This week, instead of motion, I decided to shoot for architecture. I went to Ann Arbor with my dad and walked around to take pictures of the different buildings. I liked a lot of my pictures because the sun was starting to go down and some of them had really cool shadows. My favorite picture is of a building downtown that had columns. I really liked how the sun lit the top and the bottoms were in shadow. I also like the angle I took the picture at. This picture was taken with an ISO of 64, an aperture of 5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second.
This week, we took portraits using both studio lighting then window lighting. This allowed us to see the differences between them, as well as how window lighting can be used as an inexpensive alternative. This project was hard because we had to get the settings on our camera just right as well as the lighting on our subject just right. We couldn't have too much shadow, but their face couldn't be too bright either. This project also showed me more benefits of GIMP and how to better edit photos (as well as frame them).
This week, I want to take motion photos. I will use some of the techniques that Mr. Bush taught us. Here are some inspirational photos: hermanau ~Mina~ Hogne
These pictures will help me to take better pictures of motion this week for our last photo assignment.
This week I decided to take pictures of shadows and light. This assignment was really fun because I got to take pictures of the cool shadows around my house. For some of my pictures, I used a flashlight to create interesting shadows. My best photo is a picture of a sunset. I really like this picture because the tree and the berm are in shadow and the sun can be seen through the evergreen. I really like the color of the sky and how the color fades in the clouds. This picture was taken with a shutter speed of 1/400th of a second, an aperture of 5.3 and an ISO of 200.
This week, Mr. Bush asked us to change the context of the school. We had to take a picture on the school grounds (of the school) and edit in other pictures into it to change the context. This was really hard to do because you had to make the picture look like it was part of the original picture. I really liked this assignment because you could make the school look however you want. I added a snake and a mouse as well as a sky to my picture.
Today in class, Mr. Bush taught us some techniques to take better motion pictures. By panning we could blur the background and keep the moving object in focus. We also had to set the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to make the exposure better. It was hard to pan with the bike and snap the picture at the right time. Sometimes the subject was blurry, while in others, parts of the subject were not captures in the frame. I think this demo will really help me to take better motion pictures in future assignments.
This weekend, I went to a Michigan Volleyball Game. It was a pink out , and Cliff Keen was really full. I loved how loud it was and how pumped up everyone was. U of M lost to Wisconsin in 4 games, but it was still a lot of fun. It was really hard to take pictures because the lighting wasn't very good. It was also hard to use a flash because the pictures had a weird look to them. Some of my pictures are sort of grainy, but otherwise I like how I was able to take pictures of the players. My best photo is of Lexi Zimmerman, the setter, jumping to get a ball. I really like how the motion is mostly stopped and how you can see the reactions of the other players on the other teams. This picture was taken with an ISO of 800, shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, and an aperture of 5.5.
This week we were asked to take a series of pictures and then edit them together to make a panoramic photo. By using a stable base we could rotate the camera to take 3 or more pictures of a scene. Then in GIMP, we brought the photos together and edited out the lines and differences in color. We could also use the scale tool, perspective tool, and shear tool to move the pictures and make lines line up. I really liked this assignment because it was really cool to use more of the editing software. I liked how we could bring photos together and make them look like 1. This assignment was really hard because there are lots of little things that can make the pictures stand out as individuals. The perspective also had to be right or else the editing process would be VERY difficult.
For this week's photo assignment I decided to do still life. I took pictures of the decorations my mom put up for Halloween, as well as my pool table, flute, and volleyball. For my flute and volleyball, I used a black skirt as a background. The green of the pool table served as a good background, and some plants in our yard served a a good background for the decorations. My best photo is a picture of my flute. I really like it because of the angle that I took it. I also like how the flute is is focus more toward the head joint, and the music notes are the same. I used a small desk lamp to highlight the front of the instrument. This photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second, an aperture of 2.6, and an ISO of 800.
For our second GIMP assignment, we were asked to edit a photo that a student took at an auto show. By using the cloning tool, selection, paint and some others, we could enhance the look of the photo. We removed the background- which consisted of a person, a sign and some lights- as well as reflections of light on the car. We also darkened the windshield, and added text to recognize who took the photo. This assignment introduced me to some really cool features in GIMP. I am really looking forward to editing some of my photos on that software! (Top: original photo, Bottom: Edited photo)
This week, I decided to take pictures of animals. I took pictures of my dog, as well as my neighbor's dog. It was a lot of fun trying to get the dog's to look at the camera and watch them play, but it was also very frustrating. It was difficult to get a good picture of the dogs with good lighting and no blur on their faces. My best photo is of my dog jumping to catch his ball in our driveway. I liked how the motion was stopped and we can see how he is trying to catch the ball. I also like how the ball is in the picture. I took a lot of pictures similar to this and in most of them, the ball is out of the frame. I also like the background which is some of the bushes and trees in our yard. This picture was taken with a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, an aperture of 6.3, and an ISO of 400.
