Trick Photography

Last week in Photo 2 we all attempted something that we had never really tried before. We attempted to take photos of something moving, in this case a splash in the sink and a drip from the faucet. This project was especially hard for me I found. First I attempted to capture the drip. It took a long time. The camera kept focusing on the stuff behind the faucet and most of my pictures are blurred because of this. After a while I was able to capture two photos I was particularly proud of out of many that I had taken. This project was tough and tested all the skills of photography I have learned throughout my two semesters in photo.

When I moved on to taking photos of the medal splashing in the water, that's where I had the most trouble. Unfortunately I was unable to get a clear picture and we soon ran out of time to finish the assignment. I would love to go back and try again with the splashing and the drip and see if I can get even better images now that I got the hang of the assignment. Though this was not one of my favorite assignments it did push me to try harder when trying to get that perfect photo.

James Nachtway: A Response to War Photography

The movie we watched was very interesting. It showed the importance of James Nachtwey and his photography. War photography is a particularly hard field of study because of the scenes you are faced with. As we talked about in class, it is hard to decide when you are in that situation whether or not to help someone or to take the picture. Photographers are often seen as heartless when they simply become bystanders and cameramen but in reality they are doing so much more. War time photographers like Nachtway open the public's eyes to what is truly happening in the world. They speak the truth, in a sense by shooting us the images of what is happening in other parts of the world. They are there to bear witness and to speak for those who cannot. This movie really opened my eyes to how influential photographers are and how some even put themselves in danger in order to show the truth. I really enjoyed this film because it showed why we need war photographers and how much effort and trouble they go through to get their messages across. It really opened my eyes to all of the horrible things that happen around the world everyday and how informative Nachtway is and how important his work is.

One of the most haunting images I found from James Nachtway is the one pictured above. This is of someone who survived the genocide in Rwanda between the Hutu who were killing all of the Tutsis
, trying to make them extinct from the country. This stuck out to me because we learned about it last year in history and learned it was one of the most brutal genocides to ever occur. People were killed in sadistic ways with swords and knives. Yet, interestingly enough it did not get much coverage outside of the country besides the neighboring countries and partially brought to the UN, who could do nothing to help the people. This picture needed to be taken, it needed to show the brutality that went on in that country, and that someone should have been paying attention and trying to help.

The next image shown above particularly disturbs me. This is a child soldier of the Congo holding a gun up, as if it were a toy, towards the camera. Its not just the gun that disturbs me, but the look in the child's eyes, the small smile formed on his small face. The fact that this looks like something that happens every day there, thats what disturbs me. This is a magnificent image, don't get me wrong, but it makes my skin crawl at the same time.

3 Proudest Photos

This is one of the first photos that I am proud of. I went on the France and Italy trip and took this photo while in Monaco. Its so beautiful there and looking out over the ocean was incredible knowing that you're so far away from home. I tried to use the rule of thirds in this image and made sure the tower wasn't directly in the center. By brightening up the picture I noticed how purple the clouds looked in comparison with the water which I thought had a nice effect on the entire picture.

I am also extremely proud of this photo I captured in Monaco as well. I was looking down at an angle and I was able to take this picture of the waves crashing on the rocks. I took about 50 pictures of the waves, the ocean and the rocks because of how beautiful it was. I really love the effect of this, the bright blue of the water and the white of the sea foam. Everything is so bright and crystal clear.

I absolutely love this picture I took in Paris. One evening we were able to go on a cruise tour of the River Seine and look at all the bridges and Paris at night. We headed out a bit before sunset and I was able to capture many amazing pictures when the light was beginning to set. Its so beautiful. I wish I had more words to describe it but that's all I can think of. Nothing is more beautiful than a sunset in Paris, that's what I believed before I even saw Paris at sunset. I'm glad I captured an image proving that's true. 

Blended Images

This project was very rushed at the end of term three.I feel as though we did not go over enough instructions to cover how to do the project so I had to figure out most of it on my own.I wish we had more time to do this project so I could have come out with a better final image.

Complementary Color Photos

For this assignment we had to find things around the school or outside of school that contained complementary colors. Complementary colors are colors that are across from each other on the color wheel and cause the colors to stand out (in this case the yellow/orange and blue.) I enjoyed this project because I love how the colors really pop in all of my photographs because of the colors complementing each other. This project was very nice and I enjoyed taking pictures of bright exciting things.

