Fall Final Extra Credit

1. The man was pushed into the tracks by another person, and the photographer was supposedly able to shoot a picture by using the flash of his camera to alert the driver of the subway.
2. The photographer said he took the photo to warn the subway driver with his flash to stop the train.
3. I don't think that the photographer should have taken the photo, and that he should of helped the man before doing anything else.
4. I do not think that the photographer did the best thing, he should have helped the man. The article says that the man was not strong enough to pull himself above the tracks, but with help he should have been able to get back on the walkway again.
5. I think that even though the photo tells an interesting story, it should not have been run on the front page of the New York Post. As one commenter of the article said, the morbid photo would have been available for the man's whole family to see, which could not have been fun for them.
6. In my opinion it depends on the situation. In situations such as this, when there is no one else available to help, the photojournalist needs to help a person rather than help his career. However, if there is other people available to help, then the photographer is okay to shoot rather than help. In some situations, the photographer could do both. For example, in Kevin Carter's picture of a starving child, it would have been fine to take a picture, and then help the child, however he did neither.
7. I think it is ethically acceptable for a photographer to involve themselves as long as the photographer doesn't change anything about the situation.
8. I think that photographers should influence situations such as these when someone's life is being threatened, because in the end, a human life is always more important than a picture.

Warm Up and Portraits/Self Portraits Preview

Warm-Up:
1. As I went through these images I felt sadness, and pain through the subject's faces.
2. I think that the photographer is trying to say that these photos don't show everything from the Merendino's lives, but they do show them in their truest forms.
3. I think that I could shoot photos if I was in this situation, but it would still take a lot of focus and work.
4. If I could write Angelo a letter I would tell him that I'm sorry for what he went through, but I also appreciate how he took pictures at a time like this.

Tips:

• Experiment with lighting: Another element of randomness that you can introduce to your portraits is the way that you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to using light in portrait. Side-lighting can create mood, backlighting and silhouetting your subject to hide their features can be powerful.

• Fill the frame: One way to ensure that your subject captures the attention of the viewer of your portrait is to fill the frame with their face. It’s not something that you’d do in every shot that you take – but if your subject is the only feature in the shot – there’s really nowhere else to look.

• Candid Photography: Photograph your subject at work, with family or doing something that they love. This will put them more at ease and you can end up getting some special shots with them reacting naturally to the situation that they are in. You might even want to grab a longer zoom lens to take you out of their immediate zone and get really paparazzi with them.

Environmental: I really like these pictures because I thought that the lighting and composition was really interesting and showed the subject's personalities and jobs.

Self portraits: I like these photos because although they're simple, they are able to tell a story. Both pictures show each person's interests and artsy-ness.

Casual Portraits: I liked this pictures because I thought they were fun and had interesting ideas.

For my portrait project I want to shoot my brother in the style of an environmental portrait. I want to shoot him with something he's interested in, such as soccer or with something else that he loves. In order to make the shot successful, I'll make sure that my lighting is bright and possibly has unusual colors. and that the perspective I take the picture in is interesting.

Magazine Cover Images

Portraits and Self Portraits

Fashion Photography

First video:
     - The models lips, nose and eyes were moved down.
     - Her neck was elongated and made thinner.
     - Her eyebrows were arched further up.
     - Her eyes were made bigger.
     - Her temples were made slimmer.
     - Her hair was made longer and more voluminous.
     - Her face was made into more of a heart shape rather than a square shape.

Second video:
     - Her eyes and other facial features were made bigger.
     - Her legs were elongated and made slimmer.
     - Her neck was slimmed and made longer.
     - Her hair and skin was colored to be lighter.

Third video:
      - Her entire body was made much slimmer, and any stretch marks and wrinkles were blurred over.
      - Her head was made smaller.
      - She was given longer hair.
      - Her hand was made smaller.
      - Her skin was made to look rosier and pinker.

