Self Portrait: Final Project

Our final project for photography was a self portrait assignment. I was really excited to do the self portrait project because I have not photographed people this semester. I thought it would be challenging and fun to experiment with taking photos of another person. I am not a huge fan of photographs of myself so I decided to photograph another person for my self portrait project.
For this project I decided to photograph a good friend of mine. I wanted to do a very natural photo shoot for this project. I had my friend wear a light dress that accented her olive skin tone. I asked her to wear light, natural make-up. I decided that San Pedro park would be a perfect place to photograph for this assignment. San Pedro park provided beautiful natural lighting and a unique scenery for the photographs.
I had never worked with a model before this assignment. It was a bit challenging to work with a model because I wasn't sure what to ask her to do. Since I am not very experience with photography, I didn't really know how to adequately direct my model. Although I wasn't exactly sure how to direct her,it was really fun to experiment with a model. Mostly, I wanted to capture her natural emotions and movements. Sometimes I tell her to think about things that made her happy, sad, or excited to evoke certain emotions. Other times I would just wait until she moved in a certain way I liked, or until a particular emotion came out.
Overall, I think that the project went really well. I learned which angles are best when photographing another person. I also discovered the best methods to capture natural emotion from another person. In the future, I will probably be more directive when it comes to photographing other people.

Project 8: Shadow and Light

The shadow and light project was a great experience in utilizing shadows within photography. Darkness and detail were two aspects that I focused on throughout this shoot. I took one photo shoot in the early morning around seven am, and one at dusk, around six pm. Photographing at this time allowed me to capture the shadows, darkness, and detail that I did. Throughout this shoot, I learned that you have to be careful not to capture your own shadow in the photographs. I learned that the later it gets during dusk, the more of a problem this becomes. Several of my photos were ruined because my shadow was present. In the future I will make sure to pay more attention to this.
Originally, I was not planning on using the photographs from the graveyard for the shadow and light project. When I looked back at these photos, I loved the way these photos captured light and shadow. I think that the contrast between shadows and gravestones is very striking and can be very beautiful. In may of the graveyard photographs I shot, a pattern forms of shadows and gravestones. Sometimes this pattern seems never ending. I enjoy the contrast between the finality of a graveyard and the never ending feeling of these photos.
Several of the photographs I took capture a sole gravestone with flowers in front of it. I took these photos to capture the intimacy of a gravestone. The flowers presented to the dead is a very interesting concept to me. A connection to and a respect for the past are demonstrated by the act of giving flowers to the dead. To me, this was a very peaceful environment.

Still Life Photography: Evening Shot

Still Life Photography: Evening Shot

Still Life Photography: Studio Shot

This was the first time I have used a studio to shoot photographs. I shot under a single light with a black backdrop. I enjoyed shooting under studio lighting because it is stable. Also, you can manipulate the lighting to capture or emphasize a certain aspect of your image. I photographed thrash next to a skull for this still life shot. I placed the skull in this photograph to symbolize the inevitable degradation of the environment, if Americans continue to live as they do. I placed the Starbuck's cups with the "you" pointed forward to emphasize that each individual is responsible for the waste they produce. I was also trying to emphasize that "you" can ameliorate these environmental wrongs by recycling, reusing, and not over consuming the precious resources of the earth.

Still Life Photography

The still life photography project involved capturing an image with three different lighting settings. A morning, evening, and studio shot were required so that we could experience the affect of various lighting conditions on images. For my still life photography project I decided to do something symbolic. I chose to symbolically demonstrate environmental degradation, over consumption, and the poor diet eaten by Americans. According to David Neguib Pellow, "The volume of thrash that U.S. residents generate has doubled in the past forty years. At 31.5 pounds, the weekly waste output of the average U.S. citizen is the highest in the world. Nearly 90 percent of plastic and 50 percent of the paper generated in the United States end up in landfills". I was extremely saddened to learn that Americans participate in such gross acts of environmental violence. Through my still life I intended to demonstrate that the wastefulness, carelessness, and over consumption of Americans is not sustainable. Eventually, this behavior will destroy the environment and greatly effect the health of the world. Therefore, I chose to photograph thrash in the midst of a graveyard. This symbolizes the environmental degradation occurring as a result of American wastefulness. I also intended to demonstrate that corporations such as McDonald's have began to destroy the American diet. Obsesity, diabetes, and other sicknesses are a result of Americans over indulging in foods that restaurants like McDonald's serves. Therefore, if Americans continue to center their diet around processed and fast foods, their health will be destroyed.

