Photo Class Homework

Assignment:
Locate 2-3 photographs that make your heart sing. Explain why you like them.
Photo 1: Water Droplet, by ToniVC
macro-photography-perfect-water-dro.jpg

I love this shot! I feel like a teeny little bug on the tip of that leaf looking into a crystal ball. I like that the water is a perfect sphere, but off center in the frame. The pink fringe on the leaf adds just the right touch of color in contrast to the green of the leaf.

Photo 2: Dream Photography, by Angela Bacon Kidwell
photography.jpg

This one shows me a photographer that knows her camera! None of the birds are blurry. I like the long stretch of road that the birds appear to be flying down. The angle is just right. This shot inspires freedom and opportunity.

Photo 3: Milkyway Over Tahoe Panorama, by Dan Newton
mikywayvertpano.jpg
What a beautiful night scene. This picture is so serene. The silhouetted trees almost look like worshipers. The light on the horizon is unearthly. It just takes my breath away and I want to be the one standing on that lake shore.
 
OK, how's everyone doing on their homework? I'll be giving Andysgirl her feedback pretty soon so let's get moving, class!

Also, I'm building a site for our class with our very own chatroom! I hope to have it up and running Monday so please check here. You will need to register with me to get into the chatroom. Please check here Monday for instructions, that way you can be ready to go this Tuesday. This is the official start of instruction and I plan to hit the ground running, hold onto your hats!

Catherine
 
Andysgirl, I just love the shots you chose!

Let's talk about this one first.
macro-photography-perfect-water-dro.jpg


You said you "feel like a teeny little bug on the tip of that leaf looking into a crystal ball." This tells me you're using your imagination when you look at images. The photographer used a few basic compositional devices to kind of draw you into this almost fantasy like world. The fact that you chose this shot says you enjoy allegorical images.
 
This one:
photography.jpg


This is a very fun shot. I think this is actually 3 separate images that have been merged together to make the story and the photographer did a great job!

I could come up with all kinds of interpretations for this shot. The child is in front of a long road, his future, and he is releasing his dreams? We could talk about it all day. I like that in an image! Again, I see the fact that you chose this one telling me you enjoy the image as a starting point for imagination, you like things to inspire you. This shot is rich in content. If I had to guess, I would say that's where your vision would go. Some people enjoy photographs because of the cool textures, or the awesome lighting, you seem to like the ones that tell a story. I could be wrong, there is no real right answer, this is to help you find your own personal style, did it help?

Catherine
 
Homework. Find 2-3 pictures that awe you
Sorry about not having the pictures embedded. They are copy protected from the website I found them on.

1) Sunset Over Lake Geneva

Sunset

I like this one because it is very calming. I can just imagine that I am sitting on that balcony drinking a beer and just having a quite night with my wife.

2) An Ivy covered Cottage

Smartno: Photo by Photographer Ales Frelih - photo.net

I like how the sun is breaking through the clouds like it is right before a huge storm. And you are about to get poured on. But there is hope you could get into the doorway before the heavens let loose. Also, the red Ivy on the cottage sets it apart from the green of the rest of the photo.


3) Elowah falls rainy day

Elowah falls rainy day #2: Photo by Photographer Daniel Rappaport - photo.net

I love the large mossy boulders . They seem like they havent been touched in thousands of years. The waterfall in the background and the stream rushing by them are like the hectic day to day life. And the boulders could be the safety of home and family. When you get to them, the rest of your day doesnt seem so bad.
 
http://www.southfork.org/images/wildlife_elk.jpg
What I like about this one.Well,Its wildlife.Makes me think of what this earth might have looked like before the white man came to be.


http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/smoky-mountain-sunset-terry-wieckert.jpg
Quiet evening setting in camp,relaxing,listening to the night shift coming alive.Just me sitting on the mountain top.

http://www.southerntravelnews.com/i...ishingontheTennesseeRiver Medium Web view.jpg
Either baybreak or sunset on the river.Brings back memories of my Granddad.
 
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BJ- your choices are so...mystical! I like that first shot how the sunset is framed in that iron arch and I agree that it seems very calming.

Yote- Nice outdoor photos! My favorite is the sun setting/rising on the valley.
 
Andysgirl, why do you like the picture of the sun setting better than the others?

Yote, I'll give you more thorough feedback this evening but you sure seem suited towards photojournalism!

Bjohan, yours are very hard for me to peg, maybe a photographer as artist? I need to think about yours, what do you think, do you see any common themes or threads?

C
 
Andysgirl, why do you like the picture of the sun setting better than the others?

C

I like how the sunlight deepens the shadows on the trees and warms up the entire valley. I love looking out over a valley to see the natural curves of the landscape. The sunrise/sunset emphasizes those contours.
 
Andysgirl, why do you like the picture of the sun setting better than the others?

Yote, I'll give you more thorough feedback this evening but you sure seem suited towards photojournalism!