Questions:
      4. In my opinion, it is not ethical to photoshop a person's appearance to look so different. By the end of most of the videos, the models looked like completely different people. These changes to make someone look prettier can not only affect those models perception of themselves and their self esteem, but also alters society and everyone who views those photo's perception of beauty.
     5. I think that it's only morally right when the model themselves really wants one part of them changed. Unless she actually requests it, then I don't think it's okay.
     6. Again, unless the model requests a part of them changed, then I don't think it's okay to do any manipulation.
     7. Photojournalism tells a story with pictures, whereas fashion photography only shows a person or a topic, and doesn't really show the whole story.
     8. In photojournalism, when someone manipulates a picture, it can cost them their jobs. Because of this, photojournalism photography is usually true to reality. On the other hand, in fashion photography, photographers and editors are encouraged to edit and manipulate their photos, resulting in fashion photography usually not being like real life.
     9. You're showing us these videos to show us what the fashion journalism industry is like, and to discourage us from manipulating our pictures like this.
    10. None of the videos are about guys because society accepts guys for what they truly look like, and then turn around and tell girls to change themselves for men and society and use makeup, and even when girls change themselves to the best of their ability, they're still put into photoshop to look even more different.

Magazines Part II

1. Early Magazine Covers

The earliest magazine covers looked a lot like book covers. The covers were always vague and didn't really show what was specifically in the contents of the magazine. Most covers only showed the title of the magazine and had a table of contents or a picture that either symbolically showed the spirit of the magazine or was just there for decoration.

2. The Poster Cover

Poster covers were commonly seen from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Poster covers had a picture that didn't specifically describe or relate to any article in the magazine, but mostly described the emotion of the magazine. The logo almost never covers the picture. Professional artists were often hired just to make magazine cover illustrations. Cover lines were almost never on the front cover, and when they were they were often overshadowed by the colored picture.

3. Pictures Married to Type

These covers relied heavily on text and cover lines to draw readers in, rather than pictures and illustrations. Over time, photographs took over illustrations on magazine covers. The text on the cover gives the reader an idea of what will be in the magazine, unlike other covers which gave the reader of an idea of the mood of the magazine. As time progressed and the magazine industry became bigger, cover designers began to experiment with the relations with cover lines, logos, and pictures to create what modern magazine covers look like.

4. In the Forest of Words

These covers rely very heavily on text, and the text that describes what's inside the magazine is usually more prominent than the picture on the magazine. They are usually used for music magazines. The cover lines and logo almost always cover over the photo, and use bright colors to catch the reader's attention.

My Favorite Cover

"The cover of Kinfolk Issue Eleven: The Home Issue was shot by Maia Flore, a Paris-based photographer we love working with because of her interesting conceptual ideas and dreamy style. The cover image was part of Maia’s photo essay inside titled “Becoming Your Home.” After a long, cold winter, the image seemed to express that feeling of cabin fever, climbing the walls, sinking into the furniture. At the same time, the image has a warm color and a childlike feeling of play. The Home Issue was one of our more straightforward themes, but the photography displayed on our simply designed cover marked a change in direction toward more artful content."

I've seen this picture about a hundred times, and I've always loved this picture, even before I knew it was one of the best magazine covers of 2015. Kinfolk covers have a very minimalist design- which I like- and that style choice is reflected into this photo. Besides the model and the dollhouse, there is nothing in the photo besides the floor and the wall. The subject is centered, which results in it filling the space of the photo. The colors are mostly soft, primary colors and muted browns which is easy on the eye and gives the viewer a sense of the dreamy style that the photographer is known for. The surreal-ness of the photo and the fact that the viewer can't see the model's face reflects this dreamy style.