Triceratops and Jungle

The triceratops dinosaur photograph allowed me to learn a lot about photoshop. I learned how to utilize the magnetic lasso and the quick selection tools within photoshop. The magnetic lasso allowed me to select only the dinosaur and move it out of its original background. During this project I also learned how to download images of morguefile.com to utilize in photoshop. Lastly, I learned how to move the selected dinosaur image and place it on to a new background. Therefore, I was left with an image of the dinosaur in a jungle scene instead of the museum background. Using the curves tool within photoshop also allowed me to caste sun light on the dinosaur. This made the dinosaur appear more natural and that it belonged in the jungle background. Overall, I was pleased with the way that this diorama shot turned out.

Diorama Project: Triceratops in Jungle

Diorama Project

For our fourth project for Introduction to Photography we visited the Witte art museum. A dinosaur exhibit was being presented at the art museum during our visit. Our goal with this project was to photograph the dioramas presented at the dinosaur exhibit.

Unfortunately, the photographs that I took of the dioramas did not turn out as I was expecting them to. Our goal was to angle our cameras about 45 degrees to the glass of the dioramas to avoid glare and to capture good light. Also, we aimed to use others and ourselves to block the unnatural light sources and capture good images of the dioramas.

After examining my photographs from the Witte museum, I realized that I did not capture the light properly. I learned that I need to be more sensitive and aware to the angles at which I photograph and the light I am capturing in my image. Many of my pictures for the diorama project turned out with a slight blur, and showed the unnatural lighting of the exhibit.

Throughout this project I realized that I get claustrophobic when taking photos around that many people. Therefore, in the future I will try to take photos when there are not a lot of people around. I think that I will get better quality photographs by doing that.

Photography Project #3: Elements of Composition

Photography project three was the incorporation of depth of field, shutter speed, and elements of composition. For project three I focused primarily on the elements of composition within photography. I chose to take photographs that primarily demonstrated texture and pattern.
After choosing to focus my photographs on texture and pattern for project three, I wondered what a good location would be to capture these elements of composition. I decided that a park would provide an abundance of opportunity to photograph texture and pattern. San Pedro park, in particular, has a ton of natural elements throughout it.
Although San Pedro park did provide numerous opportunities to capture texture and pattern, I do not think I was successful with my shooting. I realized after examining my photos that I need to focus more on the framing of my shots. I think a lot of my ideas and the material I was choosing to shoot were good, but my execution was not. In the future I am going to pay more attention to the angles and framing of my compositions. Also, I realized I need to pay more attention to the lighting of my photographs as well.
I also chose to shoot some of my photographs as a music store. The music store provided opportunities to capture pattern and texture as well. I was able to get a few good shots of the instruments, but I was not pleased with the lighting in my photos.

Project 3: Pattern & Texture

I chose to venture into a music shop for project three. I thought that a music shop would provide an opportunity to photograph texture, pattern, line, and shape. I was much less successful in the music shop then I would have liked to be. I like the pattern, shape, and coloring of the violins. I do not like the lighting, especially the bright reflection on the ceiling of this photograph. In the future, I will pay more attention to framing and lighting issues to insure a higher quality photo.

I saw a string of lights in the quarry, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to utilize and manipulate shutter speed. I set my shutter speed low and twirled my camera around to capture the lights dancing.

This photograph was captured through a low shutter speed and a slow horizontal movement.

To capture this image I used an urban traffic scene. I focused my camera a set of green lights used to direct traffic. In this photography I used a very low shutter speed and moved my camera around in circles. The movement and shutter speed allowed me to blur the traffic lights.

To utilize shutter speed I decided to shoot night time traffic. Night time traffic provided adequate light and movement needed to practice shutter speed. With a very low shutter speed I was able to blur the lights and movement of the traffic. I feel that I could have used a slightly higher shutter speed to capture a bit more of the shape of the traffic.

This photograph was taken around this quarry area. This ravens often swarm around the quarry, especially around sunset. I believe that this photograph does a good job at showing the movement of the birds through use of a proper shutter speed.