This assignment introduced us to Gimp and helped us to feel more comfortable with using the program. We were to take a portrait of someone and then turn it into an "Andy Warhol" like image. By changing the filters and colors, and using 4 copies of the picture were were able to get our picture to look like "pop-art". I really liked this assignment, and it was really fun to see what the pictures would look like.
For the second photo assignment, I decided to take pictures of nature. It is mid-October, so many of the trees have changed color and begun to lose their leaves. For the assignment, I went to Curtiss Park with my family and took pictures of the trees, flowers and river. My best photo is of an interesting tree I saw in the park. I really liked the lighting in the picture and how the sky was split in half - blue and white. I also thought the perspective was interesting because many pictures of trees are taken from the side not up the trunk. This picture was taken with an ISO of 80, an aperture of 8 and a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second.
For this assignment, I focused on the patterns, shapes, and textures of the world around us. I shot photos both at school and around my house, and most of my pictures were taken outside. My best photo is of a daisy on the deck at my house. I liked how the bright pink of the flower popped out and is the main focus of the frame. The detail in the picture shows the shapes of the petals, and the texture which is smooth. The petals are in a pattern around the center, overlapping each other. I feel that this picture shows off these three elements of composition. This picture was taken with a shutter speed of 1/100 of a second. The aperture was 3.5 f-stops, and the ISO was 64. Although it was cloudy outside, the small aperture helped to let in more light and create a good exposure.
For this week's photo assignment, I plan to take pictures of patterns, shapes, and textures. I hope to work on finding photos that have lighting to emphasize the subject of the picture. I also want to work on using aperture, and ISO and using them both together to improve my pictures. Some photos for inspiration that I found are by: Georgio R. Grant MacDonald Karaku Mocachip
I love how each of these photos uses light to emphasize and draw attention to certain parts of the photo. Texture was the hardest for me during our Composition assignments, and I plan to work on that aspect of photography as well as patterns and shapes.
For this assignment, we explored 5 more elements of composition: Space, Perspective, Balance, Color and Framing. To show space, I took a picture of a defibrillator with a white wall as a background. To show balance, I took a picture of the Commons up on a balcony. I use the darker wall and rail of the balcony to balance out the white walls and bright lights of the Commons. My perspective picture is grapefruit sitting on my kitchen island. By taking a picture from below, I could show a different angle of looking at the fruit rather than straight on. Finally, my picture for color was the "Dig For the Cure" sign. It shows color because the background is green and has some trees, and then there is a splash of pink near the middle. Color was difficult to show because there are not many bright colors that standout and depict a mood in the school. From this project, I learned that it takes a lot of work to take quality pictures. I also learned how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed work together to make a picture better. I was able to learn how to use these functions in more ways on my camera.
For this assignment, Mr. Bush asked us to take pictures that each show 1 of the 6 elements of composition: Rule of Thirds, Texture, Pattern, Lines, Depth of Field, and Symmetry. For the Rule of Thirds and Depth of Field, I took pictures of two different kinds of flowers I found near the pond on campus. The yellow flowers show Depth of Field, and the yellow/red flower represents Rule of Thirds. I liked how in both of the pictures, the flowers were the main focus which made the color of them stand out. The picture of the green blinds shows off the Texture. This picture was difficult to get right. I had trouble getting the light just right to show off the surface of the blinds. For Pattern, I took a picture of the seats in the cafeteria. I like how the seats seem to go on forever and focus down to one point in the background. My Lines photo was taken just outside the main office. I liked how the lines seemed to get farther apart in the photo. It was tricky to get the angle right to get that affect. Finally, my symmetry photo is the Foosball table at my house. Even though they are different colors, the "players" show symmetry because there are the same number of them on either side. The lighting was not very good in my basement, so the ISO had to be high, and the shutter speed low. The aperture was also set low to allow more light to pass through the camera. From this assignment, I learned how the 6 elements of composition change how photos look. By using one or more of the 6 in my photos, they had a better quality look to them, and were more interesting to look at.
