Photo 4/28/15

Unedited:

Edited in Camera Raw:

Cropped, -0.60 exposure, -40 shadows

Photoshop:

Best Picture

5 Links to About Pages of Photographers:
Joe McNally
David duChemin
Richard Bernabe
Trey Ratcliff
Ciril Jazbec

Photo Story MC Week

My friend Bill starting his car to drive us out to lunch.

We got out too late and had to wait in a line in the parking lot.

Finally got our food; Bill can't wait to dig in.

Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich (so much better than school food!)

Good bye Chick-fil-A :(

Story with a Photo - Chick fil A Cows

I took this photo when I went to Chick-fil-A during lunch on Tuesday, since my MC Week story is going out during lunch and taking advantage of the 32 extra minutes. I thought this photo was really funny because the cow is standing up with a weird look on its face and I know Chick-fil-A's advertisements often use cows telling people to "eat mor chikin."

MSJ MC Week Story

MC Week is great and all for celebrating the various cultures present at MSJ, but let's not overlook the biggest benefit to upperclassmen: the 1 hour, 8 minute lunch period. Compared to lunch's usual 36 minute interval, lunch during MC Week is the opportune time to venture out to previously unreachable lunch destinations and still have time to eat. For example, Monday I went to In-n-Out, and yesterday I went to Chik Fil A. Say what you want about my "lack of support for our school's clubs and traditions," but a majority of seniors (and a large contingent of other classes I'm sure of as well) don't even eat MC Week food, either because of their sky-high prices or, like me, they crave the opportunity to actually enjoy eating out instead of rushing to and back to school. The new ticket system is also an unnecessarily circumvented method to pay for food to prevent possible embezzlement from clubs and/or individuals. Honestly, seniors going out for lunch is just as big of a story as everyone else staying at school to buy overpriced, under-portioned food. True, the previous three years, I hailed MC Week for the variety of food compared to the prison-quality cafeteria food and for shortened classes and longer lunch, but the real highlight, if any, of MC week is the assembly we have on Friday. Everything really builds up to that. But as I have already survived 3 MC Weeks at MSJ, here is the accurate story of MC Week for most seniors as well as for me: a fifteen to twenty minute drive out to a restaurant, having the time to dine in and enjoy the food, and the car drive back to campus. All because of those extra 32 minutes.

Shutter Speed and Everything After

My partner is William Shih.

Lens Blog Photo #6

1. Fast shutter speed because it freezes the motion of the trucks and they are all in focus.
2. There are leading lines in this photo: the white traffic line and the middle divider both emphasize and lead to the fallen truck.
   The rule of thirds is also shown because the trucks are located on the gridlines and not directly centered in the photo.
3. One element of art is color because the truck closest on the right is red and blue, and the truck further down on the right is bright green.
4. Proportion is one principle of design used. The green truck is much further away, so it appears smaller than the blue truck. Similarly, the word "TRANSPORT" on the blue side of the truck appears larger than the "VEENSTRA" letters.

Tuesday with Farley's kids:

The shutter speed is 1/610 second.

Principles of Design - Unity

Edits: -100 Highlights, +15 Shadows,

Unity is a feeling of completeness in a photo in that all aspects seem to work together. In my picture, I used pattern, repetition, balance, and proportion to create the sense of unity between all the bushes. You can also see pathways in the dirt between the bushes, which I think adds to the completeness of the photo because everything is connected.

Documenting the Blues in the Mississippi Delta photo

In the Lens blog post titled "Documenting the Blues in the Mississippi Delta," my group chose photo #6 as the one showing the most unity. There is a lot of pattern and repetition with the humongous pots as well as the trash in the background. Proportion is also used because although the pots are lined up together, they have a variety of sizes based generally on their proximity to the photography. The fire and the bubbles in the pots also add emphasis because after seeing it I was interested in what the man was barbecuing. Together, all these principles of design form unity throughout the picture; it feels very complete and satisfying how movement is utilized.

Principles of Design - Variety

Edits: +0.35 Exposure, -24 highlights, +13 shadows

Variety is how the photographer uses multiple principles of design to capture the viewer's attention and enhance movement of the photo. In this photo I showed balance with the symmetry of the wheels as well as pattern with the shape of the wheel and tire. The green circle with the arrow pointing left also adds emphasis. The movement in this photo is from the tires to the "Car West" sign to the bridge on the vehicle and then the smashed car inside.

