Portraits and self-portraits - start looking

On your blog - post your favorite self-portrait (1 photo) and your favorite professional portrait (1 photo). Explain what YOU think makes a good photo (3-5 sentences please). Be specific. And then describe which style you think you will want to do with your next 12 frames and what parts would you like to emulate in your work.

Negatives Evaluation

1. They all seemed decent in lighting, aperture and focus.

2. All of the pictures seem in focus and balanced in lighting.

3. I like this picture because I put the most thought it in. I put it on the table and balanced it with items on the table.

4. The first thing I do is focus, because a good photo can't be seen all fuzzy. Then I make sure the light is right, because that's another important aspect of a good photo. Then I snap whatever is interesting! Felix is in  focus, he can be seen and there is balance in the picture.

5. Rule of thirds, Lines, Balance & viewpoint.

Photo manipulation & Ethics.

A) The point of the article is that images shouldn't be manipulated in any way. To bring genuine work to published news and how editing images may pose threatening situations to some subjects. It is unfair to people who don't photo shop their work to get more attention. The hard working photographer doesn't get the attention he deserves.

B) In some cases photo manipulation is acceptable, but overall it is a nasty practice. The line is thin when crossing it.

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 This image is probably the most unethical due to the fact that it manipulates peoples opinions on the war. The manipulator wanted to get a specific negative feel towards American Soldiers and took it out all on this soldier, who was later dismissed two days later. The manipulators message lost a soldiers job.

This manipulation causes no one any harm. Just a simple geographical rearrangement to make the picture fit better. It works.

Drug Cartels in Mexico

It sends a chill down my spine. Knowing that people like the Cartels are running around killing ruthlessly. The amount of people killed during the time of the journalist stay was exponentially high & pointless. The point of the passage is to bring to light the corruption and disorganization in some places caught by genuine journalists.

Making a Black and White print

1.) List the materials (equipment) necessary to make a black and white print

Timers

Drying Cabinets

Tongs Or Spatula

Enlargers

Focusing Aids

Safelights

2.) List the chemicals we might be using to make a print and where one would buy those chemicals

Indicator (StopBath), Developer, Fixer & they can be grabbed online or near school campuses where they sell film supplies.
3.) Summarize in one or two paragraphs the process from start to finish

Print a contact sheet (a page of thumbprint sized images).
In the darkroom, the chemicals are set up in trays, developer, stop bath and fixer. The negatives are laid out onto a sheet of photographic paper and exposed to the light of the enlarger. Once developed this sheet will become the contact sheet. The exposed photo paper is then placed into the tray of developer. Developing time for RC (resin coated) paper is 1 minute. Fiber based paper takes 2 minutes in the tray. Next step is to stop the developing process with the stop bath. The paper stays in this tray for 30 seconds and then goes into the fixer tray. RC paper stays in the fixer for 2 minutes, 4 minutes for fiber based paper. The final step is to wash the print in running water for 5 to 10 minutes. The contact sheet is now read to be hung to dry.
4.) Post a photo of the equipment necessary to make a black and white print.

1. emulsion - is a light-sensitive colloid, such as gelatin, coated onto a substrate. In silver-gelatin photography, the emulsion consists of silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin, and the substrate may be glass, plastic film, paper or fabric.
2. aperture - The main function of a camera lens is to collect light. The aperture of a lens is the diameter of the lens opening and is usually controlled by an iris. The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film / image sensor.
3. masking easel - device used to hold paper flat while exposing it to light from an enlarger. An easel border surrounding a print because its "arms" block light from striking the print paper's edges. 
4. exposure - is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph.
5. safe light - is a light source suitable for use in a photographic darkroom. It provides illumination without the wavelengths of the light spectrum to which the material in use is sensitive.
6. dodging - decreases the exposure for areas of the print that the photographer wishes to be lighter
7. burning - increases the exposure to areas of the print that should be darker

Post Shoot Reflection

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get close, capture real moments, and capture action or emotion? Explain how you dealt with these challenges.
It was difficult because when people noticed me they started acting up. So, to try to capture real moments I had to be a creep and take them without notice.

2. What technical aspects of photography (focus, exposure, composition) did you find yourself thinking about the most? Provide a specific example of what you did to do this correctly.
Focus, because it was a manual and blurry pictures suck. To do this correctly, I took my time focusing.

3. Explain how you attempted to use at least one of the advanced composition techniques you learned in class while shooting.
I added dimension to some shots, in filling everything in and balancing elements.

4. What would you do differently the next time you shoot to improve your photographs?
Probably take even more time to take them. More complex in shooting, not so simple next time.

American Soldier: Slideshow & Captions

A. What is the most powerful image from the slideshows? Why?The most powerful image in the slide show is of Ian kissing his girlfriend in the bleachers. Where they are the only still things in the image, while everything else is a blur. Ian is in uniform. It brings out a lot of emotion in how much the two will miss each other when Ian leaves.

B. What sequence of photographs is the most powerful? Why?
In sequences, the most powerful would be of Ian with his family and friend a few days before he leaves. They're running, playing and laughing and then, suddenly, everything gets serious. Ian is talking to his father, and the look on their faces are of concern, Ian's of impending fear. 

C. How do the images work together to tell a story?The images play back and forth, dancing on the strings of actions & reaction. The story it tells is generic but true, everyone has gone through. Although, not everyone's gone to war, they've had to leave people to do something that needed to be done.



A. For the photos in which Ian is the main subject of the photos, in what tense are the verbs usually written?
They're usually written in present tense.

B. How do the captions enhance the photographs?
It gives meaning to the actions that are being seen, or emotion to the face, background to the story. 
 
A. Write three of your own captions to photos without looking at the caption written by the photographer. Be sure they are written in the following form. For this assignment you can make up names and facts to write your captions.
                1) Ian and a few companions blow up balloons continuously to train their diaphragm if they were ever put in an oxygen, breath defying position. 
                2) The team waiting at a corner, prepares for target practice while taking a quick break.
                3) Sitting alone on a stump during practice, Ian reminisces about what had happened that day. 

A. How do these other features enhance the photographs?The fact that the photographer started to grow on Ian, & vice versa, things became personal and the pictures were taken to their full potential

B. In what ways are videos better than photographs? Provide an example from the Denver Post Web site.
Music can add to the feeling that wants to be portrayed, commentary also allows for a more personal feeling, a complete story. In chapter 2, when Ian leaves, everyone has a voice. They have the opportunity to allow themselves to be heard. His parents saying that they would miss him, how Ian was treated when he first got there. Pictures can't always be there and talk. Some details are overlooked in photos.

C. In what ways are photos better than videos? Provide an example from the Denver Post Web site.
Photo's make it personal, it's vague enough to allow that. The viewer interprets it and fills in all the blanks, it's fun