Africa- Extra Credit

1. My first thought was that there was no way that it was safe to go so close to wild animals. I think that is extraordinary that he is able to do what he does and to raise awareness for these animals, because it is needed. You don't realize exactly how bad humans have and continue to affect the environment. I think that these photos are beautiful and help to show such a dark topic.

2.

3. This is a picture of dust floating off of an elephant while it walks. I think that this is something really cool to have captured, and it blows my mind that he did this without a telephoto lens. It is my favorite because I love the way that it looks with the dust and the simple background.

4. There is most definitely balance. The dust is distributed somewhat evenly across the back of the elephant. The dust also helps to balance out the size of the head vs. the back of the elephant size wise.

Do a google/wikipedia search for Nick Brandt

5. He uses a medium-format film camera, specifically the Mamiya RZ67 Pro IID model. That is important because the cameras aren't digital, so he can't immediately see the results. He uses black and white film and does not use any telephoto lens. That means that he actually goes up to each animal to get the pictures.

6. To bring attention to how humans are effecting the lives of animals, specifically in Africa. He started a non-profit called the Big Life Foundation to help conserve Africa's wildlife and nature.

7. He hopes to record these animals and their spirits before humans make them go extinct. He is also recording the animals in their natural habitats before the habitats themselves are destroyed.


8. "I want my images to achieve two things in this regard - to be an elegy to a world that is tragically vanishing, to make people see what beauty is disappearing. Also, to try and show that animals are sentient creatures equally as worthy of life as humans." -Nick Brandt

9. He puts the beautiful and thoughtful pictures where humans have most impacted the earth. For example, there was a picture of elephants "holding up" a highway.

10. He stitches together multiple negatives to create on giant (40x80 in) panoramic. For a museum show, his photos are twice the size, to show all of the details.

11. I think that his work draws attention to African Wildlife conservation non-profits that are trying to preserve the wildlife there. I think that these photos make the viewer feel guilty as a human and they donate to try to "fix" the problem.

12. I felt so disgusted with what is deemed "human nature". Destroying the earth isn't human nature, it is cruel, which is something that I think he is trying to bring and show in his photos. 

Three Pillars of Photography

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1. The aperture of a camera is similar to that of a human pupil. The bigger the size, the more light is let in. The smaller the size, there is less light let in.
2. Finish this sentence - the smaller the Aperture the darker the photo is, the higher the Aperture the lighter the photo will be.
3. Aperture impacts the Depth of Field in that it brings certain things into focus and others things out of focus. It helps to define the focal point of the picture.

   ____________________________________________________________________________

1. If you were assigned to shoot at Bulldogs and Hotdogs night, which was a few weeks ago, what shutter speeds do you think you would have to shoot at the following events that night I would like you to answer the question for the following two situations:

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- 1/250
b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings- 1/125

c.) the Stars performance inside the gym- 1/1000
d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard- 1/1000 or 1/500 
e.) people streaming in from the front doors- 1/500
f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop- 1/1000

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- 1/62
b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings- 1/32
c.) the Stars performance inside the gym- 1/1000
d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard- 1/32
e.) people streaming in from the front doors- 1/16
f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop- 1/64

2. List the three settings your camera has regarding setting shutter speed (these are found at #5 on the Shutter Speed website. Explain how each works 

Fast Shutter Speed- Takes whatever is in focus and freezes it. this is good for sports shots or capturing water droplets mid-motion. For faster moving subjects.

Long Shutter Speed- This is used for late night and low-light photography. It causes some motion blur if the photographer's intent is to capture the movement of the subject.

Slow Shutter Speed- This is a very slow take, therefore the photographer may cause some blur from hands shaking while taking the photo, which can be eliminated by vibration reduction. Should use a tripod without vibration reduction.

Slow Shutter Speed

  

Fast Shutter Speed

 ____________________________________________________________________________

1. What are the advantages of shoot at a higher ISO at a sporting event like basketball or a night football game?- The fast motions are frozen in the picture with no blurs.
2. What suggestions did the author make about using a low ISO?- You can use low ISO indoors with a long shutter speed if the subject isn't moving. Using a tripod is best for that approach.
3. What suggestions did the author make about using a high ISO?- The higher the ISO, the higher the shutter speed has to be to capture a bright photo. 

List the aperture settings available on this camera.- 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22
List the shutter speed settings available on this camera.- 1 sec, 1/60 sec, 1/4000
List the ISO settings available on this camera.- 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600

Great Black & White Photographers Part 3

1.) All of her photos have such simplicity and tell a story. I like that she was such a well traveled woman and the diversity of her photos reflects that. I was originally drawn to the the first picture here because of the sense of a line going diagonally across the picture. The cleanness of the lines are satisfying and also brought my attention to her photos. From the pictures that I saw, all of them had such radically diverse emotions from the people. 

