Digital Photography Photos 2010-2011

                               

 To wrap up this trimester in digital photography class, we made a video slideshow on Anitmoto.com to show our best pictures. I really liked this class this trimester and I really liked learning about how to take correct photos. I came into this class thinking that it was just going to be an easy class, but you actually had to do work in it. It wasn't what I expected, but I really enjoyed it.

Architecture Photos

Best Photo:

Assignment Description:

For the final photo assignment, I decided to do architecture. My friend and I went downtown Ann Arbor together and took pictures of the buildings and sculptures there. We were downtown for about and hour and a half just taking pictures. For my best photo, it is a picture of a sculpture that is downtown. I thought this picture was cool because of the color of the sculpture up against the blue sky, Also, I liked it because I just think that this is a very cool looking sculpture. I liked the architecture assignment because it was fun to be able to go downtown and just look at all the different buildings.

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/500

ISO: 100

Photo Slideshow:

Gimp Visual Pun Assignment

For this assignment, we were asked to either make three visual puns or one visual dictionary photo. I choose to do visual puns. For my pictures, I have bookworm, chairman, and 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' I think I showed them pretty well, but the last photo, the one on the bottom, was supposed to kind of be a tricky one. I liked this assignment because it was fun and we got to use everything that we have learned on Gimp. Also, I liked it because there weren't any instructions and we were just supposed to create a photo using the things we already know about Gimp.
Photo Credit:
Books- Shutterhacks
Worm- Finsec
Chair- Paul Keller
Man- TheSELVA
Tree- Nate Ferdinandt
Apple- ndrwfgg

School Context Assignment

 For this assignment, we were asked to take a photo of the school and change it up. We were supposed to make something that we see everyday look different. For my picture, I took a photo of  the roof of the school and the little courtyard that we have. I put helicopters in the sky and celebrities in the courtyard. I did this, because we don't usually see Justin Bieber, Usher, and the Jersey Shore cast in the schools courtyard. I thought it turned out pretty good and I like it. Also, the reason why the celebrities look bigger than normal is because they were supposed to look like they were closer to the camera that the windows in the back.

Shadows&light Photos

Best Photo:

Assignment Description:

For this weeks photo, I decided to do shadows and light. I found some pretty cool shadows of things just around my house. For this picture, it demonstrates light more than shadows. I just took a picture of a light that is up on a wall in my house. I liked it because the light shines on the wall and it looks pretty cool. I liked shadows and light because it made you think on what you wanted to take a picture of and what would look good as a shadow. 

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/60

ISO: 800

Photo Slideshow:

Black&white Photos

Assignment Description:

For photo assignment #4, I chose to do black&white. I just went around looking for things that would look good as black and white photos. For this picture, I was at my friends house and I decided that I should start taking pictures. I was looking for something good to take a picture of and couldn't find anything but then I saw her dog, Howie, and thought that would be a cute picture. I basically just told him to sit and had my friend make him look a little to the left so that he would be looking off into the distance. I think this picture turned out good and I actually really like it. 

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/100

ISO: 800

Photo Slideshow:

Motion Blur Demo Assignment

For this assignment we took pictures of Mr. Bush riding a bike. The goal was to try to get the background blurry and Mr. Bush on his bike clear. While taking the photo I learned how to do so. I actually found it kind of easy, except in the picture, Mr. Bush is a little blurry.  By doing this assignment, I learned how to make the background blurry and the subject clear. I also learned that when doing so, the shutter speed has to be lower so you can actually capture the motion. Also, I learned that when taking this type of picture, you have to follow the subject all the way through, not just stop after taking the photo. 

Macro Photos

Assignment Description:

For this weeks photo assignment, I chose to do macro. In macro you are supposed to get really up close to different things and take a picture. I took this picture in my bathroom, I have a bunch of different color headbands so I thought they would would look good in a photo. I just stacked them up and got really close and took the picture. I liked this photo because it has a different effect than most. It is kind of blurry at first and then goes clear and then gets blurry again. I thought that looked pretty cool, also I really liked the colors. The colors look good because the background is mostly pink and the headbands aren't, so they fit together. I liked the macro assignment because you had to get really close to things and that shows lots of details that you usually don't notice.

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/3.2

Shutter Speed: 1/60

ISO: 400

Photo Slideshow:

Panoramic Photo Assignment

For this assignment we had to take three photos and put them together making a panoramic photo. We used Gimp to put the pictures together and blend them, to make it look like one big picture. I found this assignment kind of challenging at first, but then I went home and downloaded Gimp to my laptop and explored it a little more. By doing that, I got to know Gimp a lot better and it made it much easier to use. I think my picture turned out decent, but I don't know if I would be a professional panoramic photographer. This assignment was a very good way for us to explore Gimp a little more and get used to it.

