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These are my favorite pictures of the trimester. Enjoy!

Nature

Technical Aspects:

ISO: 400

Shutter Speed: 1/320

Aperture: f/8

Assignment Description:

     For this weeks assignment I chose nature. I took most of these pictures over the weekend in my backyard. I thought I got some pretty descent pictures. My favorite one is the one above because of the amazing orange color on the leaf. I love how you can see the different shades of orange and yellow throughout the leaf. This was the last assignment of the class and I'm happy to say I still like (if not more) photography. Thanks for a great trimester Mr. Bush!

"Visual Pun" Assignment.

"Cool as a Cucumber"

 

"Puppy Love"

"Tough Cookie"

Assignment Description:
    This was a really fun week. We had to chose three puns and then represent them visually by editing pictures. I chose to do "cool as a cucumber" (top), "puppy love" (middle), and "tough cookie" (bottom). I think they all turned out great. I was originally having trouble thinking of puns, but then I saw my pencil case which has a bunch of buttons all over with-- what else?-- puns! My favorite one would have to be the cucumber one because it's just so cool looking.

Black and White

Technical Aspects:

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/18

Aperture: f/2.8

Assignment Description:

    For Photo #6 I did Black and White. I was a little pressed for time so I thought I would just use old photos and turn them black and white. But after transforming a few, I started getting ideas about what would look cool in black and white and I started taking pictures around my house. The picture above is actually a collapsible wine bottle opener. I thought it was really interesting looking and different. I like what turned out, and I'm happy I took more pictures instead of using what I already had.

School Context Assignment

Assignment Description:
     This week's assignment was a lot of fun. We had to take a picture of just an average school setting and use GIMP to change its context. I took a picture of a desk in the library and turned it into a baby trying to steal a crown. I got pictures from Google Images (the rope, hat, baby, and crown) and used GIMP to place them in the original picture. Mr. Bush had to help me create a vignette around the edges. I also put in the lasers by turning down the opacity on red paintbrush strokes. After days of editing, I think this picture looks very cool. I'm happy with how it turned out. :)

The Beach

Technical Aspects:
ISO: 80
Shutter Speed: 1/640
Aperture: f/8

Assignment Description:
     For this week's photo I chose to do an open assignment. I decided to take a bunch of photos of the beach because for President's Day Weekend my family and I went to Miami Beach. I had a ton of fun with this assignment because I got to take photos of a place I'm not around everyday. It was hard to check my pictures while I was shooting because the glare from the sun made it hard to see the screen. After searching through about 200 pictures I'm happy with what I got. It was difficult to chose ones to put in the slide show because there were so many I liked! It was a fun couples of days and I got to capture some of it for you guys and bring some beach to Michigan.

Panning Assignment

Assignment Description:
    Today we learned how to create motion blur by panning our cameras. Mr. Bush rode his bike back and forth across the Commons, and we all lined up to take pictures. I thought it was really cool how you could use this technique to enhance your photos. I chose this picture because I think the contrast between the stillness of the subject (Mr. Bush) and the blurred background is very distinct. I learned that if you can make moving things look still and make still things look like they're moving you can create a great looking picture.

Architecture

Technical Aspects:
ISO: 80
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Aperture: f/5.6

Assignment Description:
     For this week's assignment I chose architecture. That weekend I went to Frankenmuth with some friends, and I thought it would be awesome to take some pictures there. My best photo (above) is of a building in River Place, which was a touristy shopping center. It was only my second time ever going to Frankenmuth and I was really excited I not only got to explore it myself, but with a camera as well. In my slideshow pictures #1-4 are from Frankenmuth as well.

Panoramic Assignment

Assignment Description:
    For this week's assignment we learned how to turn three separate pictures in to one cohesive panoramic picture. I had a lot of difficulty with this assignment. I had to go out to get more pictures at least 4 times because the ones I had previously taken were not working well together. It didn't help that Mr. Bush was out sick on the day we were supposed to start editing and stitching together our pictures. Putting together panoramic shots was really challenging. I'm glad that after a couple days I was able to put together a decent picture, but it took a lot of patience to get there.

Portrait Assignment

Assignment Description:
   For our class assignment this week we learned about how to take portraits in two different settings: studio and window. While studio portraits (Aviva to the left) are taken using a set backdrop and lighting, window portraits (Ryan to the right) are taken right beside a bright window using a bounce card to reflect light. I enjoyed this assignment because I liked interacting with the people I was shooting. It was a ton of fun, and I learned how to take a decent-looking picture using only a window and I white sheet of paper.

Macro

Technical Aspects:
ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/25
Aperture: f/2.8

Assignment Description:
   For this week's assignment, I chose macro. I was really excited to take macro photos because it seemed like I could get some really cool looking perspectives. The picture above is a part of a sink. I really like the detailed scratches in the metal. It was difficult to get my camera focused on the subjects i chose, so when I saw this, I was pleased to see that nothing except for what I wanted was in focus.

Shadows and Light

Technical Aspects:
ISO: 100
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Aperture: f/8

Assignment Description:
     For this assignment I chose shadows and light. At first I thought it would be easy because all you're doing is taking pictures of shadows. However, I quickly realized that not all shadows make good pictures. I found myself looking for interesting looking differences between shadows and light all weekend, always wondering if it would make a good looking photo. I also learned that this category isn't just about shadows, but also about how you can use light to make a picture into something unique.

Digital Retouching Assignment

Original by Noelle Jacobs

Edited Version by Lindsay Walter

Assignment Description:

    For this assignment we used Gimp to digitally edit a photo of a car to make it look even better than it originally was. We learned how to use the layers, cropping, and cloning tools to create a new picture. I'm sure this assignment will come in handy in the future to make my photo assignments better looking and neater.

Still Life

Technical Aspects:

ISO: 400

Shutter Speed: 1/15

Aperture: f/2.8

Assignment Description:
     For this week's assignment I chose still life. I took pictures of objects around my house, being sure to spend time working on the lighting and composition. I really enjoyed this assignment. Taking all of these pictures made me feel like I've really been improving.

Pop-Art Gimp Assignment

Photo Description:

     For this assignment we took a picture of ourselves and created the pop-art effect. We used the photo editor GIMP, which was actually pretty easy to use. This was my first time editing a picture to look like this, and I think it turned out great. After seeing pop-art pictures all over it's nice to be able to make one myself. 

Composition Assignment

The Assignment:
   This was our first assignment in digital photography, and for it we had to take eleven pictures, each one representing one of the eleven composition elements of photography. This was a way to introduce us to standard photography techniques and how to use the camera properly.

What I Learned:
   I feel like I have improved my photography skills very much by paying attention to these simple elements. I'm proud to say that so far this class seems to be one that will allow my skills to grow with each passing assignment. I learned the basics of taking a great picture, and I am excited for the next assignment so I can put my new found knowledge to the test again!

Photo Descriptions:

• Rule of Thirds: "girl working on clay pot"
• Pattern: "yellow and purple push pins"
• Symmetry: "row of computer cubicles"
• Texture: "basket for a plant"
• Lines: "staircases"
• Depth of Field: "227 with Morris Code"
• Framing: "soccer goal"
• Perspective: "Light on ceiling"
• Space: "trashcan on wall"
• Color: "ribbons"
• Balance: "orange juice"