Monochromatic Photos

For this project we had to take photos of monochromatic things. Monochromatic means mostly one color, mostly neutral colors. For my photos I tried to find objects to photograph that mainly consisted of one color if not than multiple neutral colors. I did not enjoy this project because I found it difficult to find monochromatic things to photograph. 

Flower Painting

For this project we had to choose one of our flower pictures and turn it into a painting using Photoshop. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and enjoyed using the drawing tools in order to 'paint' over the image. I hope we will do another project like this again.

Analogous Composition Photos

For this assignment we had to find colors that are analogous, which means colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Like my photo above red and orange are an example of an analogous composition. It was easy to find things to photograph for this assignment because many people put things with similar colors next to each other to make things looks nice. 

Blending Photography

Jerry Uelsmann

• Jerry Uelsmann is one of the two photographers we were given who blend their photographs in order to improve the image and make it unique. Uelsmann first began teaching a photography class at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1960. His work has started in many exhibitions, over 100 both in the United States and international. He no longer teaches photography but he is still a resident of Gainesville. Some of his work resides in many museums of art including, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto. His work is all black and white and is very unique and creative, some of his pieces are even disturbing. His talent is undeniable and I can see why so many people admire him. 

Maggie Taylor

• Maggie Taylor has a very creative mind which she projects into her photography that she blends. She received her bachelors degree in philosophy from Yale in 1983 and an MFA degree in photography from the University of Florida in 1987. Her work has been featured in numerous museums across the United States and internationally. Her work has also been featured in Adobe magazine. I can see why her work is so popular, she has a very whimsical style that gives a creepy, fantasy edge to her images. Something about this subtle creepiness draws the eye to the images and makes them very unique. She still lives in Gainesville Florida and is still a working photographer. 

Bill Cunningham

Who is Bill Cunningham, what is he famous for? (give a brief biography of Bill on your blog)

• Bill Cunningham is a famous fashion photographer who resides in New York City and writes a column for the New York Times on the current fashion trends he sees during everyday life in New York. He goes out every day and takes photos of people he finds interesting. He has lived in Carnegie Hall for most of his life and has never married. He is known all throughout the fashion industry and participates in Fashion Week by photographing as well.  

"It is not what I think it's what I see" Bill Cunningham.  What does he mean by this, why did he say it, what was it response to? Why is it important for him to suspend thought or judgment, and rely only upon the eyes?

• Bill Cunningham is the type of individual who does not follow trends himself, he simply observes from the sidelines and appreciates fashion through photography. When he sees something interesting and unique he takes a photo. He relies on his eyes only because that is a photographer's greatest gift. It is not his place to say whether or not the piece someone is wearing is fashionable but it is his place to say whether or not it makes a statement, whether or not it catches the eye.

He also said "Money is the cheapest thing, liberty, freedom, is expensive" What does he mean by this, what was he referring to, and do you agree with this?

• When he says this I believe he is referring everyday life that he witnesses. Money is spent without a care, while freedom to do what you love can cost a lot. Being free has it's expenses. You give up certain things in order to do the things that you love and that's a big sacrifice. Money is just paper. But freedom and liberty are ideas and those are the most costly. I do agree with him on that subject.

Why do you think I want you to watch this film, there are hundreds of films on photography, but this is one of my required films, why? What did you take away from this film? I love this guy, why do you think I like him so much? Do you share this opinion of him? Why or why not?

• I think we were made to watch this film because Cunningham is a very unique photographer. He doesn't photograph pretty things, he photographs things that stand out and make a statement, things that catch the eye. What I took away from this film is that there are many different ways to live your life; you can either do what makes you happy and live or worry what people will think and hold yourself back. Cunningham didn't care if people thought he was strange he did what he loved. I think that is why so many people like him, he's true to himself and worships the art of photography. I like him as well I think he is a very unique individual with a wonderful view of the fashion industry.

Basic Color Theory!

http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory


This week we are learning about color scheme and basic color theory. Our first assignment is going to be finding color harmony. We will begin this on Monday!