Best Covers

1.  The Advocate - Formal
2.  Wired - Formal
3.  ESPN The Magazine - Informal
4. OUT - Formal
5.  Harper's Bazzar - Formal
6.  ESPN The Magazine - Environmental
7.  New York - Formal
8.  The Atlantic - Enviornmental
9.  FamilyFun - Environmental
10.  The New York Times - Formal
11.  Harper's Bazaar - Informal
12.  Vanity Fair - Formal
13.  Variety - Informal 
14.  New York - Informal
15.  Men's Health - Formal
16.  Bloomberg Business Week - Formal
17.  Golf Digest - Environmental
18.  Kinfolk - Informal

Magazine Tips

1. Brand recognition
2. Emotionally irresistible (image's appeal)
3. Pulls the viewer in
4. Intellectually stimulating
5. Worth the money and time

Cold, Purple, Electric Shoot

cold

electric

purple

American Soldier - Photos Make the Story

A. The most powerful image from the slideshow was the image of Ian getting his hair buzzed as preparation to join the army. In my opinion, his hair cut was like a turning point in Ian's life, the transition between his old life and his new life as a soldier.

B. 
Set 1 - at home  - Image 1 to Image 4
Set 2 - basic training - Image 5 to Image 13
Set 3 - in Iraq - Image 14 to Image 27
In Image 28 he is back at home in Denver

C. The set of images that is the most powerful is the first set because it really shows the mood of tension, waiting, and sadness that everyone feels before Ian leaves to go to war.

D. The images work together to show the events and emotions in Ian's life by mostly showing people's faces and actions.

E. The verbs are written in the present tense.

F. The captions enhance the photographs by giving background information to what is happening in each picture and immersing the reader in Ian's story.

G. After high school, Ian Fisher knew that as a young, patriotic man, joining the army would be a great choice for him. He survived the psychological effects of boot camp and learned many life lessons, but nothing could have prepared him for his harsh time serving in Iraq. Ian suffered many injuries and became addicted to pain medication, and would often get in trouble with those in higher rank than him. After serving many months, Ian was finally able to come back home to Colorado, and got married to his girlfriend.

Rules of Composition Part II

1. Rule of thirds

2. Balancing Elements

3. Leading Lines

4. Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)

5. Viewpoint

6. Background

7. Create depth

8. Framing

9. Cropping

10. Avoiding Mergers

Abandoned Theme Parks

1. The theme park that I want to visit most is the theme park in Pypriat, Ukraine. I would like to visit the park because out of all the theme parks mentioned this was the most unique, as it was abandoned because of a chemical disaster instead of economic problems or deaths, like the other parks were. I'd also like to see how the park was affected because of the chemicals surrounding it. I not only want to visit the park, but I would also love to visit the abandoned town of Pypriat and the Chernobyl power plant. It's always been a dream of mine to visit and take pictures of Chernobyl, and visiting the park would be a bonus!

2.

3. -Abandoned Roman colony in Timgad, Algeria

-The House of the Bulgarian Communist Party

- Light Festival in Ghent, Belgium

- Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors

- Qiandao Lake in Chun'an County, China

4.

5. I would like to document the Qiandao Lake because underneath it is an abandoned city built in 25 AD, and it would be interesting to see how different buildings would look underwater. Not only is there an abandoned city, but the water is apparently crystal clear and completely drinkable, and dotted with thousands of tiny islands. It's a popular area for tourists, as each island has a different theme and activity, such as Monkey Island and The Island To Remind You Of Your Childhood.

6.  In order to take pictures of the abandoned city, I would need to invest in scuba diver gear and an underwater camera, and I would also need to learn how to scuba dive and take pictures underwater. Taking pictures of the other islands wouldn't be as hard and expensive, as there are boats for tourists to get to each island.

Africa

1. I thought that the pictures looked very detailed, almost as if it was a picture taken with eyes instead of a camera. The photos make the animals look very powerful and other-worldly, especially the picture of the lion where it looks almost dream-like.
2.

3. This is a photo of elephant hunters standing in a line posing with elephant tusks. This photo is my favorite because of the use of leading lines and uniformity, and the minimalism on the ground contrasts really interestingly with the cloudy sky.

