ARTS 1311 - Shape

This week's assignment seemed to be much easier for me. Whatever confusion I had of last week's has passed and I was able to simply read the assignments and get them done. And I actually was able to get them done earlier than I had expected to! Always a plus. This week we focused on shape and how it creates the image. The first two examples were fairly basic, create a solid shape with no internal details and create an image that uses negative space to enhance it. The third one was probably my favorite, we were to create an image using text. I chose to use an image I had of a BJ from American Aquarium, and create a guitar with the lyrics to "Burn. Flicker. Die."

ARTS 1311 - Assignment 1: Space

Well, the I've finished with my first assignment of my 2-D Design course. This assignment was all about space. Not space as in outer-space, but the space used within an image. The positive space, the negative space within an image that creates something. We only had to create four images, but they all had to follow the same theme. My theme (surprise surprise) is Dance.

Summer II Photography Portfolio

Instead of having a regular print portfolio, my professor asked everyone to create a video portfolio of their work. Here's mine, set to Alex Day's "Forever Yours." I'm so happy that this semester is finally over and I'll now have time to relax. Well, aside from this entire home buying process I can relax.

Photography Assignment #7

This assignment was all about self portraits. The reason I choose to be behind the camera is because I really don't feel comfortable in front of it. I really just had to force myself to take these pictures, so I'm not really in love with any of them. I guess self portraits will just be something that I'll really need to work on (or never do again).

Photography Assignment #6

The focus of this assignment was all about surfaces and textures. I wanted to try and catch some of the simple, everyday subjects  that I see and see them with a new eye. Maybe it's due to the fact that this is a compact course, but I just wasn't really inspired by most of the shots I ended up with. These six were some of the few that I was able to be happy enough with to post. 

Photography Assignment #5

My most recent photography assignment was all about reflections and distorting photographs. I didn't want to focus solely on reflections in water, so I worked with various filters and layers on a few of these pictures to add another dimension to them. 

Photography Assignment #4

I had many good ideas for my most recent photography assignment. Sadly, the only day I had time to actually go out and take pictures for this assignment was last night, so I didn't get a single shot that I wanted. The weather just refused to cooperate to give me the lighting I wanted. There's nothing more frustrating than going out with a specific look in mind and nothing you do as a photographer will achieve that look. I'm planning on heading back out either Saturday or Sunday morning to try and catch this park and the surrounding canals in the early dawn lighting. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the sun and the weather work better for me...

Photography Assignment #3

This assignment, like all others previously, really didn't have a focus so I decided to make one for myself. Instead of using directions as vague as "background and foreground" I made this an assignment for me to work with three other girls in my dance studio to get shots of them dancing. And, since it was my lucky day, my dance instructor had them get in pointe shoes, making for even more dramatic shots.

This is only a small sampling of the pictures I took that night, so enjoy!

Photographs versus snapshots

The professor in my Photography class asked us all to think about what the difference is between a snapshot and a photograph. What sets the photographer and his work apart from the average citizen with a camera. He asked us to think about this and write a few short paragraphs about the difference between the two. This was my response. 

In this day where everyone has access to a camera on their cell phones and programs such as instagram available to them to "edit" their pictures, many people consider themselves to be photographers. What many people don't realize is that having a camera does not automatically make someone a photographer. What most people tend to capture is just a simple snapshot, not a photograph. 

The real question we must decide is this: What decides the difference from a photograph and a snapshot?

A snapshot is the picture that quickly captures a moment in time. The shooter does not contemplate the lighting, the angles, the settings on a camera. The only concern is capturing a moment in time quickly. A snapshot does not focus on the artistic side of the photograph, only on the sentimental value that will be held from this picture. The person taking a snapshot does not concern themselves with the aspects that are left out of the shot, they only want to capture a moment for their personal enjoyment. The only concerns about lighting are whether or not there is enough light in the shot to make the image visible. The only concerns about composition are whether one (possibly two) aspects are included in the shot. 

Photographs are not captured every day. A photograph is a work of art that is thought about. The shooter must take into account all of the small aspects that will affect the picture. What is in the background? What is in the foreground? What angles do you get from the light? What makes this picture different from every other one out there of the same subject material? The shooter not only has to think about what they are shooting, but why they are shooting it as well. Can this picture tell a story? Does this picture stand alone on its own? Will the image have meaning and value to others that were not at the scene of this shot? Why did the shooter want to capture what they did? What mood is evoked from the picture? Does the viewer have to think about other things that were intentionally left out of the shot? Is there a message to the picture?

All in all, the biggest difference between a photograph and a snapshot is the thought put behind the image. A photographer thinks about what they are leaving in (and out) of the shot whereas the person taking a snapshot only wants to capture a moment that has meaning to them. A photographer must see the world in a different way from the average person with a camera; they must look for beauty and art where others may only see chaos. 

Photography Assignment II - The Frame

My most recent assignment in my photography class was simply about the frame of a shot. Our instructor wanted us to think closely about what we were including or excluding from the shot, trying to get us to eliminate extra "noise" in the shot. Since I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to go out and take pictures, I spent a lot of time going around my own apartment looking at things that would make for a good shot. Again, this assignment was all black and white and no cropping was allowed. I think these four photos turned out pretty well and really made me think about what I'm putting into a shot and thinking about whether or not it adds to the shot itself. 

Photography Assignment I - Geometry

This past weekend I was able to work on my first photography assignment in quite a while. The assignment was Geometry and we were tasked with looking at our surroundings with a new eye in order to see this. Not only were we given the task of looking for geometry in everyday, mundane surroundings, but until further notice, we are not allowed to crop any of our pictures and all pictures must be submitted in black and white. These were the five photographs that I turned in.