2.)  

I see all of the workers and people walking down the boardwalk. The diversion tunnels don't have any water in them, because there hasn't been rain recently enough to cause the dam to overflow enough. I see the contrast between the sizes of the tunnels and the people in front of them. I see the edge of the dam, with some businessmen having a conversation. There aren't many people around, like you would expect, but there are some people who are meeting or providing maintenance to the tunnels and part of the dam.
I smell the tangy stagnant water from the dam and the salty rusted metal of the diversion tunnels. I smell the cologne of the businessman that just walked by with his colleagues, who were looking at the diversion tunnels. I smell the pungent oder of the worker who is working on the maintenance of the tunnels nearby, with the sharp smell of his newly cleaned tools. I smell the faint thought of dirt that has collected between the bricks in the side walk.
I hear the few birds circling overhead caw at the ground, looking for their next meal. I hear the slight gurgle of the water in the dam, going through pipes I can't see. I hear the whispers of the people talking around me, going about their business. I hear the squirrels chatter to each other in the line of trees by the front of the damn. I hear the clank of wrenches and screwdrivers that help to hold the dam in place. I hear the whistle of the breeze through the middle of the diversion tunnels, matching the whistle of the man who is walking by.
I taste the saltiness of my sweat run into my mouth. I taste the dryness of the wind blowing by. I taste the thought of water as the wind blows by, from the stagnant water held in the dam. I taste all of the different metals from the tunnels and my camera as I concentrate. 

I feel the smoothness of the weatherworn tunnels. I feel the roughness of the light coat that I am wearing to keep the coldness of the breeze away. I feel the the dryness of the uneven brick sidewalk under my feet. I feel the presence of all the people around me, going about their days.
2.)

I see all of the people standing in line, waiting for their bread. I see the puddles of water that still hadn't drained from the flood. I see the pieces of houses that haven't been cleaned up, with some bits of ruined furniture here and there. I see the paint cracking in the mural behind the line, with the corners of the poster beginning to peel up. The bottom of the poster is water damaged and probably needs to be replaced, which is a shame.
I smell the rain from the past few days and the puddles that are left from the rains. I smell the bread cooking and cooling in the windowsill, being prepared for the next people to come to the window in need. I smell the perfumes and colognes attempt to mask the bitterness of not showering for a few days because the water pipes stopped working during the flood. I smell the overwhelming oder of gasoline from the car that just drove by.
I hear the clerk at the window talking with the first person in the line, some of the people behind them muttering at the fact that this is taking too long. I hear the patter of slight rain on leaves and on the hat that I am wearing. I hear the woman talking about the prices of food at the corner store, and how prices have risen since the beginning of the flood.
I taste the bread that I just ate for lunch, grateful that I don't live in this damaged town. I taste the bile rise up my throat as I smell the oder of the man who just walked by, who obviously hadn't had a shower in days. I taste my hair that is blown into my face by the wind. I taste the drops of rain that fall on the face.
I feel the water wrinkled poster on the wall, about to crumble and fall off. I feel the rough polyester coat that I an wearing to block out the cold. I feel the cold begin to numb my ears and pull my hat down more. I feel the roughness of the man who just shoved by me in order to get to the stoplight a second faster. I feel the sadness, but the willingness to overcome from the group of people in front of me. 

3.) I would like to make a blog or a powerpoint on Margaret Bourke-White. She is a well-rounded woman, who has done many, many things. A lot of the things she did surprise me for the time period, which makes me like her character even more. I like the simplicity of her photos and how her photos have so much meaning to them, but leaves some interpretation to the viewer. Her pictures all hold a story that I like and I can get information from. 

Repost: Edited Academic Photos

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

A. Some points used in the article are that, in some cases, edited photos are used for the slander of famous people or politicians. In other cases, photos were edited so that the subject had more of a socially accepted body figure, which is particularly seen in photos if women. There are also superficial edits, such as editing out blemishes. Some edits are used on the coloring, which alters the perception of the photo. 

B. Those magazines have strict guidelines for shooting and editing that is done to the images used in their print magazines.  

C. I think that someone can edit out blemishes and the red color in eyes caused by the camera flash. Those are superficial things that are not entirely noticeable if you take them out. In the case of editing out the red camera glare in the person's eyes, that helps to make the photo look more natural.

D. 