Portrait Demo Assignment

  For this assignment, we were asked to take portrait pictures of people with two different types of lighting. One was with a white poster board that reflected the sun to the side of the face that wasn't lighted. That picture is the one on the left. The other picture was shot with actual lights used in photos. They were high power lights that are very expense, like the ones used to take our school photos. After we took the photos, we had to go on Gimp and edit/fix the photo. Also, we had to put the picture into a frame type of thing and put our name at the bottom. I liked this assignment because it was a challenge and made you think. Also, I like how much the two types of lighting change the picture. I personally like the right pictures lighting better, because I think that it looks more professional and it just looks better. This assignment was fun to shoot for and work with.

Still Life Photos

Best Photo:

Assignment Description:

For photo assignment #3, I decided to do still life. I pretty much just went around my house and found things that would look good in pictures. For this specific picture, I took one of my moms I-Pods and just simply put it on a desk. I thought it looked pretty cool because the I-Pod is orange and the desk is brown, but it kind of looks yellowish. That was good because those colors look good when put together. I didn't do much editing to this picture because it turned out pretty good. The only thing I did to this picture was levels and I cloned a few things. I liked still life because it made you think about what you wanted to take pictures of and you had to set the picture up, not just point and shoot.

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/3.6

Shutter Speed: 1/15

ISO: 800

Photo Slideshow:

Light Painting Photos

Best Photo:

Assignment Description:

For this assignment, I chose to take pictures of light painting. I did this by going into a very dark room with some kind of light source. Then, I set the camera to a very slow shutter speed and an in the middle aperture.  Also, I had the ISO set very low, about 100, because it was a dark room and I wanted the picture to be dark. I think light painting is really cool because it isn't really hard and you can do really cool things with it. For this picture, I basically just moved the flashlight up and down, and side to side within the 15 seconds the picture was being taken. I think that so far my favorite was probably the light painting subject, but there are plenty more to do.

Technical Data:

Aperture: f/4.5

Shutter Speed: 15''

ISO: 100

Photo Slideshow:

Gimp Car Editing

   For this assignment we were asked to explore Gimp a little more and edit a picture that someone took. We had to edit a picture of a car that a student took at the Auto Show. When editing it we learned to duplicate the background layer, use levels, clone things, and remove the background. With the cloning tool we got to remove some glares from the photo, which was pretty cool. Also, when we were told to remove the background of a picture I thought it would be difficult, but it was actually really easy. I liked this assignment because at first Gimp looked kind of hard to use but after you use it a little bit you get used to it and it's easier. Now that we have done this editing assignment, I think that Gimp will keep getting easier and we will use it a lot more now.

Nature/Landscape Photos

Best Photo:

Assignment Description: 

 For this assignment, I chose to take pictures of nature/landscape. I did this by just going outside and finding things that are good to take pictures of. For this picture I tried to focus the camera on the green bush and the snow really makes it stand out. I think with the white snow and the black background, the picture turned out pretty well and it makes the green pop. Since it was dark outside, I decided to turn the ISO up and also I slowed down the shutter speed so that more light could get into the camera. I think by doing this it helped out because I probably wouldn't have enough light.

Technical Data:

Aperture: f3.6

Shutter Speed: 1/4"

ISO: 800

Photo Slideshow:

Gimp Pop-Art Assignment

   For this assignment we were asked to explore Gimp and create an Andy Warhol-like effect with any image we wanted. While doing this, we worked with all kinds of different things, like layers, guilds, resizing the canvas, threshold dialog, and anchoring a layer. From this, I learned what all of these things do and how to use them to fix the picture. I also learned what Gimp was, because I had never used it before. I found out that it is very different from Photoshop because Gimp allows you to do a lot more. With Gimp you have many more options, but it is a little confusing at first. I personally like Gimp better than Photoshop, because you have a lot more editing options and you can do more with your image.

Composition Assignment

Assignment Description:
For this assignment we were asked to take photo examples of all of the elements of composition. For composition one, the elements we used were rule of thirds, pattern, symmetry, texture, depth of field, and lines. For composition one, the elements we used were framing, space, perspective, color, and balance.

Photo Descriptions:
Rule of Thirds- Tree ornament
Pattern- Oranges
Symmetry- School hallway
Texture- Brick wall
Depth of Field- Woven arm of chair
Lines- Chair
Framing- Wreath/Christmas decorations
Space- Two pushpins
Perspective- Chandelier
Color- Crayons
Balance- Flowers

Photo Slideshow:




What I Learned:
From this assignment I learned about all the different elements of composition. I also learned how to take better pictures and use different techniques to do so. I didn't only learn how to take better pictures, I also learned and got used to editing my pictures before actually using them.