Project 2: Shutter Speed

This photograph was taken from the Emily Morgan hotel located on the River Walk. The Texas flag was utilized in this photo to capture motion. I feel that this photo could have been framed better. I like how the movement of the flag is captured in this photograph.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

This photograph demonstrates a shallow depth of field. This photo was taken of the ducks at Brackenridge park. I think this photo would have been stronger if I had paid more attention to the its framing. I am not pleased with the large amount of asphalt that it present in the photograph. I do like how well the ducks turned out though.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

I love this photograph. I think that this is a fun photograph that captures a childlike joy. The color contrast or the purple balloon, the gold stones, and the sunlight create a beautiful piece. This photograph demonstrates a deep depth of field. In its simplicity, this photo holds a strong artistic quality.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

I do not believe that this photograph captures depth of field, but I thought it was a fun piece. I really enjoy the subtle contrast between the green and purple balloons and the tree. I believe that this photo is possesses an eerie and mysterious quality that makes it unique.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

This is a photograph of the train tracks at the San Antonio zoo. This photograph represents a shallow depth of field. I think that the composition and line of this photograph are unique and eye-catching. I believe that I could have captured the shallow depth of field more effectively, but overall this photograph is artistically successful.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

This photograph was taken in a garden at Brackenridge park. This image demonstrates a very shallow depth of field. I really enjoy this photograph because it captures a moment in time. This photograph is a window into nature in the early morning hours. The dew on the flower subtly captures the essence of morning time.

Project 1: Depth of Field Photographs

This image was taken at Brackenridge Park for the Depth of Field project. I chose this photograph because I believe that it is a good demonstration of deep depth of field. I also chose this shot because I enjoyed the variety of ducks presented. I felt that the waterfall was also good subject matter.

Project #2

I really enjoyed utilizing shutter speed for the second project. For the second project I traveled to downtown San Antonio. I figured that the riverwalk area would be bustling, and have a lot of movement and action for me to capture. At first, I had no idea how to manipulate the shutter speed in order to capture movement and light. Therefore, upon arriving downtown I played around with a wide range of shutter speeds and subjects. I witnessed a vast range of effects with each shutter speed and with they varying subjects I shot. First, I shot traffic and people who were walking to practice shooting motion. It was a cold and windy day so I also utilized the American and Texas flag of the Emily Morgan hotel. Since the flags were flapping rapidly in the wind, I was able to practice capturing still and blurred motion. After shooting downtown, I decided to go to the quarry area. A beautiful sunset was occurring as I arrived at the quarry. Also, as night falls, enormous flocks of birds swarm around this area. Therefore, I was able to practice shutter speed with vary levels of light as the sun set. Also, the birds were would frequently fly in packs so I was able to capture high levels of movement as the light levels were changing.
For the most part my, I think my photos were successful. I wish I had been more successful on capturing blurred motion. I feel that I was a bit confused on how to accomplish a successful blurred motion image.Since the quarry is next to a major highway, a lot of traffic occurs. Therefore, I wanted to blur the lights of the oncoming traffic, but these photos did not turn out well. I am going to keep attempting to capture blurred motion throughout the semester.

Project One: Depth of Field

The first project for my Introduction to Photography course was to utilize the depth of field technique. Before adventuring out into the field to complete this project, I decided to practice using depth of field in my apartment. At first, I used the aperture setting on the camera to attempt to capture depth of field. I had a lot of trouble getting the f-stop and lighting correct in order to capture depth of field. Since I had so much trouble with the aperture setting, I switched to manuel. Then I manually altered the f-stop and lighting to capture each level of depth of field. The manual setting worked much better, and I was able to take photos with shallow, medium, and deep depth of fields.

After figuring out how to work with my camera to capture depth of field , I decided to go out into San Antonio. For this first project, I decided to travel to Brackenridge park to take some photographs. During this photographing session I was focusing on getting to know my camera. Also, I attempted to get comfortable taking different types of shots from all different angles. I realized afterward that I concentrated a little to much on the subject of the ducks at the park. Instead, I should have expanded the amount of objects I was photographing.

I learned from this project that I need to be more aware of my surroundings when I photograph. For example, I had a very beautiful photograph of a baloon, but a trash can was in the background. Now I realize I always need to be aware and concentrate on everything surrounding the image I am photographing.

At first, I was very overwhelmed with photoshop, but as I began to play around with the various tools I became more comfortable. I learned a lot about brightness/contrast, color, hue, vibrance, and curves. Also, I played a lot with the burn and dodge feature. With these features I learned that they must be used sparingly and carefully.

Overall, I was very pleased with my results for project one, and I can't wait to continue learning more about my camera.