Day 20

Day 19

Day 18

Portfolio

Fifteen Blog Photos

This photo was taken for the theme of Color.  I wanted to capture the beautiful blue sky as a background to all of the different colors in the sign.  I chose this particular photo because I loved the way the colors melt into each other in the sunset.  Even though this photo it centered, I believe it works because of the lines from the sunset in the background.  This creates a break three times in the background as the viewers eyes travel down.  I like this photo because the colors take over and the words on the sign because unimportant in the photograph.

I took this photo for the theme of Lines, Rhythm, and shape.  I believe this photo shows all there of the these.  I liked this particular shot because the texture was very apparent.  The lines on the front wood panel bring the viewer's eyes in.  Then the shape of the square on the door guide the viewer around the picture.  The words on the pages around the door give this picture a sense of rhythm.  I like the various textures that come through from the natural wood and the words that frame the shot.

I took this photo during the week that we did not have a specific theme and were to take pictures of anything.  I like this picture because it has an interesting subject matter.  The bend in the leg on the left guides the viewer up the picture.  The clothes in the background form a line that brings the viewer's eye back down.  I added a slight vignette to this photo in order to help keep the viewer going around the picture in a circular pattern.  If I were to take this photo again, I would position myself so that the legs were on the right side of the photo.  I believe this would help make the photo look more balance.

This photo represents the category of Color.  My goal was to create a still line photograph that was more about the color of the objects than the shape of them.  I like this shot because of the highlights that gently sit across the vegetables.  The red and the yellow pop off of this photograph because of the black in the background.  The colors compliment each other nicely and the green on the stems ties the two together.  I like how the red peppers frame the yellow peppers and bring the viewer around the photograph.

This photograph represents the theme of Shape.  This was one of my many attempts at still life photography.  What I like about this image is that at first glance the tomato almost looks like it is being selected from the glass when in fact it is simply sitting on top of another tomato.  I think this creates visual interest because the viewer has to really stop to see what exactly they are looking at.  I like the depth of field as well in this photograph because the ripples in the background are faint and almost fade away into the edges of the shot.

This photo represents the theme depth of field.  I work hard to get this photograph shot the way I wanted it.  The chain in front of the horse was extremely far away from the horse.  However, I wanted it to appear much closer to the horse than it actually was, as if the chain was keeping him in or out of some place.  I like the way the chain draws the eye vertically back and forth across this photograph.  The horse because a stage for the chain to play off of.  If I were to do this photograph again, I would probably open the aperture a but more because the horse's face was very dark and hard to see, even after I raised the exposure on that particular area in Lightroom.

This photograph represents the theme of shape.  I wanted to desaturate the photograph mostly so that the various colors in the original photograph did not distract from the shape and the lines from the chair and bent metal it is on.  I like this particular shot because of the hint of green on the top, right side of the photo.  This gives a feeling of hope and new life even after the fire.  The lines from the broken garage door play against the lines of the chair legs that make this photograph interesting.  These lines bring the viewers eyes back and forth from vertical or horizontal lines of site.

This photo corresponds to the theme of rhythm and shape.  There are several things I like about this photo.  The first thing is the way the rhythm of the shirt bring the eyes of viewer up and around on both sides of the shirt.  As the eye travels up the picture through the use of the white space, there is still visual interest because of the shadows.  Lastly, the lines from the necklace bring the viewer back down and around the picture agin.  I like the simplicity of this photo and the lack of color.  This keeps the viewer focused 100% on the shape and the lines.

This photo was taken for the them of lines.  The lines in the window grab the viewer's attention and are banked by the vertical lines under the tree.  I like the way the branches reach across the photo in a curved diagonal fashion.  This photo is interesting because of the broken glass on the windows.  This created broken shapes that play off of the straight lines in the window.

This photo was taken during the open category of photography in the first week.  However, I think it plays well off the the light, lines and the color theme.  I like how the lights in this photo form lines that draw the viewers eyes back and forth and up and down.  There are many interesting things happening in this photo and I feel like the viewer can play in all of the lines and the color.  This photo was challenging to take because it was taken in the dark, however I was steady enough to capture the long exposure.

This photo was taken for the theme of light.  I like this photo because of the depth of field.  The background adds visual interest with color without distracting from the clear, crisp bird in the front of the camera.  I took this photo during sweet light and I like the way the highlights bounce off of the bird and the truck that he is perched upon.  Those gentle highlights add a softness to the photograph.

This photo was taken for the theme of light.  This photo was taken during sweet light and I really like the way the tips of the leaves have the golden hue to them.  I also like the way this photograph uses lines to draw the viewer around it.  The wooden box draws the viewer back and then the shape of the leaves leads them back to the fence where that line brings them back to the front of the picture.  From there, the wooden box grabs them vertically across and brings them back around again.  I love how the colors on either side of the plants really pop in this photo.  This creates balance and visual interest.

