Final

1. What are your three most memorable experiences from this semester? Explain how they have impacted your learning.

           The three most memorable experiences from this semester were my trip to Europe, learning about the history of photography and my camera, and taking photos for the "Who Am I?" project. Visiting Italy and Spain has opened up my world a little more. It helped me learn how much I enjoy traveling and how I would like to do that in my career. The photography opportunities in a foreign country are vast and open to the photographer to capture. I enjoyed exploring with my camera and my photographs there.

           Learning about the history of photography and my camera were helpful to me because I didn't really know that much about photography history or about the different settings on my camera. I knew about the auto, landscape, portrait, and close-up settings but not about shutter speed or white balance or how to work out the semi-manual setting. Because of the work we did in learning a little about these settings and the history of photography, I feel like I understand my camera and photography a little better. Taking photos for the "Who Am I?" project helped me not to learn in a strict sense of the word, but to gain a bit more confidence in taking photos out in public. It was still nerve-racking for me because I was embarrassed and felt in the way and weird about it, but it was helpful to exercise that fear and take some steps in getting rid of the insecurity that came with it.

2. Assignment(s) of which I am the most proud of.

           I'm most proud of these two photographs. The first one, my portrait photo, is on here because I love that I was lucky enough to get the lighting and the scene to cooperate without really trying to manipulate it. I feel I did a good job with the rule of thirds, a high horizon line, and my focusing. I am happy the contrast between my subject's outfit and the background looks like it did at that moment, if not better. The blue is shocking compared to the subject's basic colors. I feel like the messy bun of my subject helped to make the scene come together better; if it was a tight, perfectly combed and placed bun, I don't think I would be as proud of this photo as I am.

           I'm proud of the second photo because when photographing nature, especially during snowy or rainy weather, is difficult. I chose a moment with an appropriate amount of snow already on the trees and snow in the air. I think the fact that you can just see dark greens and dark browns and greys make the photo better. The white covered roof, road, and background pop the trees in the foreground more. I'm happy that this photo had the perfect wind that blew the branches in the same direction instead of every which way like it normally does. 

Who Am I Project

           I dislike this assignment. I don't like reviewing photos or videos of myself. I also don't like talking about myself which made this so much harder. It was difficult for me to make up my mind

about what to center the video around. When I finally made up my mind, I had a short amount of time to get it put together. I am happy that my sister and my friend offered to help me with my photographs and my videos. The goal of this project was to express what we loved and what it means to us. I feel like I came close to the goal, however I feel like I was a stone or two short.

           I did learn the importance of using an actual video camera rather than just an iPod to get the video footage I needed. Although the clips that I used had been shot with an iPod camera, the first few tries were weird and the subjects were moving too fast for the camera. There were green edges where movement was and it lagged a fair amount. I was lucky to get good clips. I also learned how to choose a good font that didn't detract from the video. I was able to figure out how to get the best copy of a photo when using a scanner.

Culture Clash

Culture Clash

Through this project, I learned what DPI is and why the resolution matters when printing. A computer screen can only show 72 DPI. This means that it might come out a little fuzzy. If you change the resolution to between 150 and 300, the photo will print better. The result will look smooth and edges will be sharper. The challenging part of this project was finding good photos to use. There seemed to be a lot of close-ups and not a ton of subjects that would go well together. My end photo is a mash between Bejing, Italy, Spain, and Maine.

Portrait

Words

I write to remember what has happened

the good

the bad

the revelations

the locations

I write to know myself

my likes

my dislikes

my thoughts

my feelings

Shadow Play

Shadow

I took this photo on a very warm day.

I let my dogs out to roam around the yard while I photographed

and took a nap in the sun when I was finished.

My mother has many garden statues that are eclectic

separately

but together and precisely placed, look lovely.

I used a mermaid statue that sits on our porch steps

I put it a little off of a glass table to make the statue

seem like it's sitting on a shimmery rock or a planet

David Hockney

David Hockney is an artist who has produced pieces with multiple different mediums. He began with painting and drawing. He has made etchings, photographs, has designed multiple stage sets, and has made an art car. He has been working since the 1950s and grew with the changing pace of the world, he has most recently made a series of still-lifes using an iPhone painting app. He has taught at colleges all over the U.S. and has traveled all over the world.