4. The photo uses leading lines with the hunters and balance with the hunters being in-between the sky and ground.

5. Brandt uses a Pentax 67II, and only uses a telephoto lens because he believes it is important to be close to the animals in order to perfectly capture the emotion and power.

6. He takes photos of animals to show the average person how important these animals are and that we should be actively trying to prevent the destruction of their land.

7. He hopes to inspire people to be environmentally friendly and care for wild animals.

8. "First of all, it’s a last testament. At the same time, those animals are disappearing but that doesn’t mean that we should give up.  Like with global warming, anybody with a sense of intelligence knows that global warming is happening and it is getting worse.  But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up – we can do things.  In the same way, these animals are disappearing really fast and it’s going to get worse but we still have to do a certain amount of things. I’m recording this world as it is now and may never be again."

Funny Captions

Michelle Reeves and Michael Reeves compete in the annual senior citizen wheel chair race. The couple have competed in the race every year for the past 20 years, and this year Michael was able to score 3rd place.

Briana Rodriguez dons a tiara as she celebrates her 111th birthday. Rodriguez is the oldest resident of Austin, and this year she celebrated with Enchanted Ever After Princess Parties.

89 year old Fuaad Ajaz performs with an accordion, tambourine, and children's xylophone toy on the side of the street in South Congress, Austin. Ajaz has been performing his one-man-band on South Congress for 30 years, and has become another quirky 'Austin tradition'.

Great Black and White Photographers 3

1.) What first caught your eye while looking at your photographers photos? Is there something in particular about their photos that made you want to choose them? Post the images with your writing.

What first caught my eye about Dosineau's photos was his interesting perspective. He often took pictures of children, and because of that would take pictures at their height or even lower, which gave the pictures a unique feel.

2.) Look at those 2 photos you posted last time in the assignment Great Black and White Photographers Part 2. Use your five senses to tell me more about those photos. Answer them on your blog.

I see- Children having fun and playing around. The photo being in black and white gives it a somber feel, and it also makes the viewer feel like they're looking back in time. I can also see the industrial-style building and the dark and cloudy skies.
I smell- Smoke and asphalt because the photo was taken during an industrial time in France. I also smell sweat, because the children look like they're running around and being very active.
I hear- Laughter from the children, and the busyness of traffic on the roads. I can also hear general chatter from the people down the street from the children. I can also hear the sound of the children's roller skates on the road.
I taste- Sweet things like candy, but also the taste of smoke in the air. I also taste saltiness and dirt that come with playing on roads. 
I feel- The feeling of the asphalt against the children's skates and skin. Along with that, I can feel the bumping of the skates along the road, almost as if I'm in the skates. The black and white in the photo also makes me feel nostalgic.

3.) Finally, what would you like to create to show the world your great photographer. Ideas include, posters, power points, a blog, etc. You tell me what you would like to create so we can come up with a plan to share your thoughts and ideas about your photographer with your classmates and with the rest of the school.

I think it'd be best to make powerpoint about Dosineau.

Mural Project

1. What theme, that we could take here at school, could we do a series of these panels to place around the school?

We could have personal parts of each students lives-such as their friends or electives- or students could take pictures of their favorite part of school.

2. Should we use phones only, or should we open it up to our regular cameras for those people that don't have camera phones?

I think it should be both to give everyone a chance, plus regular cameras will be able to take better pictures.

3. Where would you want to put the mural on campus?

Maybe in the fine arts building on a wall that isn't covered in lockers? 

Academic Shoot Reflection and Critique

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get the photos following the rules I set out for you? 

One challenge I encountered was trying to find things to take photos of (because I honestly forgot about this shoot and didn't think about what to shoot beforehand), and at some points I had to try to find unique ways to find photo rules because my subjects weren't naturally following the rules.

2. What technical aspects of photography or the assignment in general (focus, framing, holding the camera, etc.) did you find yourself thinking about the most? Provide a specific example of what you did to do this correctly.

