Most Proud Assignment

          I am most proud of my free choice photographs. Especially the one picture that I chose to frame. I mostly photographed plants and nature. There was one photo that stood out to me. It was a picture of a reddish, maroon leaf with raindrops coating it. The reason why I am most proud of this photo is because I like how it is close up and you can really see the outlines of the raindrops. You can also see the detail of the leaf and all of the lines that make it up. This impacted my learning by showing me how close and how far away the camera really has to be to get the right amount of detail. Or how to capture the real essence of it. I wanted to express the beauty of the different colors and the simplicity of raindrops. One thing that I noticed was that when the class passed around our contact sheets, this picture didn’t get many checks or stars. But I am still most proud of it. 

Most Memorable Experiences

           My most memorable experience from this semester is all of the fun times I had taking pictures with friends. Part of the first week we got to take pictures of whatever we wanted in the school. It let us get used to the different settings on our camera and taught us our own style. Another thing that I liked was looking at everyone else’s pictures in the end when we were done and pick one photo that the majority and yourself liked. I always liked how we could have a more broad theme or subject to photograph. It made me look at things differently.  This impacted my learning. It taught me that if you look at things close up, you can see many different details that you might not have seen before if you were looking further away. I also learned that there isn’t just one way to photograph. Or just one view of the subject. There are many different angles that you can take pictures from. That will also give you more varied pictures. You can capture so many things in one photograph. 

Who Am I?

This is a link to my "Who Am I" video. 

Culture Clash

Purpose:

• To create a Clash of Cultures by creating your own Photo montage, combining images from Beijing, China and Yarmouth, Maine, USA;

• To further develop your Photoshop knowledge and skills;
• To create a “surreal” landscape by montaging a variety of photographs;
• To know, use, and understand the Four Collage Techniques to in your Photo Montage: Juxtaposition/fragmentation, Point of View, Scale Change, Overlapping

Throughout this project I have learned how to use photoshop and how to edit/crop some photos. But while making it, there were some challenges. It took a little bit of time to get used to all of the tools. For me, it was also hard to find the right photos that would fit in. I didn't really know where to put a lot of them so it might look kinda scattered. How I dealt with these difficulties was simple. You just need to find any photo that seems realistic, but at the same time it doesn't seem real. Also, when using the tools you pretty much just figure it out on your own when exploring.

Free-Choice, Kenzie

I chose this photo because I thought that it really captured Maine. It rains a lot here and the leafs are so colorful. I like how you can really see all of the rain drops and the different lines on the leaf. I also like how it is a close up and there is a lot of detail. When taking this picture, I wanted to capture the essence of Maine.  

Inspiring Digital Artists

Purpose:

- To become familiar with 5 accomplished digital artists;

- To see what is possible in the world of digital art. 

Culture Clash Photomontage

Juxtaposition/fragmentation - The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Point of View - The position from which something or someone is observed.

Scale Change - The difference in something and how much it has changed.

Overlapping - To extend over so as to cover partly.

Famous Photographer's Movie

Here is the link to my famous photographer's movie, Berenice Abbott.

Hobbies

I chose this picture because it captures my favorite hobby. It is more like most of my life. I love playing volleyball because I love the feeling I get when I get a great hit. I just get a rush when playing and it is a stress reliever. Volleyball is a key part of my life and I feel that this picture symbolizes it. 

Food

When taking this photo I wanted to express the texture of the almond and the odd shape it has. I like how it also doesn't really have a center point. There is something going on in mostly all of the areas. The almonds are all mixed in together so you can see every viewpoint of it. Another thing that I thought was cool was how there are a few almonds that are clear and some that are kind of blurred out. It adds a different but cool aspect.

Portrait

I chose this photo because I thought that it was cool way to use our own cameras as props. I also like how the focus is on her and even though it is centered, the rail on the left shows curving. It kind of looks like the picture is curving. The rings in this picture also adds to some of the things that could catch someone's eyes while looking at this picture. When taking this picture, we wanted to get the illusion of both of us taking a picture of us taking a picture.

Selfie

I think that this is a good selfie because of the way that we put the camera. It is tilted and has more of an angle to it. I also like how our whole bodies aren't in the picture. There is different parts of our bodies expressed in this photo. When taking this picture we didn't want it to be just a straight forward selfie with the camera straight and both of us making the same smiling face. We are both making a different face and viewed at an angle. 

Portrait Techniques

Playing with eye contact - I like this technique because it adds its own style. This way of taking pictures shows that when you take a picture of someone else or yourself, it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect. It doesn't really have to be planned out. It could also capture someone's emotions or different connections. I would like to work with this because I want to have a different variety of pictures. 

