Time: Activity 4 Blog

Q: Find a photograph where the photographer has used a slow shutter speed and describe the subject matter including the background. Discuss any technical difficulties the photographer may have encountered and how these mat have been overcome. 

A: 

In this photo, it appears to be a teddy bear twirling around on a merry-go-round. You can't see much of the background, but since most of it is green, you can assume that the photo was taken at a park. Some problems the photographer may have come across are not being able to keep the teddy bear in a specific spot for the shot. One slight movement of the bear, and the entire photo would have been ruined. It must have been very difficult to keep the bear in one spot until the shutter went off. This problem may have been solved by somehow pinning the bear down by using tape or some other adhesive. 

Time: Activity 2 Blog

Q: Find an example of a photograph where the photographer has used a very fast shutter speed and describe the subject matter including the background. Discuss any technical difficulties the photographer may have encountered and how he or she may have overcome them. 

• Discuss what happened to the depth of field and why. 
• Discuss weather the image gives you the feeling of movement, stating the reasons for your conclusion. 

A: 

The human eye can only see certain details when they happen at a very high speed. By taking a photo with a fast shutter speed, we can see the events that take place when preforming an action that takes place at a high speed, such as popping a water balloon. This photo may be a bit difficult to capture for someone who doesn't have much experience. The photographer may have had difficulties with timing the object that shot the water balloons; Either the shot was taken before the balloons were popped, or taken long after the balloons popped. You have to get the timing exactly right in order to capture a photo like this one. When looking at this photo, it is almost as if you are there, watching the balloons disintegrate, and the water spills everywhere.

Time: Activity 1 Blog

 Q: Look at a Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph and discuss why you think that capturing the decisive moment has added to the picture’s quality. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnMTpL5GQ9E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR7JPiLyDGk


A: I believe that capturing a photo in the decisive moment helps to add to the photo's realness. You can tell that a subject's emotion or reaction is genuine, compared to one who tried to recreate the emotion. This just makes the photo more interesting to look at because you know that the subject's emotion is is real.

Landscape: Activity 3: Blog

David Edwards A Monsoon Storm In The Grand Canyon

Ed Mel

The photo on the left is a painting of the grand canyon, and the photo on the right is a photograph. In the photo on the right, the painting illustrates the canyon to be a bit cartoonish. The mountains appear to be a bit blockish and oddly shaped. Whereas the photo on the right is still a bit unrealistic, you can still tell that the two were created using different techniques. The photograph is vibrant, and looks as if the photographer used HDR to make it pop.

Landscape: Activity 1

Bethlehem, Graveyard and Steel Mill - Walker Evans 1935 © Walker Evans Archive, 1994, 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this photo, I see many headstones and cement crosses. This shot looks as if it were captured in a graveyard. If you look beyond the gloomy cemetery, you can see a city with multiple chimneys and dozens of power lines. I feel that Walker Evans used landscape photography to create a dismal scene in this photo. It shows a city mainly consisting of graves and worn out crosses. Although it is not the typical photo you see everyday, it does have a subject in the photo that your eyes are immediately drawn to. When you first look at this photo, your attention is brought to the oversized cross that is placed in the bottom left hand portion of the photo. This photo also uses rule of thirds, as well as depth of field. I believe that, in a way, this photo would be considered art.

Light: Activity 4 Blog

Extreme Great Depth of Field:

In the first  photo, everything from the closest trees, to the far parts of the ocean, are in focus. Everything in this photo is vibrant, and crystal clear. It seems that if you were to gaze at the photo for long enough, you'd feel like you were standing on that very beach.

In the second photo of the dock, there are multiple examples of composition! First, and most obvious, there is leading lines due to the stakes that are holding the dock together. Next, and not quite as obvious, is great depth of field. This is because the dock, and everything around it is in focus.

Extreme Shallow Depth of Field:

In the first photo, of the snake, the entire head of the snake is entirely in focus, while the rest of his body is completely blurred out.  This  makes the photo unique. Normally, a photographer would include the entire snake in complete clarity, but this photographer used shallow depth of field in order to capture only the snake's head. 

In the photo of the  flower, you can faintly see that there are other flowers in the background, but they are  out of focus. Your eye is immediately drawn to the first flower; The flower that is in focus.  

Light: Activity 2 Blog

Single Light Source:

This photo is an example of a photo that has one light source; The sun. It naturally lights the photo, without the need of extra lights. Since the main light source is positioned behind the couple, it leaves only the silhouettes of the people jumping around in the water. 

Multiple Light Source:

In the second example that I chose, the subject is caught mid-air doing the splits. The light reflecting off of her chest shows that there was a flash used. There is also still some lighting in the sky from the sun that is setting. Personally, I think the photo looks better with the flash because every detail is more defined. You can see the beads of sweat glistening all over her body that a photo with only the available light may have missed. 

Light: Activity 1

Soft Lighting

In this photo, "Fields of Love"captured by Alexei Demin, the mood is a bit romantic. The light is touching the couple in a way that appears soft to the eye. The sky in this photo looks a bit gloomy, as if it were going to rain soon. But since the subjects of the photo look so happy, despite the appearance of the sky, their emotion gives the photo a pleasant mood.

Hard Lighting

This photo, "Following the Sun" captured by Irina Oreshina, is an example of hard lighting. I say this because the subject is standing directly in front of the light source, or the Sun. Although the subject is far away, you can still see specific details in her. Some of these details include the flowing of her hair and the texture of her skirt. I feel like the mood in this picture is pleasant, and almost exciting. I could picture this model seeing something, or even someone, on the path that her silhouette is blocking, and she is frozen, almost as if in shock.

Frame & Composition: Activity 3

In Rule of Thirds, the subject of the photo must be on one of the far sides in the photo. You can tell if the photo is an example of Rule of Thirds simply by placing imaginary lines, typically creating 9 little boxes in the form of a grid. Like this photo to the right.

(Photo by Joseph Demko)

As you can see, this photo is an example of Rule of thirds. The puppy takes up the squares on the right side of the photo. You can also clearly see that the puppy is the subject.

(Photo by Joseph Demko)

Lastly, this horse is also another example of Rule of Thirds. These photos were taken by the same artist. The artist's name is Joseph Demko. I found these to be great examples of Rule of Thirds because of the positioning of the subject in the frame.

Frame & Composition: Activity 2

Q. What does John Szarkowski mean when he says that photographers are quoting ‘out of context’ when they make photographic pictures? 

A: I think Szarkowski means that photographers start with their art differently than an artist, such as a painter, would. To quote, "While the draughtsman starts with the middle of the sheet, the photographer starts with the frame." Photographers see art differently, although they are still creating pieces of artwort. 

Q. The frame often ‘dissects familiar forms’. At the end of the last century photography was having a major impact on Art. Impressionist artists such as Degas were influenced by what they saw. Look at these examples of Degas work, which clearly shows the influence of Photography, and explain why the public might have been shocked to see such paintings.

A. The public may have been shocked to see such paintings because some of them look so realistic, almost like a photograph. These paintings even look like they could come to life, and even jump off of the canvas. Although you can clearly see the individual brushstrokes in some of his work, he was a very talented artist. 

(Painting by Vladimir Volegov)

At first glance, without even taking the time to look at the painting in depth, this image looks like a photograph. Then, once you take the time to examine this piece of work, it is clearly a painting. You can tell by the way that the artist tried fabricating her dress to make it look like it is real and flowing. You can see the sunlight glistening off of the water, and how her skin looks like it is smooth. Lastly, this painting has so many intricate details like the way you can see the strands of straw in her hat. It wouldn't be hard to tell that this photo was inspired by photography.