I was thinking about ways to view the subject and rules the most, which can be seen in the fact that pretty much all of my photos use either leading lines or rule of thirds.3. If you could do the assignment again, what would you do differently now that you know some basic rules of photography?

I would have used different angles to find the best lighting for each subject, because some of my photos ended up being kind of dark, and I would have had more diversity in the photo rules.

4. What things would you do the same?

I think that I would keep some of the subjects I had, because I think that most of the subjects I used were pretty interesting.

5. When you go out with your next set of prompts, which rule do you think will be the easiest to achieve?

I think that rule of thirds and leading lines are the easiest rules to capture.

6. Which rule do you think will be the hardest to capture?

For me, balance is the hardest thing to capture.7. What rule are you still not totally clear on and what can you do to figure out what that rule is?

Honestly, I'm still not completely clear on balance? But I'll look up some more stuff on it and figure out how to capture it.


http://alexasphotojournalism.blogspot.com
2 positive things: I really like the balance in the first photo and the angles they used for all the photos.
what can be improved: The photographer can work on not cutting off people's elbows or foreheads and avoid mergers.

Academic Shoot Edits

1. What composition rule did you follow the rule?

I followed rule of thirds and framing.

2. What is the subject?

The subject are the three people drawing.

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

I think it's clear to see what the subject is, but the background is a little distracting.

4. If you can't very clearly see what the subject is, what could you have done differently?

I could have taken the picture at a different angle so that the lines in the background weren't as distracting.

1. What composition rule did you follow the rule?

The composition rule I followed was rule of thirds and framing.

2. What is the subject?

The subject is the person playing guitar.
3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Yes, because he is one of the only things going on in the photo.

1. What composition rule did you follow the rule?

I followed leading lines and rule of thirds.
2. What is the subject?

The subject is the girl drawing.

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

Yes, because she is at the forefront of the picture.

1. What composition rule did you follow the rule?

I followed rule of thirds.

2. What is the subject?

The subject is the girl drawing.

3. Is it clear to people looking at your photos what the subject is?

It's a little confusing to see what the subject is because the tree kind of takes the focus.

4. If you can't very clearly see what the subject is, what could you have done differently?

I could have moved the actual subject into the center more and gotten closer.

Academic Shoot Preview

1. My favorite photo was the second photo called "Quantum Mechanics". This photo was my favorite because I thought that it was a very interesting shot and makes me wonder how they got the photo and angle.
2.The photo rules that are evident in the photo are leading lines in the marker drawings and the hand, and rule of thirds with the drawings and the face.


1. I think that I could either take photos in the band hall or in one of my past teacher's class rooms.
2. I would like to take pictures in the band hall during freshmen band (I don't really know if I'll be allowed in at that time though) or one of my past teacher's classrooms, like Ms. Kowalik's biology class, because she might be doing a lab which would be interesting to shoot.
3. To get amazing photos I will need to get interesting angles and use interesting subjects to draw the viewer's eye.

Filling the Frame

This photo almost completely fills the frame with people. The lines of people lead to the man in the back. The rest of the photo that is not people is filled with an interesting background.

Action and Emotion

In my opinion, this photo has the most action and emotion. You can tell in that photo that the students and the teacher like each other, and everyone in the photo's poses are dynamic and you can see the movement, almost as if you are there yourself.

The Story

The story-telling aspect of this photo lies in the faces and the droplets of water. They show that the students were obviously doing a lab in a science class, when suddenly whatever chemicals they were making exploded and caused water to fly everywhere. The girls' faces show their surprise and add emotion to the photo.

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

A. In photojournalism, it is very important for a photographer to accurately and truthfully convey a story through their pictures, and failing to do so can result in career consequences. The photographers mentioned in the story manipulated the images either to make the photo seem more dramatic or they made a noticeable mistake and did not fix it.

