Writing Assignment 7

We live in small corners,
In small boxes and lines,
Our lives do not suffer,
Our spirits deprived,
It isn't a dark place,
We are all safe,
But what do you know of a wild place?

Writing Assignment 6

1 Street Portraits
It was very awkward to do this at first. I had to learn to keep my camera low and sneak a shot when I could. I used the zoom on my camera a lot for these portraits and I got some pretty awesome photos.

2 Documentary portraits
I took a lot of these kinds of portraits at Bugbee. Often the kids would look at the camera or glance at it while they were playing.

3 Environmental portraits
I did a few of these in my residence hall. I feel like these were the most challenging photos to take because people would stiffen up and not look as natural.

5 Focus on facial expressions
When I did street portraits and took photos of people with natural facial expressions they were priceless. A person knowing that they are being photographed would just smile and look at the camera, some of these photos looked nice but where boring.

6 After you are done
When I started I felt like such a creeper. I'm much more comfortable taking photos of strangers. I like taking photos when the person is unaware though, I'm not sure how good I am at making the people I'm photographing comfortable.

Writing Assignment 5

One of the things that interested me about the subject I photographed is the fact that trees are asymmetrical. An asymmetrical photo can be really interesting to look at, and the branches can lead the eye in different directions. The bark on the trees is also interesting to focus on in a photograph. Different trees have different bark, some smooth and others rough and peeled. The type of tree being photographed can determine the atmosphere of the photo. My compositions all have a tree being shown in the image, so the viewer can easily see the focus of this set of images is trees.

Writing Assignment 4

1. composition: the arrangement of subjects in the frame
2. lighting: direction of light (and other qualities)
3. clear focal point (this can be done with focus, color, contrast, etc)
4. there is a clear purpose: the photo conveys the goal/message of the photographer
5. the subject is interesting
6. unique perspective
7. creativity
8. depth of the image, multiple layers
9. emotional response
10. technical skill

This photo is focused solely on the crystal, one of the four objects we had to use. My primary focus was to play with how different light sources affect the look of the crystal. I suppose its strength is in that it has a clear purpose and focus which is the crystal. It lacks depth since its an image of a crystal and a soft pink background, and there is no strong emotional response when I look at this picture. If I could change it I think I would like to play with the source light color to make the crystal not so white, and have a more interesting background.

Writing Assignment 3

Besides using aperture to control depth of field a photographer can use eyes, or what looks like eyes, within a photo to intentionally draw the viewers focus to what the photographer wished. Humans are hard wired to focus on what others are looking at, if a person or animal in a photo is looking at something then the viewer of the photo will look at that portion of the photo the person, or animal in the photo is looking at. This technique can be used creativity to make a main focus of the picture something unexpected, like a blurry, and uncentered background object. Another creative way to move a viewers focus point away from the obvious is to photograph things that are unexpected. An item placed or used in a way that is not common place will draw the viewers eye.

Writing Assignment 2

1.       Did if feel uncomfortable to be photographed? If so, why? Describe if there was a moment when the mood, your relationship or your comfort being photographed shifted.

   I didn’t feel any discomfort while being photographed by my partner. She has been my friend before entering this class, so if she wanted to move my arm or my head I didn’t feel weird. However, in the beginning of the assignment we were timid with how we were taking our photos and positioning each other, but by the end of the assignment we were having a lot of fun.

2.       How can you help someone feel more comfortable when you are photographing?

   I suppose you could act casual, and explain things to them so they know what’s going on. If the person knows why you are doing things and photographing them in a certain way they would be more comfortable doing so.

Writing Assignment 1

What are the photographer's name, book title, and year published?
List three reasons why you personally like the 1st photo.
List three reasons why you personally like the 2nd photo.
Why did you choose this book?
What do you think are this photographer's strengths? Discuss at least three.
In general, what do you think makes a good photo? Brainstorm as many qualities as you can think of.

1.       The photographers name is Tony Mendoza and his book is called; Ernie A Photographer’s Memoir. The year this book was published is 1985.

2.       The first photo I chose is the one on the front cover. This image is what attracted me to the book in the first place. It is a black and white photo of a gray and white cat’s face. What I love about this picture is the cat’s facial expression, this isn’t just a picture of a cat, this is a picture that has character and charm. The cat looks shocked and you can almost feel it.

3.       The second photo is one toward the end of the book. The photographer is moving on and leaving the cat behind with its owner. The image is very dark, as it is a black and white image of a night scene. The moon is visible and there are big New York buildings looming in the background with their windows glowing with light. In the foreground a silhouette of the cat. It is a very calm quiet picture that also seems to evoke loneliness.

4.       I gravitated to this book because of the front cover as mentioned earlier. The decision to use it for this class solidified as I looked though all the whimsical and adorable photos.

5.       Tony Mendoza really studies his subjects and likes to show their world through his photos. A lot of these photos are right at cat eye level or close-ups.  All of his cat photography is in black in white and he uses this to his advantage as well. Some of the images have the cat fade into the background so the eyes and mouth really stand out as the photographer intended. Mendoza also really has a lot of whimsy. He decided to just photograph this cat and dived right in and made it into a success rather than trying to take photo’s that would be obviously popular.

6.       I believe a good photo should have soul and passion. A photo that tells a story is important too, but without a core essence that can move people and stir up an emotional response it falls flat as a piece of art. Of course a good photo should also be of good quality so it can be flexible and used in many different ways.