Photography tips

1. Get closer; getting closer allows you to see incredible details on someones face, or a houses exterior.
2. Alter your perspective; taking the photo from a different angle can change the thoughts and emotions connotated with it.
3. Introduce a prop; a prop can make the photo more interesting and get a point across.

                                           Environmental Photo's

I love this photo because the berries are such a pretty shade of red and the sky is a dull yet bright and beautiful sight. The man looks happy to be doing his artsy job and the tree's add nature in the background to look at. 

I am in love with this photo! The house in the background is so rustic and enchanting, the car adds a little bit of luxury in the photo, and the couple looks absolutely stunning and in love. The tree's and greenery look beautiful against the house. 

Self Portrait 

I think this is the best photo I have ever seen. I love that it's in black and white, and how it's from his shoulders up. The fuzzy and woodsy background adds to it and gives it a wintery madness vibe. His muddy body and exhausted face create interest. 

This photo creates interest and curiosity. I love how it is both underwater and above sea level, and her body is dirty, and her hair is wet and falling over her face. This is an amazing photo. 

Casual Portrait 

This little girl is so cute and I love the fact that use is grabbing grass laughing without a care in the world according to this photo. 

This girl is so pretty, and she is laughing in this photo which makes it so light, casual, and elegant. Her hair is blowing in the wind and she looks interested in what is going on to the side of her, not in the photo being taken. 

I will be shooting my older sister Madison. She is a senior here at Bowie. I will shoot in our backyard, and at cool places around Austin. I will have her put on multiple outfits and introduce a few props, and have her just do natural poses or whatever she chooses feels right. My sister has blonde hair and green eyes so I will probably get some close ups with her hair blowing and her eyes being the main focus. 

Shutter Speed

Fast shutter speed

Slow Shutter speed

1. If you were assigned to shoot at Bulldogs and Hotdogs night, which was a few months 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

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

fast 
c.) the Stars performance inside the gym

fast 
d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard

fast
e.) people streaming in from the front doors

slow
f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop
fast
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

slow

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

fast 

c.) the Stars performance inside the gym

fast 

d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard

slow

e.) people streaming in from the front doors

slow 

f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop

slow 

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 - DO NOT COPY AND PASTE, use your own words.

1 - Shutter priority- the camera atom aticaly selects the aperture

2 - Manual - you set both shutter and aperture yourself 

3 - aperture priority - the camera calculates shutter speed 

Aperture

F2.8

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

The pupil

2. Finish this sentence - the smaller the Aperture the more blurry the background is , the higher the Aperture the more clear the background is.
3. In your own words tell me how aperture impacts Depth of Field?

It effects the Depth the Field because if you really want to focus on your main model or center piece of a photo; you need to have a small aperture to make the background blurry. Vise versa if you want to focus on the background and purity of your photo. 

F16

Project Photos

1. What emotions did you feel as you worked your way through these images?
My heart was so happy watching the couple drink beer and cuddle, and slowly I watched her smile, along with 

his fade away as her wrinkles depend and hair fell. My heart became heavy and vulnerable.
2. The photographer said this: "These photographs do not define us, but they are us." What do you think 

about this comment now that you have looked at the photos?
I wholly agree. I was lost and drowning as I scrolled down the photos. I became a pat of the story, I was the story.
3. Do you think you could shoot photos like this if you were in this situation?
I feel like I could, it would be difficult to see a person in so much love or pain or loss and selfishly photograph

 it for a project, but raw human emotions are rare and important to capture to always remember us by.
4. If you could write Angelo a letter, what would you say to him?

"Thank you for showing us how precious each moment in life is. 

Thank you." 

Africa and Abandoned theme parks

1. My reactions after seeing his photographs is absolutely indescribable. I am floored at the power of his images…the beauty of wild animals in their element is stunning. I am shocked by how long it took for him to get some of the photos, and i love that this specific photographer is concerned with the wildlife's well being and really appreciates their beauty.

3. Describe it and tell me why its your favorite.
This is a picture of a wild elephant drinking from a murky watering hole. It is in black and white and centered perfectly, and the beauty of his dirty tusks and wrinkly trunk are spectacular. 
4. What rules of photography are evident in the photos you selected, be sure to explain the rule to me?
The rule of simplicity is in place here in the fact that the background of the photo is endless Savannah, dry dirt and brittle plants. 
Do a google/wikipedia search for Nick Brandt

5. What kind of camera and lens does he use and why is this important?He uses a Pentax 67II with only two fixed lenses. He does not use a telephoto, or zoomed lenses do take his pictures. 

6. What is his reason for taking these photos?
He takes these photos to capture wild animals true beauty and spirit up close. 
7. What is his hope by taking these type of photos?
He hopes to stop animal hunting and extinction of these beautiful wild animals in Africa. 
8. Find something he has to say about Africa, and post the quote on your blog. 
 "This coming year is going to be the most bleak of all with the terrible drought that East Africa is currently experiencing, and the explosion in poaching as a result of the renewed Chinese demand for ivory."




1. Tell me which amusement park featured in the two articles that you would like to visit and take your camera along and what about that park made you want to go there. Write at least a paragraph.

Takakanonuma Greenland is where i would like to take my camera and visit the abandoned theme park. It looks extremely cool and legend has it that the reason they shut down was because their were multiple deaths in their 1st few years of being open. The tree's have grown around and through almost all the rides, and the metal had begun to rust and crumble away slowly. It would be awesome for taking some cool, creepy photos. 

2. Post one photo from that park. You may use the photos from the link, or you can google an entirely new photo. I would prefer to see a photo of the park in disrepair and not a photo of it when it was still operating.

3. Think of at least FIVE other unusual places you think would be of interest to photographers. List them.
1. Dark Ally in New York
2. Tree houses
3. Underneath tables
4. In a fish tank 
5. Sunken ships

4. Use google or another search engine to research ONE of your five places and see if anyone has already started documenting that place. If you find that someone has already started - post at least one photo of their work.

5. Write a paragraph about why you think that it would be fun to document that location. Tell me what interests you about that place and what kind of photos you could expect to take there.
I think it would be so fun to go to cool places around the world such as the forests of California, and Iceland, and Germany, and other neat spots and explore their forests. Trees are so magnificent and powerful, and to have authentic and artsy houses on top and between them make it just that much more of an experience. They have beautiful lines and structure and you can take elegant pictures or make them quirky and rare.  
6. Tell me what it would take for you to go and take photos at your location. What would you need as far as equipment goes, travel plans, expenses you might encounter and what laws you would have to take into consideration to take photos at your spot.
I would need a nice camera, like the ones we have here at school, i would travel by plane to take photos of tree houses in 4-5 different continents. I would need equipment to climb trees and get inside them probably. 

Mural Project preview/plans warm up

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

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?
Keep it on your phones only because about 99.9% of the bowie population probably have camera phones. Also if some photos look better than others the mural would loose some of it's purpose. 
3. Where would you want to put the mural on campus?
I would like to put the mural where everyone can see it, where it grabs peoples attention. Maybe in the courtyard, or in the very front of the school next to the flag pole!

Funny Captains

Sentence 1 - An old woman is lighting up her own birthday cake her own way; with a cigarette!  Sentence 2 - The woman's name is Betty and she has been a chain smoker for 85 years! She insisted upon lighting her 100th birthday cake candles with her cigarette; she was always a jokester! 

Sentence 1 - This woman, Tammy, shows her NFL spirit is still strong after getting her tattoo 53 years ago; and is loving all the attention people are giving her! Sentence 2 - 53 years ago Tammy's son Jaxson was drafted into the Florida Gators NFL team and she was so overjoyed she got the tattoo within 2 days of hearing the news…her son got a matching tattoo on his head as well. 

Sentence 1 - Patty and Ramona are best friends and decided to go to the beach but as they roll up to the shoreline they just kept rolling and now they are lap deep in ocean water! Sentence 2 - They had to get a crane to lift them out, and then Patty fell out of her chair in the process!

Great Black and White Photographers part 3

1.) What first caught your eye while looking at your photographers photos? Is there something in particular about their photos that made you want to choose them?

