Abandoned Theme Parks

1.
     The abandoned theme park that I would want to go take pictures at is Takakanonuma Greenland, Hobara, Japan. I chose this one because there are still many rides visible, but they are all rusted. Being rundown and rusty would give an interesting rustic/antique look to the photos. Also, there is a lot of lush vegetation and fog that could add a beautiful effect to all of the images.

2. 

3.

     Other unusual places that might be interesting for photographers to shoot at would be:

• Plitvice Lakes National Park
• The Crystal Mill
• USA’s Largest Abandoned Subway is in Cincinnati
• 102-Year-Old Floating Forest in Sydney, Australia
• Pripyat, Ukraine

4.

102-Year-Old Floating Forest in Sydney, Australia

5.

     I chose this place because the scenery in beautiful, and a forrest growing on an abandoned ship is a neat concept. I would definitely take somewhat distant pictures to capture the surrounding water, trees, and the entire ship.

6.

     To shoot these photos I would need to travel to Sydney Australia. To do this, I would need to buy a $1000 ticket, pack my bags, and take a 17 hour flight to Sydney. I am not sure about the rules of going out to the water to get closer pictures, but I would try to canoe or take some kind of boat to get out on the lake.

     

Africa

1.
     I loved how Nick Brandt described his fascination with wildlife. I also agree with his point of view on photographing wild animals, "I'm not interested in creating work that is simply documentary or filled with action and drama, which has been the norm in the photography of animals in the wild. What I am interested in is showing the animals simply in the state of being..." He explains that photographers don't need to produce an image showing how fast or how aggressive and animal is, but how the beautiful animal is at its most simple state.

2.

3. 

     I like this photo because it is in great focus, and shows that even though the elephant isn't doing anything, it is still beautiful. 

4.

     The rule of photography evident in this image is definitely simplicity because there is one main subject, and the background is very simple. Also, the photo is very balanced because the subject is in the middle and each side of the photo is identical. Lastly, there are many lines evident such ad the horizon line, the hills, where the ground and the dirt meet, and where the dirt and the water meet. 

     

5. 

     Nick Brandt uses a Pentax 67II with two lenses. He doesn't use a telephoto lens because he wants to capture not just the animal, but the landscape and sky too. He also doesn't use a zoom because he wants to get close and personal to the animal and with nature.

6.

     He takes the photos because he wants to show/document the beautiful animals in their natural and most simple state.

7.

     He hopes to capture the beauty of these animals to show the world how magnificent they are. Also, to help persuade people to change their cruelty ways and help protect the wildlife rather than destroy it. 

8.

     "There is something profoundly iconic, mythological even, about the animals of East and southern Africa. There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains of Africa—those vast, green rolling plains punctuated by graphically perfect acacia trees under the huge skies." Nick Brandt expresses his amazement by Africa, and describes everything he loves about it.

Funny Captions

On the Central Park bench in New York, Earl, Frank, Betsy, and Joe are witnessing a brutal car crash that is occurring off in the distance. Everyone was in  absolute horror being unable to deal with what happened, except for Betsy who saw the camera and decided to make a nice gesture to America.

As she walks in to her favorite super market, MaryBeth sees a camera and decides to pose for a picture. She just finished buying a shirt at Walmart expressing how she feels towards her fellow shoppers.

Blind Billy sits at his 106th birthday party awaiting his guests. He couldn't wait to eat the smokey BBQ that was cooking on the grill beside him.

Great Black and White Photographers PART 3

1)  
      The first thing that caught my eye when looking at Steichen Lotus' photos was how elegant all of them were. I love to take pictures of flowers and I think that he did an amazing job of capturing the beauty and detail of the flower. I also like how he took pictures of people because they are always in different situations and are from different angles. He didn't repeat the position that the model was in, but uniquely photographed each one.

 

2)

     I see the large roses placed on top of each other. They are very elegant, detailed, and beautiful.

     I smell the fresh aroma of newly picked flowers. I can also smell the grass from the gardener's shoes who just picked the roses.