Bjohan, yours are very hard for me to peg, maybe a photographer as artist? I need to think about yours, what do you think, do you see any common themes or threads?

C

Honestly C, I have always been told that I think differently. So maybe that is why it is hard to peg. The common theme that I can see in these pictures is that they are calming scenery. A sunset over a lake, a water fall in a secluded forest, a cottage in the country.

At work the other day, I was looking out the window at the Chicago River and wish I had a camera. The ice in the lake had started to break up and it was starting to flow down the river. There were a couple gulls waking on the larger pieces. I said to myself, that would make a beautiful picture.
 
Looks like I'll be joining the class after all :) So here's my assignment. Like Yote, I think I have a soft spot for photojournalism. To me, a good photograph is one that you will never forget, no matter how badly you may want to. The photos that move me tell stories, without needing a word to explain them. These are photos that I've seen at various points in my life, and they've etched themselves into my mind. I think about them a lot -- they keep coming back to me.

My first photograph is a Pulitzer Prize winning image by Kevin Carter.

kevin_carter.jpg


Here is the story about this photo:
In March 1993 Carter made a trip to southern Sudan. The sound of soft, high-pitched whimpering near the village of Ayod attracted Carter to an emaciated Sudanese toddler. The girl had stopped to rest while struggling to a feeding center, whereupon a vulture had landed nearby. He said that he waited about 20 minutes, hoping that the vulture would spread its wings. It didn't. Carter snapped the haunting photograph and chased the vulture away. However, he also came under heavy criticism for just photographing — and not helping — the little girl. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida said this of Carter: "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering, might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene."

What happened to the little girl is unknown -- but after being criticized for not helping her, Kevin Carter committed suicide. A portion of his suicide note read, "I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners..."

To me, there's a surprising little thing in this photo... The girl is wearing a necklace. That adds to the "shock value" of it.

My second photo is entitled "The Falling Man". The photo was taken by Richard Drew at 9:41:15 a.m. on September 11, 2001. This is one of the "jumpers" from the first World Trade Center tower. This photo was published once in a newspaper on September 12, 2001, but the public was outraged. It has never been published again.

thefallingman.jpg


Again, this is such a moving photo. I will never be able to forget it. This one photo spawned a book, and later a documentary film. The purpose of the book and film was to identify who this man was. They eventually did figure out his identity -- he was a man that worked in the restaurant at the top of the tower. In spite of the subject matter, this photo conveys such calm and peace. The calm and peace that the man is exhibiting is such a stark contrast to the horror and tragedy of that day. This picture is very misleading, as it is only one in a serious of several dozen that were taken of the same man falling. In the remaining photographs, he appears flailing around, distressed, grabbing at the air. This one photo stands out from the rest of the series in that it is a betrayal of the true happenings of that sequence of photos, and of the day itself. You can't help but feel emotional when you see this picture. This picture makes us all human.

My last entry is a group of photos, all Hubble telescope images.

The_Best_Hubble_7.jpg

The_Best_Hubble_6.jpg

The_Best_Hubble_5.jpg

The_Best_Hubble_4.jpg

The_Best_Hubble_3.jpg

The_Best_Hubble_2.jpg


Nothing that man creates could possibly compete with the beauty and wonder of nature. The shapes are perfect. The colors are perfect. The contrast is perfect. Nothing could make these images better than they already are. These images really put things into perspective for me, about what matters.
 
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All great photos biff.

The first pic captures the disparity of world hunger so well. I feel bad to the little girl and also for the photographer.

The second one, I remember seeing that one. It is still as horrific. Seeing that there is no way out so making the choice to burn to death or fall to death.

Those hubble images are awesome. I have always clicked through pictures from hubble and other space images.
 
Biff,

Those first two images are very dramatic. Photography literally translated from the Greek means "writing with light." Photography and film is the only medium of art that can "capture the moment" literally while the moment is happening. Because of this, photography has the ability open your world. The fact that you're drawn to these two images tells me you are a person of compassion. Face it, there are all kinds of morbid photos on the internet. You chose two images that demonstrate humanity not grossness. The fact that you chose these two images tells me you have a love for and want to be an advocate for people. What does that mean for the type of photographer you would want to become? Unless you decide to drop everything and get yourself out in the world more, you're not going to come across the opportunity to shoot those types of dramatic images. Does that mean your shots can't make my heart sing? Of course not, you'll just need to find that compassionate beauty in the moments around you, the camera will help you do that.

I find it interesting that you felt the need to include words with your images. Do you think the shots were more powerful because you added the "back story"?

C
 
I find it interesting that you felt the need to include words with your images. Do you think the shots were more powerful because you added the "back story"?

I remember when I first saw those two pictures, I wanted to find out the story behind them, so I researched them. I figured I'd just save anyone else that wanted to know the stories the hassle :)
 
Yote, You seem to be choosing images that record a moment and to me that's what photojournalism is all about. Check out National Geographic, there is a lot you can do with photojournalism!

C
 
These are mine:
 

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