Self Portraits and Portraits Part 1

The Best Tips Are:
1) Shoot Candidly
2) Fill the Frame
3) Engage Your Subject


Environmental Portraits:

I like this photo because it changes up your perspective and view of what would be a very boring photo originally. I chose this photo because it also followed a few rules of photography including avoiding mergers, simplicity, viewpoint, and balance.

I like this photo because the man is staring off into the distance which makes it interesting, and I like how they blurred the background and focused on him. I chose this photo because it's interesting and it follows leading lines, and rule of thirds.

Photography Self Portraits:

I like this photo because it's creative how the man showed his interests of photography while holding a camera in a picture. I chose this photo because I like how it was done, and because it follows rule of thirds, cropping, and simplicity. 

I like this photo because it's very interesting with the splash of color created, and I like how the self portrait represents that he likes art. I chose this photo because it's very creative and it follows cropping, rule of thirds (the paintbrush), and simplicity.

Casual Portrait:

I like this photo because it shows a kind emotion and I also like the background where the photo was taken. I chose this photo because it's well done follows framing, avoiding mergers, and leading lines. 

I like this photo because of how he's staring outside of the portrait and how he was focused and the background wasn't. I chose this photo because it shows simplicity, rule of thirds, and background.

For my portrait assignment, I want to shoot a picture of my friend staring straight at the camera from close up, while she's in her swimwear. I will take this picture at the Circle C Pool. To make it successful, I will make sure I follow some rules of photography and take many different shots to make sure I get a good one. 

Prompt Shoot

Electric

Cold

Purple

Purple

Funny Captions

Earl Gilmore quickly rides his motorcycle back home through the discreet trail on Tuesday morning, January 5. Gilmore was riding home after sleep-riding Monday night. 

On Monday afternoon, March 19, in the comforts of her own home, Bertha Hess is testing the Wii that her grandchildren have told her so much about. Hess actually became a pro at boxing, despite not knowing how to play the game.

Betty Sue ran off the sidewalk while riding her electric wheelchair, then forgot how to get back out of the incoming traffic on Saturday, April 22, on I35. Sue was simply trying to get home faster to get back to her captivating knitting show.

Rules Of Photography II

Theme: Travel

Framing

Balancing Elements

Symmetry and Patterns

Rule of Thirds

Create Depth

Leading Lines

Viewpoint

Background

Cropping

Example of a Merger

Avoiding Mergers

Great Black and White Photographers Part 3

1) What caught my eye when looking at my photographer's photos is how he used light and dark variations of black and gray and white to make the nighttime photos interesting.

I Feel:
I feel the bumpy ground, careful where I step. I feel the rough surface of the tree, as I brush the pads of my fingers along the bark. I feel the lonely, yet peaceful atmosphere of the area creep up on me.
I See:
I see the bridge, visible due to the lights that frame it. I see the gentle waves crashing up against the shore. I see the lone two trees, sitting by the river bank.
I Smell:
I smell the water from near the riverbank. I smell the remains of car exhaust that surround the bridge. I smell the freshly placed soil near the tree.
I Taste:
I taste the crisp, cool air. I taste the blood after I bite my lip,   thinking about the almost ominous atmosphere.
I Hear:
 I hear the quiet sound of the water slowly moving. I hear the tree branches gently swaying in the slight breeze. I hear my footsteps as I walk to get a better distance to take the picture.

I Feel:
I feel the smooth surface of the lamp post. I feel the cool air on my bare arms. I feel the gentle breeze blowing through my hair.
I See:
I see the man standing by the lamp post. I see the few cars that make their way by me. I see the blinding lights that line the street.
I Smell:
I smell the gas in the air from the cars that drive by. I smell the scent of food from a nearby cafe. I smell the unique smell of a fire nearby.
I Taste:
I taste the coffee that I hold in my hand. I taste the freezing air that surrounds our bodies. I taste the smoke escaping from the flames that the fire gives off.
I Hear:
I hear the gentle steps of pedestrians walking by. I hear the engines of the few cars that drive by. I hear the quiet whispers the man by the light post speaks to himself.

3) To show the world my great photographer, I'd like to create a power point.

Mural Project

1) A theme we could do at school is emotion, and one that we could do off campus is Austin. We could do a series of the panels around school.
2) We should use regular cameras because some people don't have cameras on their phones and the camera will take better pictures.
3) On campus, I'd want to put the mural on a wall of the building.

