House of My Mind

The House of My Mind project aim was to capture the essence of a house-like feeling or environment, and, using photoshop and newly learned techniques, blend together and incorporate multiple images to create a unified final project.

My final project was quite successful in the notion that I accomplished many of the new skills, such as masking, that we learned how to do in photoshop.  The valuable skill of being comfortable with editing and manipulating photos in a digital setting helped me create images that gave insight to who I am, and what my mind is like.  In the beginning, I had intentions of photographs that used only a few images, using simple tools, to make a fabricated image of something house-like.  However, as I became more comfortable in the computer setting, I began to take different paths with my editing.  I developed my craft and stretched and explored with the new techniques, especially with the comparison of my first photograph, seemingly less advanced technically than the later ones.  I feel that now I have refined my craftsmanship to a wider area of capability.  I grew from a person quite unfamiliar to the whole Photoshop thing, to one who can easily navigate.  My "Thought Process" image, which was the one I made first, compared to the others, shows my growth from earlier in the year up until now.  One can see the progression of a beginner to masking to a master, not really, but a better one anyway.

Transforming Materials

The Transforming Materials project aimed to photograph everyday materials, while incorporating them into the surrounding environments.

My final product does indeed relfect my intentions for this project.  In the beginning, I had hoped to utilize unique lighting, the sun or an unnatural source, to capture images that would make the reader question the identity of the content.

 

I think my final products took a totally different direction from what I had pictured in the beginning, but in a good way!  I think that I first imagined having a series of all black and white images of tinfoil, and just crumpling it.  However, I think the direction went in a completely different way in that I manipulated - or transformed - the materials so that the viewer would have to question the identity at first.

Final Reflections

1) Before the year began, I was excited to begin taking photography, having not had the opportunity to take the class beforehand.  I had taken may pictures with my mom's digital DSLR camera, but never film, so I knew a little about ISO, shutterspeed, and Aperture, but only a little.

2) Throughout the year, I feel like I have most needed to cultivate the skill of composition.  When taking a photograph, it is much better to look in every corner to see that what you can see through the lens is exactly what you want your photograph to look like.  In Aperture and Photoshop, you can crop images, but in the darkroom it was important to keep composition in mind when taking the photograph, so as not to warp the picture when cutting it or enlarging it.

3) The skill of composition and previous skill that I had coming into the class were helpful because I could use past knowledge to answer my own questions.  Also, with my work on composition, I now try to take a photograph exactly at the size I want it, with the borders of what I see on the lens exactly as I would like to see it on the paper.  In other words, I am trying not to take advantage of cropping as much.

4) I have realized that I need to improve my digital editing skills.  Some of the procedures needed to edit a photograph in Aperture or Photoshop are necessary tools in making a picture better, and if I learned a little more about each program I could improve on this quite a bit.

5) To improve these skills, I have practiced using Photoshop to better assimilate myself to the process of editing digital photographs.  Just playing around and see what I can do makes a difference, but also using the powerpoints we were given to accomplish the more complex procedures.

6) What I am most excited about photography right now is the fact that I have the ability to take a camera anywhere I want, take pictures, and edit them to be perfect, using just a camera, and a computer.  I like that fact that I have learned what it takes to crop, solarize, vignette, or in any way edit a photograph.

Portrait Project

The goal of the Portrait Project was to learn how to compose a photograph of a person, having planned out the composition before hand, meaning they were not candid.  My favorite photograph of the collection bellow is the last, because of the slight vignette, (which was an accident, the camera had a malfunction).  I also like the fact that the person is not looking at a camera.

Abstract Darkroom

 The Abstract Darkroom project was much like the Abstract Digital Project, in that we aimed to take pictures of scenes or objects that masked the true identity of the thing in the picture.  Whether that means actually having a screen or film of something on the lens, or zooming in really close.

My favorite photograph of the above is the last one.  I like it so much because you can't tell what the object of focus is.  In fact, I can't even remember what it is.  I think the photograph that I struggled most with was the second, because I had to reprint it many times to get the whiter parts toned down.

LEED Architecture

Our goal for the LEED Architecture project was to photograph the Branson campus, while highlighting the sustainable technologies and buildings from the recent renovation.  Even though we took a lot of the pictures inside, the natural light from the large windows of each building allowed for a supplement to the camera flash, and some unique photos.

Abstract Digital

An abstract photograph is sometimes one that is taken in an unusual light, or one that it not recognizable at first glance.  In the Abstract Project, the goal was to take abstract photographs using everyday objects, scenery, or materials, and turning them into a photograph that masks the object's identity.  I experimented with different angles and light.  Sometimes allowing the shutter speed to be very long to obtain a blurred sort of look.  In other photographs I took the picture from an unusual angle, so as to obscure the identity of the object.

Still Life Objects with a Flash

The focus of the Still Life with Studio Lighting was to use a prop, and adjust the studio lighting to make the object look like it was in a natural space.  My two favorite photos from this project (I could not choose one) were the first and sixth.  The first photo was actually taken in the daytime, outside, but the flash made the background turn black.  I like the mystery about it.  The sixth photograph draws my attention because the book's pages pop out against the black studio background.  It seems as if the book is falling through space.

Urban Photography

The point of the urban photography project was to capture the elements and surprises of an urbanized area, by following the techniques of a selected artist, while adding in one's own twist.  I imitated the French photographer Eugene Atget's style.  His stylistic ways were mostly entitled to compostitions where the camera was facing up, which allows the buildings' size to be expressed.  He also took a lot of storefront pictures.

I looked at Atget's pictures and then tried to use some of his strategies to imitate his style, so I took a lot of my photos from different or unusual angles.  Also, I tried to capture the size of the buildings by comparing them to the long streets.  The sharp angles and geometric shapes in the picture of the long street and the picture with the three tall buildings reflect on the geometric style of Atget.

My favorite photograph from the collection above is the first.  The angle of the camera facing upward, makes the viewer feel very small, as if the buildings are towering down above them.  I also like this photo because it captures Atget's style because it is a streetview photograph.

Reflective

I used to love looking in puddles on rainy days, seeing myself in the reflection, or walking down the busy streets of San Francisco, glancing at the store windows, and seeing the other pedestrians stare back from the glass.  So when I learned of this project I knew I was going to choose reflective as my adjective.

***

This photo captures the relfectiveness of a rainy day.  The wet stones portray another picture copying the real thing.  I like how some of it is a bit shaky and hard to see.  This makes the pictures look like it was not too poised.

This picture was taken inside with little light.  The table is glass so it reflects the lamp and window above.

This last picture outlines the word reflective, because whenever anybody thinks of the word, water comes to mind.  I like how the composition cuts off the rest of the pool, giving off and air of modern lines and corners.  The reflection of the house makes clear that the picture is of a pool, with the

ripples from the rain.