I think that this is the most unethical manipulation because the edited photo was used with 2 pictures that were used without the permission of both women. This was something that portrayed both women incorrectly. 

E. 

I think that this photo is the least unethical because all that the photographer did was compress the photo to fit the layout of the magazine cover. The overall photo is there, where the only thing edited was the size. There wasn't anything actually edited out. 

Academic Reflection and Critique

1. I had a challenge focusing the camera on a specific person. They would move, which made the picture come out blurry. I also had trouble finding something that was different and interesting that was academic.

2. I thought a lot about how I held the camera. At first, I tried to hold the camera a certain way to try and avoid some mergers, but after the first classroom, my approach to that changed because of the way people were sitting or standing. I also thought a lot about how the picture showed that it was an academic photo, but not a boring one. That was difficult for me because I struggled to take good photos in the science classrooms with the experiments, due to the amount of movement and people in the room.

3. I would make sure that the background isn't as in focus, making the subject of the picture clearer to the viewer. I also had some troubles with mergers that I didn't notice, so I need to focus as much on the background as I do on getting the right subject.

4. I would go to the same classrooms and I would chose the same subjects, I would just change how I took the photo.

5. With the next prompts, I think that the easiest rules to follow would be framing and the rule of thirds. I am going to actively avoid mergers, so that is another composition I would be focusing on as a photographer to make the subject clearer.

6. I think that the hardest rule to capture would be avoiding mergers because there is a lot going on, especially here at Bowie. I know that I had trouble avoiding mergers, particularly caused by a full classroom.

7. I think that I am clear on what the different composition rules mean on paper, but I have trouble applying them to what I am doing in the moment. I just need to practice keeping the rules in mind, and actively fixing what I can to make it a better photo.

8. Peer Critique
http://jendyphotoblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/academic-shoot.html
A positive comment about her photos is that she was able to single out an individual subject, and made the picture look interesting. What could be improved is the brightness and amount of color in two ofher photos.

Academic Photo Shoot

1. The composition rules that I used were balance and simplicity. The girl's face on the left side of the photo is balanced out by her arms and the cup with the egg. This is also simplicity because her and her experiment are the only things in focus. There is also unity, with the color blue being the predominate color in the photo. 

2. The subject of the picture is the girl with the Dutch braids writing on the cup, which is on the counter.

3. I think that the subject is clear in this photo, and would be to people looking at it too.

4. I do think that I could've focused in a little more on the girl and get more of the background to blur out.

1. The composition rules that I used was lines. The guy's arm creates a line across the photo to the water squirter, which is what he is doing that makes the photo an academic photo

2. The subject of the picture is the guy with the water squirter 

3. I think that the subject of the picture could be more defined. The subject would be clear to a viewer, but because of the people in the background the focus starts to shift away from the guy with the water squirter.  

4. I could've moved to the right, as to get the guy in the bright red shirt out of the photo. I think the guy with the red shirt definitely starts to take over the subject of the photo.

1. I used the rule of thirds, where the girl writing is on the right side of the photo. Her face is in on the first third marker. Her hand with the pencil is also on one of the third markers.

2. The subject is the girl on the left who is writing and looking at her Chromebook.
3. In this photo, the subject is a little iffy. It is definitely at least the girl, but there's more going on, and I got some mergers in the photo. I think that the subject is clear, but because of the busy lines, it wouldn't be descernable at first. There is a merger on the right, with the next person's elbow and in the top of the photo with the next girl's leg.
4. I could've moved more to the left to get the second girl's leg out of the photo. I didn't fully realize that she had moved her leg, so I wish that I had noticed and taken another photo, or try to blur it out.

Great Black & White Photographers Part 2

Margaret Bourke-White

Her birth name is Margaret White, she added Bourke, her mother's maiden name, to sound more professional. She was born on June 14, 1904, in Bronx, New York. She died on August 27, 1971 in Stamford, Connecticut due to Parkinson's Disease. She attended Columbia University, University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University, and Cornell University. She never went to college for photography, her line of work stemmed from her passion for photography.  

Margaret Bourke-White was the first female documentary photographer to work with the U.S. army and the first foreign photographer that was allowed to document and take pictures in the Soviet Union after the revolution. She worked for Life magazine, and was one of the first four photographers on staff for Life magazine and shot the first cover of the magazine. She documented the Dust Bowl in the American Midwest, the concentration camps that the Nazi regime left and the North African campaign. She traveled to India to to photograph Mohandas Gandhi, just a few hours before his assassination. During the Korean War, she worked with the U.S. armed forces and traveled with South Korean troops. 

