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.