The Assignment I'm Most Proud Of

I am most proud of this image because of all of the different compositional properties it has. First of all, the poles on the sides of the image are creating leading lines and bring our eyes to the center of the image, where the subject (the mom and son) are walking. Another compositional strategy I used here was the contrast between the light in the doorway and the dark of the people. I am most proud of this image because of how the moment is captured forever. I was really lucky to get this image as perfectly as it came out, and I am proud of myself for accomplishing this. 

Memorable Experiences

There have been so many memorable experiences here, but my favorite three would have to be Cumberland Fair, our walk to the school garden, and the spooky images. Our excursion to the Cumberland Fair was by far my favorite memory from this semester. It was so fun to go to the fairgrounds and photograph all of the aspects of the fair, from little kids to old couples. I also remember our walk to the school garden, where we discovered how to take images with different compositional strategies. My third favorite memory from this class was when we took the spooky/scary images. I liked this assignment because we learned how to make the pictures look scary by using different affects on iphoto. Overall, I had many memorable experiences from this semester of Photo 1 and I am happy I took this course.

Who Am I

I am interested in many things. I play several sports, including soccer and tennis. I have played soccer since I was a little kid, and although I might not be perfect at it, I love the sport and stick with it. I just started tennis last year and I really enjoy playing. Every year, my family and I visit Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I want my audience to know that I love to travel with my family. Boothbay Harbor is a really special place to my family and I and we know the town like the back of our hands.

Pollution in China

What impressed me was that he took his images from many different angles. It was also impressive that all of his images were from the heart of the pollution, and he took a lot of time to capture the pollution in such a way that we would understand the struggles that these people go through. He really captured each pollution problem and I think that it’s very impressive how well he photographed each contaminated area. I think that these photographs are very moving because they show the real struggles of the people living within this pollution. I also think that they do a great job of telling a story and showing us what we could only imagine from the piece of information given.

Culture Clash

While completing this assignment I learned how to use photoshop in so many different ways. Before this project I had no idea how to use photoshop and by creating this culture clash I was able to learn about all of the different tools. I think that the hardest part of this project was figuring out how to make all of the pictures look as if they belonged together. I think it was hard to mesh all of the backgrounds with the other pictures. Using different tools, however, I was able to mix pictures together; the most helpful tool while doing this was the opacity tool. Making things more see through made it easier to mesh them together.

I am giving myself a 3 out of 4 because I think that I did a good job of creating a scene with different layers. The trees in my image create a lot of depth, and the size difference from the foreground to the background helps with perspective as well. I used 13 pictures, and I think I did a good job of putting both Yarmouth and Beijing images in. Overall, I think I did a good job creating this culture clash project.

Holiday Spirit

This is an image of gingerbread cookies that I took over the weekend. Every Christmas, my family and I bake tons of different cookies, and these are one of our favorites. My sister decided to decorate these ones, and I think it adds to the picture. I think that these cookies represent the holiday spirit because one of the first things I think about when I think of the holidays is the cookies that we always make.

Inspiring Digital Artists

Food

Apple Pie

My brother always makes apple pies, and this one is no different from the rest of them. I thought that this picture was interesting because not the whole pie is lighted, so it creates a sort of contrast within the pie. If the entire pie was dark, then it would sort of blend in with the rest of the picture, especially because the background is included in this image.

Annie Leibovitz

This is my creative interpretation of the life of Annie Leibovitz.
My Video

From the Mailbox

I took this picture from the mailbox of my house, looking towards my house. I thought that the cool angle from the ground would add an interesting effect and that the sun behind the house looked cool, too. I was crouched on the ground, trying to get the house, the sun, and the mailbox all in the same frame. My fingers were freezing off when I took this photo, which is why I took it quickly and tried to get inside as soon as possible. 

Spooky, Scary Photo

I was in the woods behind my house with my neighbor, and she had this idea. She put her arm underneath the leaves so you could only see her hand poking out. I think the leaves make the picture even more creepy because you can create this scene in your head. It was raining out, as you can see on the leaf by the hand, so it was really cold. The ground and the leaves were really wet, which adds to the  scary effect of the photo.

Hobbies, Abbi

When I was taking this picture, I could see all of the things that I love to do below me and I was just trying to capture all of them in the right way. I managed to capture all of my hobbies in the second photo, where I had my sister stand in for me and wear the Red Sox hat. I like the first photo because it’s a close up on two of my biggest hobbies/interests, which are soccer and music. Overall, I like these images because they capture my hobbies/interests very well.