B. I think that this type of editing is unethical, because in most cases in the stories not only did it portray a false event, but most of the time it was unnecessary. Most of the photos probably would have been fine without manipulation, so the photographers lost their jobs for no reason.

In my opinion this image was the most unethical, because it portrayed an event that never happened. The newspaper lied to it's readers by reporting about this false event.

This image was the least unethical, because the photographers just wanted to show the second pyramid and make the picture more interesting. They had good intentions behind the manipulation, and didn't provide any false information.

Great Black and White Photographers Part 2

Rober Dosineau was born April 14 1912 in Gentilly, Val-de-Marne, France. His father died in World War One when he was two, and his mother died when he was seven. He was raised by an unloving aunt until he was thirteen, when he went to Escole Estienne, a craft school where he received a diploma in engraving and lithography. Afterwards, he took classes in figure drawing and still life. He started photography at age 16, but was reportedly so shy that he only took pictures of the ground, and slowly built up to taking pictures of people. He was then hired as a draughtsman and a camera assistant, but was fired after coming into work late so often. He was hired as a photographer by Rapho Photographic Agency, but was drafted into World War 2. After the war, he became a freelance photographer and shot for Life and other magazines. He then worked at Alliance Photo Agency and rejoined Rapho. He then worked for Vogue  but disliked working in a studio so left to become a freelance photographer. He died in 1994 at age 81 of a triple heart bypass and acute pancreatitis.

Post Shoot Reflection

1. What challenges did you encounter while trying to get the photos of your first 4 prompts (Square, Metal, Happy, Bowie)

The biggest challenge I faced was coming up with fitting pictures for each topic. I found a lot of examples on the campus for 'metal', but I couldn't shoot one of the metal things in the right way to make it an interesting photo.
2. What technical aspects of photography or the assignment in general (focus, framing, holding the camera, etc.) did you find yourself thinking about the most? Provide a specific example of what you did to do this correctly.

I thought about photo rules and framing the most, and I tried to use a lot of rules of thirds and leading lines to make my pictures look better.

3. If you could do the assignment again, what would you do differently now that you know some basic rules of photography?

I would have liked to have more time with the assignment, because this time I had to rush around the school and I probably could have found better subjects if I had taken my time.

4. What things would you do the same?

I would have sticked focusing on photo rules, because I think that that made my images better.

5. Finally - go back and edit your blogs with the 4 photos (square, metal, happy, Bowie), tell me what rules of composition (which you just learned about) did you end up actually achieving? Did you have any?

I used rule of thirds, simplicity, and leading lines.

6. Are you interested in shooting those same prompts again, why?

I wouldn't really be interested in shooting these prompts again since this is the second time I've shot this prompts :/

http://aurorasphotojournalismblog.blogspot.com

My favorite photos from this blog were the square and Bowie photos. I liked the square photos because I thought that it was a very interesting and unique perspective, and I liked the Bowie photo because I thought that it was really adorable. One thing that could be improved is that the photos could be more simple and focused on the main subject.

1st Prompt Shoot

Bowie

Happy

Metal

Square

Merger

9/11 Story - Reactions

At the beginning of the story, the writer created excellent imagery and was able to describe the picture in a million different ways and successfully hook the reader into continuing the story. He then went on to explain the whole story- in significant detail- from beginning to end, from the photographer to the mystery surrounding the image. Overall, the story was extremely well written and the story of the photograph was very interesting.

9/11 Photographers - Avoiding Mergers

In this photo the policeman's face and hand are cut off, and the person in the background's right half is but off as well.

9/11 Photography - Balance

This photo is balanced in that it looks as if the photo looks as if it were almost directly split in half with black lines on one side and grey on the other, and the subject of the photo- the falling man- is right in the middle of both of the halves.

9/11 Photography - Simplicity

This photo is very simple in it's colors and subjects. The subjects are the silhouettes in front of the fog, and the fog is able to blur out the background. The monochrome colors also help in not distracting the eye.