Pearblossom Highway, 11-18 April 1986 | photographic collage

I chose this piece because I love how he cut up images he took of the road from different angles and put them back together in a cubist way. Cutting up the images also makes the sky more interesting and the contrast between the grey/brown land and the bright sky blue more pronounced. I like how the yellow line in the road doesn't look as cut up as the rest of the photo and how on the left side of the road you can't really see the difference of the dirt and the pavement. The way Hockney arranged the pieces of photos makes the road look like it's curving but it also looks straight. The photo as a whole looks mismatched but in a way that is pleasing to the eye.

Architecture/Landscapes

Assisi

Over April Break, I was able to go to Italy and Spain. Italy is so beautiful, the streets of Assisi are warmed with the sun and have flowers blooming on the walls. Motor bikes scattered around the medieval village give a pleasant blend of new and old.

I loved my trip and want to go back so much.

Famous Photographer Project - Annie Leibovitz

Morning

Morning

The smell of freshly brewed tea and eggs fills the air

The heat of steam rises angrily out of the kettle and

signals that the water is ready to meet the herbs

The sound of the eggs bubbling and gurgling on the pan mix with the steam's scream

and soon the smell of new tea and the eggs mix

Hobbies/Interests

The Sparks the Rescue cd has a story to go with it. Although not very eventful, my friend's band opened for the band at The Asylum in Portland.

The show was really fun, I had gone with my friend Brooke and met other friends there.

Music is such a big part of my life, it makes me feel better and work harder. Sounds are just as wonderful as visuals are. The way both are able to create a feeling in the person experiencing the photo or the song.

Review of the Movie: The Photographers

          I was surprised by the amount of time the photographers spent in the field and the amount of equipment they used while on the job. I found the amount of photos that photographers could take of the same subject to get the perfect shot. The underwater photography really intrigues me. The water filtered light and the way it reflects off of fish and the vivid colors of the plants and animals is beautiful. The portraits of people are amazing, the natural lines on faces are much more interesting and emotional than what Americans see in pop culture. They tell a story of the person's life, the happiness, the pain, the anger. This is a career I would choose because even though it'd be hard, the opportunity to meet people of other places and to capture extraordinary little moments would be amazing.

Photos With Quotes

The two most important things I learned by this assignment is how to pair a photo and a quote, and how to keep it simple and interesting. I could have chosen any quote and any photo, but that doesn’t mean that they would work together. For instance, I could have chosen a photo of a girl looking out of the water and put a quote from Spongebob - it wouldn’t work. There would be no connection between the two. I learned more about a simple yet interesting positioning. Putting the quote on the bottom or the top would be simple, but it would also be uninteresting. There’s a balance that should be found in not only size and color but in where on the photo you place the quote. It wouldn’t be great in putting it over the subject unless you have a reason for it, nor would it be good to put all of the quote on one side of the photo.

Out the Window

"Wednesday Snow"

I got this image on the 27 of February during some afternoon rain and snow. After walking home and getting cold and wet, I shot this out of my bedroom around four. There's something lovely about first snow and how it lays on the trees and houses. Unfortunately after a day or two, it gets unpleasant. The slush and ice turn a brief beauty into unhappy walks and brings an ugly feeling to the days.

Compositional Photos

untitled

This is my favorite image of the set. I feel like it uses the rule of thirds, simplified background, and repeating lines well and makes it interesting and simple at the same time. The jar top is not in the center, but it's not totally off to the side. The depth of the photo is also well composed, the tv and the windows are totally in the background. The counter is is the middle ground and the main subject is in the foreground. It uses repeating lines a little bit in the handle of the jar top. It also repeats in the dots on the topper.

Keep It Simple

"Ice"

This is my favorite image of the set. I feel like it uses the rule of thirds, simplified background, and repeating lines well and in a way that makes it look simple but strong. I like this photo for the way I made the ice cap look more in focus than the rim of the bird feeder, which is just a few inches away from the center. There is even a subtle use of leading lines.

Goals for Semester

My goals for this semester are to learn to create better photographs than what the ones I am creating now. I want to learn the basics of using film photographs (how to develop, manipulate, etc). The idea of manipulating without a technical aid sounds like a fun challenge, and I look forward to it. I would also like to know more about the history of photography. Hopefully, I will be able to complete this course and be more confident with what I produce and how I produce it. Until now I haven't really known how to use a computer to my greatest advantage.