     I can hear the gardener in the background trimming the grass and sweeping the porch. I also hear scissors clipping the flowers as they were separated from their stem.

     I can taste the gravel, blown around as the truck pulls into the farm. And, I can taste the sweet fragrance coming from the rose petals.

     I can feel the soft texture of the silky petals. I can also feel the prick of the thorns as my fingers grab the flowers. As the water from the stems falls, I feel a wet, cold drop on my arm.

     I can see the women gazing in to the camera lens. I can also see the elegant flowers across her dress.

     I can smell the thick, sweet perfume of the women. I can smell the must of the dark building that I am shooting her in as well.

     I can hear the subtle breaths of the model as she tries to sit still. I can also hear the clicks of the camera as I push the button to capture the photo.

     I can taste the dust from the building as the wind blows. I can also taste the tension of the model, trying to be still.

     I can feel the pressure of making sure that the model doesn't move so that the photo won't be blurry. I can also feel the sweat on my forehead as the sun shines through the building.

3) 
     I would like to make a blog about Steichen Lotus so that I could access and incorporate his amazing photos into it. I could also write about the photos easily. 

     

Mural Project

1. What theme, that we could take here at school, could we do a series of these panels to place around the school?

     I think that a theme we could consider is beauty. The photos could be focused on the beauty in nature, or the beauty of different ethnical cultures represented at Bowie. There are so many different personalities, cultures, and ethnicities at Bowie and I think that it would be amazing to put all kinds of diverse pictures next to each other on a mural. This way, people could walk by and see how beautiful our community is, in more ways than one.

2. Should we use phones only, or should we open it up to our regular cameras for those people that don't have camera phones?

   I think that we should use both because for those people who do not have cameras, they could use their phones to contribute. But, using cameras for the pictures will result in a better quality photo.


3. Where would you want to put the mural on campus?

     I think that the mural should be in the library, at the beginning of A hall, or at the beginning of F hall. This is because everyone enters through the from doors which are located right out side these three options.

Academic Shoot reflection and critique

Reflection:

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get the photos following the rules I set out for you? 

     While shooting the photos, I discovered that it was hard to place the subject in a third of the photo. This was a problem with only the picture of the girl's hand because it was difficult to get into a position to take the photo making sure that her hand was in the rule of thirds. However, it wasn't very difficult to find lines because they can be photographed at any angle.

2. What technical aspects of photography or the assignment in general (focus, framing, holding the camera, etc.) did you find yourself thinking about the most? Provide a specific example of what you did to do this correctly.

     I thought about focus the most because no matter how cool the angle is, if the subject is not in focus, then the photo will not turn out very good. I feel like I did this well because my photos were focused on one thing and the subject wasn't blurry. When I was taking the photo of the paintbrushes, it was hard because I wanted all the paintbrushes to be in focus, however I think that I did a pretty good job of making sure that the paintbrushes were in a lot better focus than anything else.

3. If you could do the assignment again, what would you do differently now that you know some basic rules of photography?

     I would definitely go to a different classroom because, although people doing art is interesting, there was only one art class going on and they were writing down terms from a powerpoint. This made it hard to photograph because my photos didn't consist of people making awesome sculptures. Also, I would try to incorporate different rules such as balance and and lines (more defined lines). Lastly, I would try to frame the subject better and hold the camera at different levels and angles.

4. What things would you do the same?

     I would continue to stand on chairs/ lay on the floor to get the perfect angle. I would also put the subject(s) in the rule of thirds and focus on one main object.

5. When you go out with your next set of prompts, which rule do you think will be the easiest to achieve?

     I think that the rule of thirds will be the easiest because this rule is very simple and it is easy to place things in one third of the photo.

6. Which rule do you think will be the hardest to capture?

     I think that the rule of balance will be hard to achieve because it is hard for me to make sure that the photo is balanced and find "balanced" thing to take photos of.

7. What rule are you still not totally clear on and what can you do to figure out what that rule is?

     I am still not clear on balance because I don't quite know how you can tell if the photo is balanced or not. To figure it out, I will read more about it and study photos that follow  the rule of balance. 