This photograph was taken for the theme of light.  I was playing with how to capture the light and the shadows both at the same time.  After a second review of this photo, I think I should have cropped it more.  I like how the bricks and the air conditioners add a since of urban life to photo, however I think they may become a bit distracting to the main element in the photo, the woman's face.

This photo was taken the first week where we had open photography for the category.  I like the way this photo captures a moment in time.  It is obvious the people are moving around the city in a hustle and bustle, but the man at the vendor stand seems to be stopped in his own world.  I like the way the walk sign on the left frames the shot and gives the viewer a place to start their journey.  The different heights of the people to the umbrella creates visual interest and helps to move the eye down and to the right of the photograph.

This photo was taken the first week where we had open photography for the category.  I like the way the tree branches at the top of the photo really frame the shot.  They help the viewer's eyes circle from right to left.  The wagon is diagonal from the stone in the yard and this brings balance to photograph.  The lines on from both of the houses and more balance and direction in the photograph.  I like this photo because it is interesting.

Final Project

Five New Photos

Anger

Original

New

This image evokes the concept of anger to the viewer.  A flame is a typical symbolic representation of anger, however I emphasized this concept in several different ways, other than with the obvious subject matter.  The first thing I did was increased the clarity of the image.  This made the curls in the flame more apparent and showed the depth of the smoke behind the image.  I also took down the whites and highlights of the image in order to make it come toward the viewer against the black background.  I increased the vibrancy and saturation slightly to give more emphasis on each forceful stroke of the flame.  Next, I altered the exposure just on the bottom of the wick to help frame the flame and give it a since of placement.  Lastly, I played with the shadows to keep the viewers eyes circling around the smoke and the flame.  The picture takes the viewer around the flame, brings them back down to the wick, then circles them to the smoke and then back around to start the process again.  This photo makes appropriate use of the black background to make the flame stand out.

Hope

Original

New

The concept I chose for this photo was the category of hope.  Plants and greenery have long been representative of hope.  I felt like this broad view expressed a larger sense of hope and prosperity.  This photo uses several techniques to convey this concept to the viewer.  The first element to note is the way the highlights are shining on the leaves of the plants.  This use of light plays with the viewer’s eyes and   bounces them around from leaf to leaf.  This play on light against the rich green of the leaves is one way I conveyed hope.  In order to achieve this effect, I added a slight contrast and then brought the shadows down.  I added a slight vignette as well to help the viewer focus on those highlights and the leaves.  I brought the vibrancy up slightly to give the richness to the leaves.  Next, I lowed the saturation a tiny bit so that the effect of the vibrancy wasn’t too much.  Because of the vignette, the background is darker that the focal point of the image, this helps evoke the since of new life and hope.  The ground is seen through the plants in two major lines that create a vee shape and allow the viewer to play back and forth and around the photo.

Order

Original

New

This photo gives a clear since of order to person viewing the image.  The viewer’s eyes travel across each harmonica in a very ordered approach.  I chose to slightly tilt the harmonicas in the final photo to help guide the viewer.  The eyes travel back and forth on each of the slanted lines.  The theme of order is also apparent because of the highlights on the numbers on the harmonica.  The numbers appear upside down and backwards, however they are very systematically placed in the picture to convey a since regimen.  I adjusted the temperature on the photo and the tint before adding a cross process.  I did this in order to highlight the gold lines that help to add to the feeling of order in this photo.  I did crop this photo in order to emphasize the angular lines of the harmonica.  This helped to keep the photo interesting while still conveying the concept at hand.

Solitude

Original

New

I chose this photo to represent the concept of solitude for several reasons.  First, the subject of the photo is old, broken down, and decayed.  This theatre has been empty for many years and stands alone as it grows older.  The features of the sign in particular make the viewer feel that what they are seeing has been left alone to the elements of life for many years.  This feeling creates the since of solitude.  The sign on the building is missing may lights and is broken.  This lack of care was emphasized within the photo in several different technical ways.  First, I raised the vibrancy and lowered the saturation.  This allows the view to see some color left in the sign, however the lack of color in other places adds to feeling that this sign has been alone for years.  I raised the exposure slightly and brought the whites and the highlights down in order to make it seem more grey and less bright.  

Ugly

Original

New

I have used this photo to convey the theme of ugly to the viewer.  The old sign is rusted, weathered, and worn.  The original photo portrayed this theme of ugly in an ugly way.  The photo was washed out and bland.  It felt stale awful.  To make this concept of ugly pleasing to the eye, I used several technics when I edited the photo.  First, I raised the contrast and the highlights in the photo.  This allowed the texture of the sign and the brick to pop to the viewer’s eyes.  Next, I increased the clarity slightly and lowered the vibrancy in order to give richness to the colors on the sign.  Lastly I added a slight vignette in order to keep the viewers eyes playing with the texture of the sign and the bricks.   This helps their eyes to form a circle pattern in the photo, taken in the rust and decayed, broken effect of the sign.