Photo Collage

We were trying to communicate the setting of our performing arts center, or the YPAC. Many public events are held here, and the public rarely has the chance to view the auditorium from the stage. We are giving people the chance to view the auditorium from the angle on the stage. I feel that we were successful in this task because you can see what it is like to stand on the stage and look down at the seats. One thing I learned while completing this project was that when you’re printing out photos, it is important to have a lot of different sizes and shapes. These will make the overall product much more interesting. Another thing I learned was that creating a collage takes a lot of trial and error to make the overall result look like it goes together. The final thing that I learned while doing this photo collage was how many different perspectives we should have for the overall result. Having good perspective will help make the scene more interesting as well.

Creative Portraits

 When I was taking this photo, I was thinking about how cool Libby looked. I was also thinking about how the tree trunk and her legs look similar, yet she stands out anyways. The interesting perspective technique makes it look like she is as tall as the trees. I think that not a lot of people take pictures from this angle, so it looks unique.

When I was taking this photo, I was hoping that she wouldn't drop off of the branch before I got my shot. I wanted to make sure that you could see her hands on the branch as well as the ground so you got the full feel of the moment. I think that the technique used in this photo, off-frame eye contact, helps set the mood and creates mystery.

Cubism

The Cubist Period began in the twentieth century with artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The cubist style emphasizes two dimensions, completely rejecting all techniques of perspective and chiaroscuro. Cubist artists didn’t care much about space or form. Instead, they showed multiple sides and forms of an object at once. Cubist artworks usually show letters, human faces, instruments, and human nature.

David Hockney is most famously a British painter and photographer. He has photographed, painted, designed, and been a printmaker. He is known now as the greatest British artist of his generation. David Hockney's bright and witty personality has influenced his work. His work is Cubist because of his flat and two-dimensional style. The Cubist period influenced his work because, like Picasso, Hockney sometimes shows all dimensions/sides of a single object.

Cow Tails Picture: I was watching the cows when I noticed that all of their tails were flicking. I decided that if I could capture the tails in midair it would be really cool. So I started taking photos, and I ended up with this picture. The cow on the end has its tail high up in the air, which is exactly what I was aiming for. I could really smell the cows as I was taking this picture; you could also see how uncomfortable they were with all of the flies on them. 

Portrait

Motion Frozen

 Landscape

Motion Frozen

Famous Portraits

This photo was taken by Annie Leibovitz. I love this photo because you can see the pure joy in the face of the subject; she is obviously doing something she loves. I also love this photo because it is something very unusual - who rides a bike with their feet on the handles? It shows the subject in a work suit, which creates a sort of story to go with the picture. 

This image was taken by Arnold Newman. It shows our former president in his oval office, where he is comfortable. This photo doesn't look extremely posed, as it looks like he is getting out of his chair. This photo shows the president as a happy, confident person. 

This portrait is by Richard Avedon. I think that this portrait shows a lot of different portrait techniques. This shows a very different perspective than the usual viewpoint; you can see the ground and the subjects' roller blades. Another technique he uses in this photo is eye contact within the shot. 

Stunning Photograph Techniques

Stunning Portraits Techniques:

Moving Subject out of Comfort Zone: 

I like this technique because I think it is an interesting way of creating a stunning portrait. These portraits can create interesting angles and photographs that are different in general. I think that having a subject do something unexpected in a photo will make it more pleasing to the viewer.

Altering Perspective:

I think that when you alter the perspective of a photograph it creates a more interesting portrait. For example, if you took a photo from above the subject, or from below the subject it creates interesting perspective and angles. From different perspectives you can see different parts of the subject than you usually would. 

Take a Series of Photos:

I like this technique because when you take a series of photos, you can see different sides of a subject as well as different angles. Series of photos can show different emotions and viewpoints. 

Shooting Candidly: 

I like this technique because sometimes posed pictures look extremely fake. With this strategy, the photos aren't posed, and the subject is doing something that he or she is comfortable with. When the subject is comfortable, the photos come out very realistically.

Play with Eye Contact:

I like this technique because the subject can be looking at something out of the photo or something within the photo. When the subject is looking away from the camera, it creates mystery and the viewer is left wondering what they are watching. When the subject is looking at another subject/item in the photo, it creates a story and a second point of interest (subject). 

Signs of Fall

This image represents signs of fall because it is a picture of a dead sunflower. Sunflowers represent fall and because this one has died, it represents that fall has come. You can see that I also used background simplified to put more emphasis on the dead sunflower.