Principles of Design - Rhythm

Edits: -0.25 Exposure, +25 Contrast

Rhythm is when the repetition of one or more principles of design to create a sense of movement in the picture. In my photo, you have the repetition of the rings of the table, and they extend outwards towards the sunlight until they blur together into lines.

Half Past Autumn-Gordon Parks Part 3 + Part 4

1. What is your definition of successful?
   My definition of success is being able to find compromise in your life and accepting your wins and losses.
2. What have you given up to become successful?
   I've given up hours of time practicing baseball and studying to make myself a better baseball player and a more accomplished student.
3. What did Parks give up to become successful?
   Parks gave up much of his personal time with his family in order to be successful. He was away from his family for long periods of time while he was on assignment.
4. Who was Genevieve Young's father?
   Her father was one of the founding members of the UN and VK Wellington Kok.
5. How much was Parks advanced to write his first book (and eventual best-selling autobiography)?
   He was advanced $10,000 for his first book.
6. How much money did Elijah Muhammad offer Parks to do a story on The Nation of Islam?
   Muhammad offered Parks $500,000 to do a story on the Nation of Islam.
7. Why did Parks refuse the money?
   He refused the money because he didn't like the Nation of Islam's tendency towards violent protests; he preferred to use his camera rather than a gun.
8. What was significant about the movie The Learning Tree?
   The Learning Tree was the first Hollywood feature film written and directed by an African American.
9. What was significant about the character Shaft?
   The character Shaft represented the spirit of the African Americans in the U.S. and inspired many African Americans to not be inhibited by racism.
10. What was Gordon Parks' choice of weapons?
    Gordon Parks' choice of weapons was the 35 mm camera and pen.
11. What reason did Genevieve Young give for the divorce?
    She said the marriage was like a washing machine, where she didn't know what would come up next. The turmoil in his life wore her out, and it set her own career back.
12. In 1984, Parks directed Solomon Northrup's Odyssey. What recent feature film told the same story?
    Solomon Northrup's Odyssey tells the same story as 12 Years a Slave, which was released in 2013.
13. Who was Gordon Parks, jr?
    Gordon Parks's eldest son was a screenwriter in Hollywood who wrote Super Fly, a successful blaxploitation film about drug dealers in Harlem. He died in a plane crash at the age of forty-four.
14. What is your favorite Gordon Parks photo?
    My favorite Parks photo is this one about segregation in the South.
15. What will you remember about Gordon Parks in ten years?
    In ten years, I will remember Gordon Parks as a pioneer in the photography field (the Jackie Robinson of photography) and for being a social activist who focused his lens on the racial discrimination in the U.S.

Principles of Design - Proportion

Edits: +20 Contrast, -15 Highlights

Proportion is how all the various parts of a photo relate to each other is size or amounts. In this photo the garbage container on the right side appears larger and closer than the container on the left because the container on the right is closer as well as angled towards me.

Principles of Design - Pattern and Repetition

Edits: Highlights +20

Pattern is the repeating of an object in a photo.
Repetition is similar to pattern, but in repetition you see the pattern over and over again. In this photo, all the bricks together form repetition, but the bricks with the metal engravings on them form a pattern.

+0.10 exposure

-100 Highlights

-15 Shadows

Principles of Design - Pattern

Edits: Made black and white

Pattern is the repetition of an object or symbol throughout a photo. I photographed a line/pile of rocks in the MSJ garden to show the repetition of the geometrically jagged rocks,

Principles of Design - Movement

No edits;

movement from the "MSJ Garden" poster to the pink flowers in front to the boarded up house in the back

Movement is not necessarily photographing a moving object; rather, it is how the viewer's eye moves from object to object in a photo. In my photo, the movement is from the foreground to the background, from the "MSJ Garden" sign  to the fence and pink flowers and then to the boarded up house.

Principles of Design - Emphasis

Edits: Cropped the bottom; increased contrast to +20 and highlights to +50

Structure: C Wing Cafeteria Wall

Emphasis: the red "No Smoking" sign

Emphasis is what catches the viewer's attention in a photo, based on a difference in color, shape, or size. In my photo, I used the downwards diagonal lines to draw emphasis to the red sign.. Nearly everything else in the photo is brown, yellow, or white, so the red stands out a lot. The sign is also a lot smaller than either of the paintings.

Principles of Design - Balance

Edits: decreased highlights to -20

Edits: Cropped the bottom and increased contrast to +25

Balance is the distribution of weight in a photo, including symmetry. I included symmetry in both of the photos, as the A Wing cafeteria is a symmetrical structure and the two doors next to each other also exhibits symmetry.