Critique:

http://rebeccasphotojournalismblog.blogspot.com

     All her photos were very interesting, and followed different rules. I loved all the expressions on the students faces because it adds emotion and interest to the photo. I also like how the photos were at different angles. I think it was a very good choice to go to a theatre classroom.
 
     To improve the photos I think that the main subject, in some of the photos, should have been easier to locate. This could be achieved by cropping more of the objects in the foreground that are distracting, or taking the photo at a different angle.

Academic Shoot Photos

1.

     This photo is of a girl's hand and a drawing of F hall that she is doing. This image follows the rule of lines and rule of thirds. She is drawing straight lines, her pencil makes a diagonal line and the corner of the paper makes diagonal lines as well. Her hand, is in the bottom right third of the photo, therefore following the rule of thirds. The subject is the girl's, Olivia, hand which stands out in the photo because of the contrast of the white paper and dark background. 

 2.

     This picture is of a sculpture of a pink glazed donut. This image follows the rule of thirds because the subject is in the bottom left of the photo. This image also follows the rule of lines to a certain extent because the cracks in the stone shelf are all horizontal. The subject is the doughnut and is easily identified because it is the only thing in this photo and is very colorful.

    

 3.

     This photo is of multiple paintbrushes tipped over. The image follows the rule of thirds because the cup of paintbrushes is located more in the left third of the photo. This photo also has some diagonal lines created by the wood ridges in the desk. The subject in the photo, the paintbrushes, is clear because there is nothing in the background except for a blurred chalkboard.

ISO

ISO 200                                                                          ISO 3200

 


1. What are the advantages of shoot at a higher ISO at a sporting event like basketball or a night football game?

Capturing a picture of someone with a high ISO at a baseball game or a evening football game would be better because the image would freeze the movement causing the photo to be less blurry, and more focused. 

2. What suggestions did the author make about using a low ISO?

The author suggested that photographers should stick to the lowest ISO setting, base, to get a high quality photo. However, using the base ISO may not always be the great for shooting in dark or low light environments. 

3. What suggestions did the author make about using a high ISO?

The author suggests that the photographer should use a higher ISO when there is little light available or if there is a lot of movement in the photo. A high ISO is great for freezing motion and creating a high quality and focused image.

DLSR CAMERA

1. The aperture settings range from 2.8-22
2. The shutter speeds range from 1 sec. - 1/4000 sec.
3. The ISO settings range from 100 - 25600

Shutter Speed

High shutter speed                                            Low shutter speed

 


1.

At the beginning while the sun was still up and the courtyard had reasonable good light

a.) a booth in the middle of the yard near the Tree (low shutter speed)
b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings (low)
c.) the Stars performance inside the gym (high)
d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard ( high)
e.) people streaming in from the front doors (low)
f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop (high)

Towards the end when there is no sun and has gotten dark enough that you can't see from one end of the courtyard to the other.

a.) a booth in the middle of the yard near the Tree (low)

b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings (low)

c.) the Stars performance inside the gym (high)

d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard (high with flash)

e.) people streaming in from the front doors (low with flash)

f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop (high with flash)

2. 

The three settings your camera has regarding setting shutter speed are aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. In the aperture priority setting, the photographer can choose the lens aperture while the camera, automatically sets the correct shutter speed for the photo. Shutter priority is the complete opposite. The camera chooses the correct lens aperture and the photographer picks the right shutter speed for the photo that they are about to shoot. Lastly, the Manual mode is where the photographer chooses the lens aperture and the shutter speed.

Aperture

 Aperture setting F2.8                                       Aperture setting F16
                









1. What part of the body should we closely relate aperture?

We should closely relate the aperture to the pupil of the human eye.

2. Finish this sentence - the smaller the Aperture size , the higher the Aperture number.

3. In your own words tell me how aperture impacts Depth of Field?

If the aperture is small, like F16, then the objects in the background of the photo will become more in focus. But, if the aperture is high, like F2.8, then the object in the foreground will be more emphasized and focused on. While the background, will be blurred.