Margaret Bourke-White wrote the book Shooting the Russian War (1942), about the siege of Moscow. Margaret Bourke-White and her husband Erskine Caldwell wrote three illustrated books. One is You Have Seen Their Faces (1937), which is about sharecroppers in the Southern United States. The second one is North of the Danube (1939), which is about what life was like in Czechoslovakia before the Nazi's invaded and took over. The third book is Say, Is This the U.S.A. (1941), which is about the industrialization in the United States. While living with Parkinson's Disease, she wrote her autobiography Portrait of Myself.

Bread Line during the Louisville flood, Kentucky
1937

Diversion Tunnels, Fort Peck Dam
1936

At Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territory, Canada
1937

Great Black & White Photographers Part 1

The Tetons and the Snake RiverAnsel Adams

Nuremberg
Margaret Bourke-White

Plate 3 from "Factory Valleys"Lee Friedlander

Academic Shoot Preview

2018- Academics and Community Service

Action and Emotion

In this picture, the guy mixed something to get a reaction. He's obviously satisfied with the reaction he got, so I think this was a planned reaction. The darkness of the edges of the frame highlight the brightness of the flames in the explosion. This helps to draw the focus to the flame, then to the guy holding it and he's expression of excitement.

Filling the Frame

This picture has the entire frame filled by the bodies of the welders and of sparks given off by the welding machine. There are a lot of shadows, which makes the pops of color even more vibrant, especially with the guy in the background. The sparks give off a blue or white spark, giving the frame more color. That helps to fill up the frame and gives it more interest and focus.

The Story

The kids in the class are avidly watching their teacher as he explains what looks to be a lab or experiment. This shows what could be to come and gives the viewer anticipation for what might have happened during the lab, if something like the first picture was their goal. From the expressions on the faces of some of the students with goggles, this is a serious lab, with maybe a dangerous aspect to it. There are mergers in this picture, as there are hands and someone's legs in the bottom left corner that were cut off from the person. 

2012- Academics and Community Service

Favorites:

I picked this photo I like the bright colors of the paint and the action of the paint dropping. The action of the paint flying in the air looks really cool. The focal point in the picture is the paint. There is simplicity to the picture, where the paint splatters are in the foreground. There is a merger, where the girl's hand is cut in half.

I like this photo because of the simplicity of the message. It shows that there is stress in school, but you just need to deal with it and it'll go away. There is definitely simplicity in this picture, particularly because it was submitted as a black and white photo. The bookshelves on the right and left of the guy create lines, framing him into the picture. There is a sense of balance with this picture because of the bookshelves. 

3. I could take photos in one of the science rooms while there is a lab going on. I could go to the library and get pictures of students studying.

4. I would like to go to my freshman english teacher's room, my old biology teacher or one of the art rooms.

5. I will use the rules of photography and take the opportunity to think outside the box to get an interesting picture.

Post Shoot Reflection

1.  Challenges that I found was that it was hard to find something that specifically met one of the categories. I was thinking too much in the box and ended up getting pictures I wasn't too happy with.

2.  I was focusing a lot more on finding a specific focal point and making sure that the picture is not too busy. I also found myself focusing a lot more on framing which is shown in the happy picture and in the square picture. I used the edges of the buildings to frame the sun and the clouds.

3.  I made a mental checklist of the things that I could do to make the picture better and more interesting. The one that I focused on the most was what I wanted the focal point to be and how I was going to make it the focal point.

4. Finally - go back and edit your blogs with the 4 photos (square, metal, happy, Bowie), tell me what rules of composition (which you just learned about) did you end up actually achieving? Did you have any?

5.  I would be interested in shooting the same prompts again because I would like to see how I can improve on the pictures that I initially took for the prompts.

6.  Juxtaposition, Nature, Paper

7.   Peer Reflection
https://jendyphotoblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/prompt-shoot-1.html

I really liked how simple Jen's metal picture is, yet it looks really cool. I like how the picture shows a lot of the chain, but not all of it is in focus.
In Jen's happy picture, she had a clear focus point, which is shown by the bright colors of the flower petals.

I do think that she could've focused in more on the flower, that would've cropped out the brown of the picnic table in the background.

Prompt Shoot #1

Happy

This picture shows simplicity and is almost framing, but not quite. I still like the effect that occurred.

Metal

This picture has a lot of lines, like the hinges of the lockers and the vents at the top.

Bowie

This picture has the rule of thirds, as shown by the trophies being in the bottom left corner. This picture is very busy and I should've picked one thing to focus on.


Square

This has framing, which is of the plant. There are a lot of lines drawing the eye of the viewer from the outside of the picture in, to the plant.