Take a series of shots - This technique makes me think about all of the things that I could capture that were very unexpected. There could be multiple fun photos in one small period of time. It would also be cool to do an action shot so you could all of what they are doing. 

Hold your camera on an angle - I think that this technique would be fun to experiment with. When taking pictures you could really capture different things in the photo that don't usually stand out. You could use it as something that could get a different views of the subject. 

Experiment with subject expressions - This technique could be difficult in some way. But taking these pictures while illustrating peoples expressions could make the viewer really feel the subjects feelings. Many people seem to kind of close up, but if you can just see their faces there is something that always gives away what they are feeling. 

Famous Portraits

Dorothy Horan, best known as dovima, with elefants (1955) Richard Avedon

I chose this photograph by Richard Avedon because I like elephants and I like how he positioned the women to look more graceful. She is more in the middle and not looking straight at the camera. Richard seems to take a lot of photos that have the peoples facial expression illustrate their emotion. In this photo you can't really see her expression but I think that the mood is kind of light and flowing. 

John F Kennedy (1953) Arnold Newman

I chose this photo by Arnold Newman because I like how John F. Kennedy is not in the middle. He is positioned off to the side and the camera is turned more up so you can see more of the building. It really captures the beauty of the building as well. In a way it frames/makes a tunnel from the angle. Arnold has a style where most of the people in his photos are not centered. They really have their own unique way of who they are.

Yoko Ono Annie Leibovitz

This photo caught my eye because at first I couldn't see the person. I had to look really close to see the figure in front of the tree. I like how it is simple but also different. Annie's pictures capture their different sense of style. 

History of Photography

I learned about how the first digital camera was invented and how long it really took. I thought it was interesting that it took about 23 seconds to fully complete the process of taking a picture and having it saved to the memory card. I also learned about how Jill Corson made her pictures her own and expressed her unique style. She made a camera lens with it’s own filter that included glass and mirror. Her photography is more mystical than scientific. Another thing I learned was how the tintype photos were photographed. They were on a metal surface and they would appear as a positive image when put on a dark background.

Shadow

When taking this photo I wanted to view the shadow of the cross from a different angle. I also wanted to show the cool pattern that adds to the photo. The ends of the cross add to the shape of the shadow and makes it different. The fact that not the whole shadow or cross is showing illustrates its features and the close up shows the detail.

Never Give Up

Purpose:

• To strengthen your creative problem-solving skills so that you are looking at things in a different way;
• To find letters of the alphabet in everyday objects to create a word;
• To become familiar with basic photoshop tools.

I learned many things during this project. For example, I learned how to look at things at a different perspective. When looking for letters you really have to be creative and go out of the box and stay away from the common used objects. Secondly, some of the letters were hard to find. You really have to search and even if you don't think it's the best, take a picture of it because it is good to get a variety. Also you never know if others can read it clearly. Lastly, I learned how to use photoshop. I can use all of the tools to edit and crop all of the photos to make it look better. All of these examples are important to my learning because if I want to be a better photographer it is god to have practice in all areas of photography. I want to be able to look at things from a different perspective and know how to use photoshop.

Unusual Perspective 2

When taking this picture I could smell the flowers distinct scent. I could see the green coming from the stem. This photo captures the pure whiteness and the different traits of the flower. I wanted to get close up enough so you could see all of the details that you can't see if you're just looking at it from afar. This perspective of the flower illustrates the "noodle like" parts that make the flower fully bloomed.  

Unusual Perspective 1

This picture captures what my cat loves most. Every time he comes in from the outdoors he goes right to the fire. He will just wait and sit there until we see him and turn the fire on. This is where you will most likely find him. When taking this picture I wanted to take it having a different view of how they go together.  

Composition

This photo represents leading lines. I wanted to get close to capture the colors, but to also put it at an angle. The lines all lead to one point close to the top right corner. Before taking it I didn't know which angle to view it at. All of the mixed colors are what stand out to me the most.

Shapes, Organic and Geometric

Before taking this picture I was thinking about how I could capture the four shapes in the door. When taking it I wanted to have an angle where people could view it from a different perspective. I pretty much put the camera on the floor and took the picture kind of tilted up, but still enough to see the sunlight reflecting on the floor. Another thing to notice is the walls. There are windows that you can't really see, but still add light and shadows.  

Motivation

I enjoy photographing nature shots such as the sunset or just more outdoor shots. I also like to take pictures of times where I want to remember what was happening. When I go to some sort of sporting event I like to take pictures of the players. I go to a lot of games in Portland and it’s fun to get good action shots. 

The end product of all of my photos together is what motivates me most. Seeing all of the pictures that I have taken and looking back on the memories. Also being able to share them with others. I would like to know how to take pictures from different angles. I also want to learn how to make the pictures more artsy.