Elements of Art - Texture

Edits: Made black and white (vibrance+saturation both to -100) and increased contrast to +100

Edits: Decreased exposure to -0.25 and highlights to -100

Texture is the way a photo looks like and feels like, visually. For example, the tree trunk looks and feels rough because you can see its texture, and the pine cone looks and feels bumpy, with lots of protruding spikes as well as negative space. 

Elements of Art - Color

Red in bottom left corner

Edits: Increased contrast to +70, vibrance to +22, and saturation to +25

We had to include red in the bottom left corner because that's what the Twister wheel showed.

Elements of Art - Space

Edits: Made black and white (vibrance+saturation both to -100)

Edits: Cropped a little bit off the left and bottom sides.

Space is also called "negative space" and it has shape between and around objects. For example, in my photos the space in between the bare branches of the tree. The negative space has a shape and gives the photos a more geometric feel; in the second photo the spaces make the branches sort of look like a weirdly shaped and crooked hand.

Elements of Art - Form

Edits: Decreased exposure to -0.60, increased contrast to +20, and clarity to +20

Edits: Decreased exposure to -0.50, increased contrast to +25

Form is defined as a three dimensional shape (in terms of length, width, and depth), so in these photos I tried capturing the 3-D forms of the flowers.

Half Past Autumn - Gordon Parks Part 1 + Part 2

1. On the day Gordon Parks was born, how did the doctor save Gordon's life?
   The doctor put Gordon in a tub of ice water, and when Gordon rubbed against the ice he woke up and began hollering.
2. Where was Gordon born? (what state?)
   Fort Scott, Kansas
3. What did Gordon's college adviser, Ms. McClintock tell him about college?
   She told him to not waste his parents' money to go to college because he would just end up as poor as a maid.
4. How old was Gordon when his mother died?
   According to the film, Gordon's mother died when he was fifteen.
5. Where did Gordon move after his mother died?
   He moved to Minnesota to live with his sister.
6. Did Gordon graduate from college?
   No; he did not even finish high school.
7. How did Gordon begin his fashion photography career?
   He walked into a Frank Murphy store and asked Murphy if he could photograph fashion, and Murphy set him up with a fashion photoshoot with models and formal clothes the next evening.
8. What is a "double exposure?"
   Double exposure is a photographic technique that combines 2 separate images into the same image. It was originally a mistake by Gordon when he photographed the models for Murphy.
9. Who was boxer Joe Louis?
   Joe Louis was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. During his time as champion, he symbolized the American hero and American values of freedom.
10. What instrument did Gordon play?
    Piano
11. What was the purpose of the Farm Security Administration?
    The purpose of the FSA was to show to America the living conditions of poverty stricken Americans around the country.
12. When Roy Stryker hired Gordon for the FSA, what was Stryker's first assignment for Gordon in Washington, D.C.?
    Go to a department store to buy a top coat, then eat at the restaurant across the street, and then watch a movie at a nearby theater. Stryker gave Gordon this assignment knowing that it would be impossible for him to complete it due to segregation and racism.
13. Who was Ella Watson?
    Ella Watson was a lady who mopped the floor at the FSA building. Gordon took a photo of her holding a broom and a mop in front of an American flag to imitate Grant Wood's American Gothic.
14. What was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic?
    Gordon's inspiration was the widespread racism that he encountered wherever he went. Wood's inspiration was the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa and his perception of the type of people who he thought would live in that style of home.
15. What did Gordon learn from Stryker about photography?He learned to approach people and that the people he photographed were more important than himself. He also learned he could not photograph bigots and simply call them bigots. His photography had to paint a portrait to support his angle.
    
    
    Part 2
16. When did the FSA shut down?
    The FSA shut down in 1943.
17. After Gordon moved to New York, what magazine did he shoot for?
    When Gordon moved to New York, he shot for Vogue magazine.
18. Who was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office?
    Wilson Hicks was the picture editor who gave Gordon his first job at Life magazine.
19. What was the first major story Parks covered for Life Magazine?
    Gordon Parks' first major story for Life magazine was about crime in America. Specifically, he followed around a gang leader called Red Jackson.
20.  Who were some of the artists that Gordon Parks mentioned influenced his work after he moved to the Paris Life Magazine bureau?
    Some of Gordon Parks' influences were Bernard, Picasso, and Van Gogh.
21. How did Parks shoot fashion when he lived in France?
    He focused on the models' movements rather than shooting only stationery photos.
22. Where was Parks' concerto performed?
    Parks' concerto was first performed in Venice by a 102-piece symphony.
23. Who was Parks' second wife? (Who was her father? What did she do?)
    His second wife was Elizabeth Campbell, who was a model. Gordon Parks worked for her father.
24. How old was Flavio de Silva when Parks met him?
    Flavio was 12 when he and Parks first met.
25. When did Parks meet Flavio?
    Parks met Flavio in the early 1960s for a photo assignment on behalf of Life magazine.
26. Where did Flavio live when Parks first met Flavio and his family?
    Flavio lived in Catacumba, one of many favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro.
27. How is Gloria Vanderbilt? Who is her famous son? Who are her ancestors?
    Gloria Vanderbilt was an author and an artist. Anderson Cooper is her famous son. Her ancestors were extremely rich owners of a railroad company. .
28. How did Vanderbilt describe their relationship?
    She said that although they had a lot of respect and love towards each other, their relationship remained platonic.

Elements of Art - Shape

Edits: Increased exposure to +0.30, shadows to +30, and decreased highlights to -40.

Edits: Increased exposure to +0.20 and whites to +25

Both pictures deal with shape - a two dimensional figure formed by a closed line. The first photo has the shape of the flowers, and the second photo is the shape of the leaves and stems.

Elements of Art - Lines

Edits: Increased exposure to +0.25, contrast to +10, shadows +13

Lines can be found everywhere in nature. The lines in the photo are formed by the leaves of the plant.

Top 5 Rankings Lens Blog Empowering the Poor

1. Picture #24 - Rice cooking on gas burners
2.Picture #3 - Fishing net in water
3.Picture #8 - Children running on the beach
4. Picture #6 - 2 women sitting together near a lamp
5. Picture #4 - Men playing cards together

Multimedia Festival Poster #2

This was our first multimedia festival poster. We took a picture of a mural in the E Wing and used it as our background. The poster looks attractive because the man in the background playing the saxophone underlines the "multimedia-ness" of the event. Our mistake, however, was that the way we used the picture as a background made it look like we designed the mural when in fact we did not. The background also draws some attention away from the actual text of the poster.

Our second poster is better because it is more original. We designed the background with an original photo we took instead of using an already painted mural for it. We also made the information on the poster (such as the address) more accurate. I think the text also stands out a bit more and the poster in general is a lot more pleasing to look at. This poster is also better considering we faced more time pressure than for the first poster.

Movie Monday - The Photo League

1. What was The Photo League's credo?
   The Photo League's credo was that the camera was more than a means of recording reality; it had the potential to change the world.
2. What organization did The Photo League separate from?
   
   It separated from Workers International Relief. The Photo League was originally known as the Worker's Camera League.
3. What was the workshop?
   "The Workshop" was a documentary photography workshop in which Sid Grossman taught advanced technique classes.
4. Who taught "the workshop?"
   Sid Grossman
5. If you were to devote one year of your life to one project, what project is worth your time and energy?
   I would visit the baseball stadium of every baseball team in the MLB, AAA, AA, etc. and take photos of the lives of these professional and minor league baseball players.
6. What was The Harlem Document?
   The Harlem Document was a collection of portraits of African-Americans and documented all aspects of life in Harlem during the 1930's.
7. Who started The Harlem Document?
   A photo leaguer named Aaron Siskind.
8. A photographer discusses a photograph where "the children looked like they came out of a __________ painting. Who was the painter? 
   Caravaggio
9. Why did the photograph mentioned in #8 look like it was by the painter? 
   The photograph looks similar because the sun illuminates the face of the boy on the very right.
10. Who was Lewis Hine? (name two significant contributions)
    Lewis Hine was an American photographer who inspired the Photo League’s collective portraits of urban life. He was a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee and he also worked for the Red Cross during the Depression to photograph the drought relief in the American South.
11. Who was Weegee?
    Weegee is a nickname for Arthur Felling, who was known for his black and white street photography and his quirky personality.
12. How did The League change when The Nazis took power?
    European immigrants (for example Laudi Jacobi, Erica Cocfer and Lizet Model) fleeing the Nazis immigrated to New York, where they joined the Photo League.
13. How did The League change during WWII?
    The Photo League took a more political stance by using their cameras in support of the war. Feature groups documented war production, parades and parties. Because many male Photo Leaguers joined the U.S. military forces fighting overseas, female members assumed a much larger role in keeping the League running.
14. How did Siskind change after WWII?
    Before, Siskind's style was documentary and realism photography, but after the war he switched to abstract expressionism.
15. What was the Saturday Evening post?
    The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine that started publishing in 1897.
16. Who was Barbara Morgan? What did she photograph?
    Barbara Morgan was a photographer from Kansas who took many photos of modern dancers. She was also a co-founder of the photography magazine Aperture.
17. What eventually undermined the Photo League?
    The Photo League was placed on a government list of communist and fascist organizations.
18. What was the "Growing Menace" mentioned in the film?
    Communism
19. Who agreed to serve as President when The League was under investigation?
    W. Eugene Smith
20. What happened to the league?
    The Photo League eventually disbanded in 1951 after Angela Calomiris testified that it was a front for the Communist Party.

Multimedia Fest Poster

Concert Poster Recreation - Lana Del Rey

This is a recreation of Lana Del Rey's Open Road Tour poster.

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.

Masters of Photography - Carleton Watkins

Carleton Watkins (1829-1916) is considered a master photographer for his work documenting nature with stereoscopic cameras and mammoth glass plates. His work convinced Congress to pass a bill to name Yosemite as a national park, protecting Yosemite Valley from land developers. He was also among the first photographers to document the American West, moving to California in the middle of the 19th century gold rush. Watkins took photos up and down the West Coast, although staying mainly in California, from the mid 1850's to the early 1890's.

Initially, I chose Carleton Watkins because I liked how his photos portrayed the beauty of undisturbed nature. I was inspired by Carleton Watkins to understand what stereoscopic photography is. Stereoscopic views are a pair of photos of the same object that are taken from slightly different angles. When theses two photos are viewed together, they give the impression that the subject of the photos is 3D. Later in the project, I discovered that Watkins also emphasized the angle at which we view objects. which is partly the reason why he made stereoviews.


Before:

After:

This photo was inspired by Watkins's photo of a box of peaches. I didn't have that many peaches, but what I did have was a persimmon tree, so I substituted persimmons for peaches in this photo.
For edits, I had to crop out the box first, and then I made it black and white. I had to change shadows, vibrance, and blacks to -100. I also edited the clarity and highlights to +100 to make the lines between the persimmons sharper, to match the original photo by Watkins.


Watkins Photo of Peaches

Before:

After:

Watkins's stereoscopic photos of Chy Lung was taken in San Francisco. I took these photos of a building I saw in New Orleans. I edited my photos to make them black and white by changing saturation and vibrance to -100, contrast to -70, and blacks to -50.
Watkins Photo of Chy Lung & Co

Second Portrait

Subject: Travis

Location: Outside E Wing

Camera Raw Edits: -100 Vibrance, 

-0.20 exposure

Subject: Travis

Location: Outside E Wing

Camera Raw Edits: -10 Shadows, -15 Blacks

Composition Review - 3 Rules

Before:

After:

The after photo shows my 3 rules of composition, the rule of thirds, leading lines, and background. I cropped the photo so that the rock and the leaf are roughly placed at the intersections of the thirds grid. Although there are no "defined" lines, the border of the right can serve the same linear purpose. You can also see a stage further in the background. This photo also uses shallow depth of field very nicely, but that isn't one of my rules of composition.

Example of Rule of Thirds

Example of Leading Lines

Examples of Background

In the Lens blog Revisiting Unhealed Wounds in Chechnya, I decided that picture 4 (shown here) best demonstrated my three rules because the grave markers in the foreground and the group of people are roughly placed on the intersections of the rule of thirds grid. The short wall/fence serves as a leading line to draw attention to subject of the photo, which is the group of people reciting the Quran. The background is dense with fog, but you can still see tens of grave markers in the distance, as well as electricity poles, a paved road, and green flags.

First Portrait

Subject: Briant Shen

Location: Mural outside E-Wing

Camera Raw Edits: Increased exposure to +0.40 and decreased blacks to -50. 

Subject: Rose flower

Location: Outside main office

Camera Raw Edits: None

Self Portrait

Tired Monday morning...

Shallow Depth of Field

This photo shows a shallow depth of field. The foreground and subject of the photo are in focus, whereas the background is out of focus. I adjusted the shadows a little bit on Camera Raw to draw more light onto Briant's face.