Period 2 - Semester Final

1. What is your favorite photo from this Lens slideshow? Provide three reasons that it is your favorite.
   My favorite photo is the last one of the slideshow, the one of the red deer with a bird on its shoulder seen through the morning mist.
   One reason I like this photo is because I like the shape of the silhouette of the deer. The symmetrical shape of the antlers also appeals to me. Another reason I like this photo the most is because it seems very serene and natural; the deer is just standing there and presumably staring at the camera, seemingly unaware of the bird on its shoulder. Third, I like how the photo is framed, with tree branches on the top and dark grass/brush on the bottom. I also chose this picture for how the mixture of dark and light colors draws my attention to the deer.
   
2. Which photo is the best from the slideshow? Provide three reasons.
   The best photo is the second photo of the slideshow. It uses shallow depth of field extremely well, focusing on the distress of the mother and her children while also showing the chaos ensuing behind them. I also think it is framed extremely well, with the family in the center, a man on the left side, and an arm on the right side. Lastly, I think the photographer did a masterful job capturing the emotions of the Syrian refugees. You can see the fear and uncertainty in some of the people's faces and empathize with their ordeal.
   
3. What is your best work this semester? Include the blog link. Give three reasons why this is your best work. If you had more time, how would you do to improve the project.
   My best work this semester was in the Masters of Photography project. It involved a lot of research because initially I knew nothing about Carleton Watkins. This is my best work because: 1. I learned a lot about Watkins and stereoscopic photography, and I became better at it myself, 2. My photos of the church in New Orleans looks very, very similar to Watkins's photos of the church of Mission Dolores, and 3. I was able to work with my group members efficiently so that all of us could present high quality work by the due date.
   If I had more time, I would go back and take more photos of everything because Watkins's range of subjects that he photographed is extremely vast. I would also go to a national park such as Yosemite and take photos of landmarks that Watkins photographed as well.
   
4. You chose three rules of composition. What are your three rules?
   1. Rule of Thirds
   2. Leading Lines
   3. Background
   
5. Select one of your own photos that illustrates your ability to apply at least two of the three rules. Insert the photo into the post and label the picture. Clearly include the two rules of composition that you are using.
   Photo of Briant Shen, taken September 29: 
   
   
   This photo shows background and rule of thirds. Briant is located on the right third of the grid and the wings of the mural are portrayed so that they look like they are sprouting from Briant's back.
   
6. I have three rules of composition. I have explained one already. What is my first rule?
   Get Closer (to the subject)
   
7. What are the benefits of working in groups? Provide a list with five benefits.
   1. Easier to communicate with someone sitting right next to you rather than someone sitting across the room
   2. Much easier to ask them to pose for a photo you are taking
   3. Meet new people and make new friends
   4. They can help you if you have any trouble
   5. Learn about their rules of composition as well as your own.
   
8. What are the difficulties of working in groups? List five difficulties.
   1. Sometimes they procrastinate or don't listen to you.
   2. Harder to make decisions because there are more opinions to consider
   3. Easier to get distracted
   4. You are responsible for everyone in your group, not just yourself.
   5. Sometimes you feel bored talking to the same people over and over again.
   
9. What is your favorite project produced by another person in this class? Provide the link to their work.
   I like Estell's Self Portrait project because I think it's interesting and a little funny how she is taking a self portrait of herself taking a self portrait.

A little history

10. You studied a master photographer and reproduced his or her work. Who was the photographer? What did the photographer contribute to the field of photographer? List one significant contribution.
My master photographer is Carleton Watkins. He introduced stereoscopic photography (the art of taking two photos of the same subject from slightly different angles to portray a three dimensional appearance) to society and also helped make Yosemite a national park with his stereoscopic photographs of the natural landmarks there.

11. What is Dorothea Lange's most popular photo? (Does the photo have a name?) Where was the photo taken? When? What agency employed Dorothea when she took the photo?Her most popular photo is titled "Migrant Mother." It was taken in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California. She was employed at the time by the Resettlement Administration.

12. When did Life Magazine begin publishing?
Life Magazine began publishing on January 4, 1883.

13. When was Elvis born?
Elvis was born on January 8, 1935.

14. Robert Capa was a founding member of what organization? When did it start?
Capa was a founding member of Magnum Photos, which started in 1947.

Album Cover Recreation

For this assignment, I decided to recreate the album cover of Bob Marley's Legend.

I took this picture myself and I cropped it in Camera Raw as well as increased contrast to +100 and exposure to +0.25. I added Garamond font text in Photoshop to make it look like the album cover.

Masters of Photography Project Reflection

1. How do you think your project represents your work as a student?
I think this project shows that I take sort of a unique approach to photography, and that I use what I have to complete photography projects. I don't take the best pictures, but I think I did a good enough job to show other people Carleton Watkins's photography style.

2. How has your understanding of photography changed during this school year?
Before, I thought photography was mostly about editing in Photoshop, but I learned throughout the first half of the year that there is more than that. For example, there are a bunch of rules of composition that photographers use, and there are many, many different styles of photography.

3. What are some of the benefits of working in a group?
Working in a group  is definitely helpful when we have questions because we can just ask our group members. We all help each other out, and it's pretty cool talking to Estell, Briant, and Tommy.

4. What are some of the disadvantages of working in a group?
Sometimes people do their own stuff instead of working on projects, but that's not really a huge issue in my opinion. Maybe they worked ahead or they're working on it at home, so I don't really care about what they do unless they don't finish their project or if they ask me a question.

5. Now that you have had more time to reflect, is there anything that you would have done differently with your recent project?
I wish I took more pictures of nature because that was definitely a huge focus of Carleton Watkins. Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to go to a natural park such as Yosemite and take pictures, so I had to improvise and work with what I had.

6. Is there anything else that you want to include? 
I loved doing this project, and I was truly inspired by Carleton Watkins's work. I completely understand why he is considered a master photographer now.