What first caught my eye when looking at Minor White's photography is his ability to balance the light and dark tints so well. It guides the eye to the really serenity of the photo and gives off peaceful vibes. In particular I liked that he chose to take something as basic as the woods, and make it such a beautiful photo. 

2. 

I see a dark paradise, a misty haze of balck and white…and somehow I see a burst of color where there is none, where their shouldn't be any. 

I smell pine needles and woodsy air in sunshine clouds

I hear birds chirp, and water lap over and over; each different sounding somehow. I smell wet oak, and fresh gurgling running streams.

I taste pure air and comfort, salt and ground water. 

I feel alive and aware, ready to take on the world that looks oh so big and ready. 

I would like to create a power point or poster to spread the word about this amazing photographer; Minor White

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get the photos following the rules I set out for you? 
It was a bit of a challenge trying to get people to look natural in my photos, and to focus the camera. 
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.
Our camera was a tad different and wouldn't focus very easily; and i had to squat a lot to get a good angle of the subject. 
3. If you could do the assignment again, what would you do differently now that you know some basic rules of photography?
Knowing what I know now, I would have gotten closer to my main focus of the photo, and steadied the hand that was holding the camera. 
4. What things would you do the same?
I would photograph the same things, keep the same angles, and the editing would stay the same. 
5. When you go out with your next set of prompts, which rule do you think will be the easiest to achieve?
Lines will be the easiest.
6. Which rule do you think will be the hardest to capture?
Balance for me is the hardest to capture. 
7. What rule are you still not totally clear on and what can you do to figure out what that rule is?
I feel comfortable with all rules :)

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http://mxlsphotos.blogspot.com/2014/10/academic-shoot.html?showComment=1412778679790#c8049430875724113520

1. I really enjoyed the edgy and artiness of her photographs. They were really cool to look at and made you think a little bit.
2. Her angling of the camera and her positioning was really nice. Specifically the keyboard photo.
3. I would have chosen more interesting subjects although hers were not too bad :)

Academic Shoot

Balance

1. How well did you follow the rule?

I feel that I followed the rule very well, without it being up in your face obvious. 

2. What is the subject 

The subject is looking at something that is drawing his attention, not ours. 

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Maybe // this photo really makes you think 

4. If you didn't follow the rule well, what could you have done differently? 

I could have had someone sit in the pushed out chair, but that may have taken away from the interesting balance. 

Lines 

Lines

1. How well did you follow the rule?

I think I did a pretty nice job if I do say so myself :)

2. What is the subject 

Art work, being focused on something your doing

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Yes, cement seat, wall, and lines on the windows draw your eyes to the main point of interest. (the boy drawing)

4. If you didn't follow the rule well, what could you have done differently? 

I think I followed the rule.  

Simplicity

1. How well did you follow the rule?

I followed the rule nicely, the boy is woking quietly, you can almost here a autumn breeze in the background. 

2. What is the subject 

School work in the courtyard, peaceful autumn morning

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

I personally think so. The photo is nice and easy to look at; the lighting is on point; and the elements on the table are arranged perfectly. 

4. If you didn't follow the rule well, what could you have done differently? 

Maybe I could have not gotten the school in the background to make it more simplistic. 

Framing

1. How well did you follow the rule?

I followed the rule pretty good! 

2. What is the subject 

Artwork, focus, and the out crowd due to the way he is sitting and how alone he is, and looks 

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Yes. He is clearly very interested on his art work, and has chosen to be alone in order to get full concentration

4. If you didn't follow the rule well, what could you have done differently?

I could have included the doorframe in the shot so really show off the fitting the frame aspect.

Rule of 3rds

1. How well did you follow the rule?

Great! I aimed the camera to the diagnal, without cutting the model off, or looking to posed to the rule of 3rds.

2. What is the subject 

 He is listening to music, working on his art project; just really in the zone

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Yes! You can see his little headphone wires; and his hands are currently drawing and working 

4. If you didn't follow the rule well, what could you have done differently? 

I feel like I followed the rule well.