook; it's just so surreally beautiful. The reflection of the mountain in the lake is amazing, and just the overall lighting and angle is perfect. If I had to take a picture for the contest, I'd take a picture of a small pond with some lilly-pads. The main focus of the photo would be some brightly colored fish swimming around. Water itself is just so beautiful to me, and it feels like a big part of my life; I'd love to capture a picture that shows who I am.

Touching People

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/11/01/130974145/touching-strangers

This was a very intriguing idea the photographer had. It created a nice series of photos that are interesting to look at. If someone had asked me to pose for a picture like this, I would've been a little weirded out (okay, very weirded out), but I would've done it. These photos got me thinking of my own idea. I could ask some random person to go up to a stranger and just introduce themselves. I think it might be interesting to capture people meeting for the first time and seeing their reactions. Overall, I think the photography in these pictures are great, and very interesting to look at.

3 Links

"Wait for me, daddy" taken by Claude P. Dettloff 

I picked this photo because of all the emotion in it. It makes me feel like I was there; it doesn't look like a picture, it looks like a moment frozen in time. I just love the sheer emotion in this picture. The main thing I like about this picture is the movement caught in it. This picture probably made the top 40 because of all the emotions in it. 

Photographer unknown

This picture has an overwhelming feel of intimidation. The stare off between the soldier and the pow is just so full of emotion. The thing that probably really made me like this picture is the fence. They're so close, just a few feet from each other, but the fence separates them into two different worlds. This picture made the top 40 because of the composition and emotion. 

Picture taken by Jack Bradley

I picked this photo because I love the look on the boy's face when he hears for the first time in his life. There's a look of pure wonder and astonishment that is just so remarkable and beautiful. The lighting contributes to these emotions, and that was the first thing to catch my attention. This photo made the top 40 probably because of the emotion on the boy's face. 

Welcome to my blog

Happy, metal, Bowie, square

Metal

(Lines/framing)

                                                                           Happy
                                                                   (Lines/ Balance)

                                                                          Square
                                                                 (Line/ Rule of thirds)

                                                                           Bowie
                                                                          (Lines)

Warm-up

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/14/flipping-photographs-upside-turns-ordinary-portraits-strange-alien-faces/
I thought that was a very new way of looking at things. It's truly astonishing how something so little as flipping the picture can make things look so different. It took me a second to really understand what I was looking at. I would definitely try to do something as creative as this one day.

Great Black and White Photographers Part two: Imogen Cunningham

  Imogen Cunningham was born on April 12, 1883, in Portland Oregon. She grew up in Seattle, Washington and went to the University of Washington where she received her major in Chemistry. After working in a portrait shop to learn about platinum printing. Eventually, she got a degree to study photographic chemistry in Germany. When she returned, Imogen opened her own portrait studio in Seattle. She frequently exhibited photographs of "romantic tableaux" of her friends. She had her first one-person exhibit in Brooklyn at the Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1914. Imogen closed her shop after marrying Roi Patridge and giving birth to their first son- Gryffyd. The family moved to California and had their twin sons, Padraic and Rondal. All Imogen could capture with such a hectic life was pictures of her children and her garden. Later, she started to get more photography opportunities. Vanity Fair hired her to capture Hollywood. Imogen began to take colored pictures that ended up being included in the Photographers Exhibition in San Francisco, shortly after her divorce with Roi. Vanity Fair invited her to work for them as a permanent photographer in New York, but she moved back to California after awhile of working there.

Imogen proceded to open a studio in San Francisco after selling her house. The studio was in her new home on Green Street. For the next thirteen years, her work was exhibited all over the country and worked on her street photography when she wasn't working on her portraits. Imogen was awarded an "honorary Doctor of the Fine Arts degree by the California College of Arts and Crafts. She was also elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her first book was published by Washington University Press- "Imogen Cunningham: Photographs". The Smithsonian purchased a large collection of her work after she was exhibited in New York City at the Witkin Gallery.

Sadly, Imogen died at the age of 93 on June 23, 1976.

The Camera

The first "camera" was created around 500 BCE by Greek and Chinese philosophers. They discovered that if you make a small hole in a completely dark room, a strange thing occurs. The small hole focuses light and the scene outside the box is projected upside down on the opposite wall. This has come to be known as the "camera obscura" effect. Camera obscura is latin for dark room.

Then, in the 17th century, Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens perfected optics and glass lenses. This was a step closer to the modern camera.

In the 19th century, the first portable camera obscuras were created by Joseph Niepce. However, the camera could not yet take pictures. In 1827. Niepce added film to the camera to make the first modern camera.

Our modern cameras still have much in common with Niepce's camera obscura. We still use film, and the dark room effect is still used inside the camera.

To capture images, we still use film. It's very different from the plastic film of the past. Nowadays, we use digital film that is much more eco-friendly than its plastic relative. The digital film is also much cheaper than plastic film.

"Auto" on the camera controls flash and exposure for you. "Program" usually lets you control flash and maybe some other camera effects. "Portrait" mode tries to blur out the background and uses the fastest lens available. "Sports" mode uses the highest shutter speed possible to freeze motion. When you "half-press" on the trigger button, the camera lens will try to focus on whatever you're aiming it at. You will hear a beep when the camera is focused and ready to take the picture.

 Disabled flash means no flash. You would use it if you wanted more natural light or a very dramatic picture. Auto flash is default in most cameras and will automatically become enabled if the camera thinks the picture needs more light. Too much light in a photo will cause it to appear washed out. Not enough, and the picture is too dark to see anything. A "stop" is light intensity. If you wanted to increase the light, or "stop", then you would double the currant light intensity. For example, 1 stop is two light bulbs and four light bulbs is two stops. If a planet had two suns, the light intensity would be one stop. If it had four suns, the light intensity would be 2 stops.

Longer shutter speed makes more light, while shorter shutter speed makes less light. The aperture is what the light must go through before reaching the film. Larger openings make more light. You can get larger openings by making the F-stops smaller.

Great Black and White Photos

                                                                       Ansel Adams

                                                                   Imogen Cunningham

                                                                                            Jacob Riis

First Day Photos

I don't really like this picture. The people walking past the stairs ruins what I was aiming to portray, and the lighting is pretty bad. I do like the transition from the dark at the bottom of the stairs, to the light at the top of the stairs. If this picture wasn't from such an awkward angle, it might've been pretty good. 

    

I personally love this picture. I think the sea of green clovers surrounding her on the rock looks great. However, the table pulls attention away from what I was trying to capture. The lighting is pretty good, but i think it could've been better. Overall, this is a pretty decent picture.