Great Black and White Photographers Part 3

1.  No, there wasn't anything that made me particularly interested in the photographers pictures.  I just picked them.

2.  I see stairs leading out, making me want to follow them.  I see elegant shadows (shading)  that give this picture quality.  I see a very fancy typewriter, probably for rich people.  It looks kind of weird.  A misshapen, weird, typewriter.

I smell wood dust all over the room, after a recently sanded staircase.  I smell candles downstairs.  I smell sweat all over the typewriter from hands who waited until the last minute to write his essay.

I hear footsteps, perhaps it is a burglar right around the corner of the stairs.  I hear the clickity clackity of the keys getting banged on.  I hear my little brother playing video games on the T.V.  I hear... I hear a mother dying to protect her son.

I taste my own sweat dripping from my forehead as my curiosity of what's downstairs increases.  I taste sweat on the desk of which the typewriter is on from my previous last minute essays.  I taste blood on my over working hands.

I feel the rails on the stairs. I feel my hands on the typewriter.  I feel sick of the same  'ol staircase, the same old typewriter essays!  I feel... I fe... I feel like, like you got the point already :D


3.  Blog please

Mural Project Review

At school, I could make a mural based on the theme that is...COOL.
Yes...
i'm serious...



...so, anyway......i'm still serious

This is a good theme.  Once I knew a guy, a guy who said "cool people don't try to be cool."
I love this quote.  My mural would simply call out the douche bags who only care about popularity.
Why would people care you say?  Cause no one likes a d b, EXCEPT...for people who gain popularity because of the d bs.

If I used a phone for this project, I could catch people in the act of d bagging.  If I use a camera however, it would be harder, since they act normal whenever they KNOW they are being observed.

However, If I used a phone, the pictures wouldn't be so clear, and the camera on the other hand would provide clear photos.  What I need is a 2000X scope so I can snipe d bs (on the camera) lol.

We should use phones for this project because then d bs will be less suspecting, AND:  my goal isn't to embarrass d bs.  It's to increase awareness of d bs.  Therefore, the blurry faces of my photos aren't harming anyone.



THIS BETTER BE THE CLASS THEME!!!!!



.......pwetty pwease?

Africa: A Safari by Nick Brandt

Those were cool photos, especially since they are black and white.  But, this one's the winner.

This one is my favorite because the lion's face and position says: "ah, finally, a break from hunting, and a break from high expectations because i'm the king of the jungle." I just found that funny.  The hair easily breezing back, the eyes pointed into the distance.  

Rules of photography evident include simplicity (one subject, with a plain background of the ground and air), balance (the lion is in the middle of the photo, so it's immediately the focus), and Avoiding Mergers (the photographer got all of the lion, he didn't get a hair out of place, literally.)

He used a Pentax 6711 camera.

He took the photos because he wants to make sure there are plenty of animal pictures before mankind kills all of them.

He hopes to keep records of how animals looked by taking these types of photos.

He once said "I’ve always thought this something of a wasted opportunity. The wild animals of Africa lend themselves to photographs that extend aesthetically beyond the norm of 35mm-color telephoto wildlife photography. And so it is, that in my own way, I would like to yank the subject matter of wildlife into the arena of fine art photography. To take photographs that transcend what has been a largely documentative genre."

Academic Shoot Reflection

Some challenges I faced was: I couldn't just tell people to move and they'd do it.  I had to make the best of what I had, as Booker T. Washington did.  (that's history for ya!).  Another challenge I faced was the challenge of students not working.  I walked in the class and sometimes they'd just smile and wave at the camera.  Not the makings of a good picture.
I thought about camera angles the most.  Certain camera angles would've made lighting more effective, or the subject clearer.  That was an obvious answer, but anyway, down below...
If I could do the assignment again, I would only take pictures of still things, and I would take more level photos.  Also, I would try not to take pictures that have any distracting things in the background, such as posters or computers in a picture intended to show students WRITING essays together, using group work.
Like I did when I took those photos, I would half press to clear up the photos, I would look for focused students who were sitting down, etc.
Next time I get a prompt, I think that "Framing" will be the easiest goal to achieve.  (this opinion is based on an amateur that is me.)
The hardest goal to achieve will be avoiding mergers.  Sometimes there are things so interesting you forget the proper technique to taking the picture and important stuff's cut out.
I'm still not entirely clear on what the "Rule of Thirds" is.  To figure out the rule, i'm going to ask the teacher, Mr. Doerr, what the rule is and means.

Academics Shoot

Lines

The sidewalk leads to the person.  could've angled it higher, but I think this is good.

Simplicity

This is a really simple photo.  Their is a plain white background (the wall), and the girl is the only subject.  That's it.

Rule of 3rds

He's in the left third of the picture, with a pretty simple background.  I think I followed this rule pretty well. 

 Framing

This was a straightforward frame.  Imagine a picture, with the window the frame.  It's clearly leading to the girl.

Avoiding Mergers

What is the merger?  One:  His shoes, 2: the right.  I think this picture would have been better if I showed more of the right, since it seems as if it got cut off.  Yup, that's about it.

Balance

And last but not least we have our balance photo.  It's very well balanced as you can see, but there is one problem:  the picture is not completely level.  If it was turned to the left a little, the shot would be better.  I couldn't this time though because I wanted to get all: the girl, the picture, the light, and the blinds.  Well, that's that. :)

Academics Shoot Preview

The Story 

This photo tells a story of grievance.  The students with hands held and heads drooping, shows that something or someone was lost.

Filling the Frame

This frame is filled with curiosity.  We have a person on the left who appears to be dressed as a professional scientist, while the one on the right has the look of an amateur.  The helmet mask thingies also add to the suspense, not to mention the weird purple gas the person on the left is messing with.

Action and Emotion

The action is all the substances in the air, and the emotion is the girls' reaction of excitement and partial fear.  The one on the left is frozen with awe, while the one on the right is laughing hard with glee.

I picked this photo because it's so relaxing, I just love relaxing photos, especially in 4th period.  The Rules of photography evident in this photo are balance, simplicity, and Rule of thirds.

I could take photos like the ones I looked at today in all core classes, especially science.  Some electives  where I could take photos like these are Theater, Band, and dance.

I would like to visit my science teacher's class, and the theater.  Probably a history class, and maybe a business class.

To get amazing photos like the ones I looked at today, I will make sure to half press before full pressing, I will look at all angle possibilities, and I will use lighting to my advantage.