Africa and Abandoned Theme Parks

Africa

1) When I read the article and looked at the pictures, I thought that the pictures were so good they didn't look real. I like that he took pictures of the animals in their natural settings instead of running and getting lots of action like other photographers. I also like how he said that being close to the animal is the only way to capture their personality instead of using a lens and taking a picture from far away.
2) This is my favorite photography of his:

3) In this photograph, there are many elephants walking in a line after one another. The picture is in black and white, and beside the elephants, the only other things in the picture are the sky and the grass. The main elephant is in the upper right hand corner. I like this photograph because I think it's cool how close up you can see the main subject.

4) This photograph follows rule of thirds because the main elephant is in the upper right hand corner, if you drew a grid onto the picture. This photograph also follows lines because the other elephants form kind of a line to the main elephant in the upper right hand corner. 

5) He used a Pentake76II with only two fixed lens. This is important because he didn't use a lens to zoom, meaning he was actually that close to the animals when he took the pictures.

6) His reason for taking the pictures is to capture the animals' in their natural habitats. 

7) His hope by taking the photos is to preserve the animals' homes. 

8) A quote from Nick Brandt, "There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring about the plains of Africa- those vast, green rolling plains punctuated by graphically perfect acacia trees under the huge skies." 

Citations: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nick-brandt-a-shadow-falls-african-wildlife-photography/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Brandt

Abandoned Theme Parks

1) I would like to take pictures at Spreepark in Berlin, Germany. I would like to take pictures here for several reasons, for example, there is a ferris wheel and I think that you could get really cool shots of it with the scenery behind, or if who climbed on top of one of the carts. Also, there are lots of animal and dinosaur things in the park that could be cool in black and white shots, or with different angles. 

2) This is a unique photo of one of the rides in the park:

3) Five other unusual places that you could take photographs at are: railroads, movie theaters, on top of a house, caves, and in a cafe or restaurant.

4) 

5) I think it would be interesting to take photographs inside or outside of a cafe because you could get photos of people what comes naturally to them instead of them posing. Also, cafes are cute and each have something that makes them unique, so it would be cool to capture that from different cafes. The kinds of photos that you could expect to take there are black in white, close-up, and photos following the rule of photography that we learned. 

6) For me to go and take pictures at my location, I'd need a camera and different lenses. For travel plans, that would depend on which cafe I would go to. If I goto the one above, I would have to pay for a flight to Paris in order to take pictures. In order to take pictures, I'd have to ask the owner of the cafe for permission before I do so. 

Citations: http://www.nileguide.com/blog/2010/08/28/8-abandoned-theme-parks-abroad-open-for-exploration/7/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjc3J72uMnPAhUd3YMKHdBkDxkQjxwIAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lightsniper.de%2Fspreepark-berlin%2F&psig=AFQjCNFDDBk3qXGOYJlyqphJyxzJpR0EOQ&ust=1475954436683458

http://chevaugeonphoto.com/paris-cafes-black-white-photographs/

Photoshop Tutorials

Avoiding Mergers Before

Avoiding Mergers After

                                                 

Balance Before

Balance After

                                                       

Framing Before

Framing After

Lines Before

Lines After

                                           

Rule of Thirds Before

Rule of Thirds After

                                                     

Simplicity Before

Simplicity After

Great Black and White Photographers Part II

Brassaï

            Brassaï is the psuedonym of Gyula Halázs who was a photographer who's style was nighttime photographs. Brassaï was born on September 9, 1899 in Brassó, Translyvania, Austria, Hungary (which is now Romania). He died on July 8, 1984 in Beaulieu- sur- Mer, France. He studied sculpture and painting at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, and also studied the arts at the Berlin- Charlottenburg Academy of Arts. 
             Brassaï joined Austro-Hungarian Army, and due to that, he moved to Berlin. In Berlin, he studied the arts at the Berlin- Charlottenburg Academy of Arts. Then, he moved to Paris, France in 1924, and the first job he had was a journalist. Even though, he was a journalist, he pursued painted, sculpting, and drawing. In the 1930s, he was asked to photograph studios of some artists. Brassaï  was then was by then very well respected and was sent around the world to take photographs. 
             Brassaï being taking photographs of locations in Paris at nighttime. He faced several problems, including streetlamps, but learned techniques to make his photographs better. Paris de nuit was published in 1933 with the photographs taken by Brassaï and the words written by Paul Morand. Other books where his work was published include: Henry Miller grandeur nature, Henry Miller rocher heureux, Le Paris secret des annees 30 and Les Artistes de ma vie. His work was put in many exhibits, and he received several medals. 



Citation: 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brassai
http://famous-photographers.com/brassai/


My favorite photos: