2 Posts in one day!!

 Ok, here we have a before and after of some color editing of this checkerboard. I brightened up my greens and red and just little yellow. The first picture is extrememly darkish compared to the after, which is the edited.

I Motion + I Depth of Field = Today's Post

I really think I am going to use the one of the dancing students for a freeze of motion. I'll use another for a freeze, then two of blur. I will probably use the stump as well, for one of my depth of fields. I want to do two d.o.f.s where the subject is clear and 2 where the subject is blurred. These probably still need some work in color, but that will come in time as I'm still learning how to use the program, it's going to take me working on it some more. 

Extra Assignment

Reading through this article has put to rest some of the questions that I was afraid I was making assumptions about. I'm glad to have read this so that I may now see what the artist wants me to see rather than for me to have seen only what I wanted.  We can so easily take a piece out of context and misconstrue what the artist meant to have us see.
I feel that it was not right what happened to Doisneau because for one, they used his art without his persmission. I learned that early on, especially as a member of the DeviantArt online community. Using someone else's work without permission, even when giving credit, is a big no-no. Lots of people were ok with you using their art and giving them credit, but you HAD to ask.
Two, I feel that people in the picture were mistreated as well. They agreed to let Doisneau photograph them and then another person used the picture to make her look like a prostitute.That had to be really hard on both in the photo. I've learned that this is why its so important to check the context before judging anything. Not only does it afect the artist, but it could possibly affect anyone involved as well.

Lesson....learned? Working on it...

In class we have been hearing lecturing about depth of field and motion. I had a really hard time with this, epecially motion, because my camera was being difficult, more likely I was being too ignorant. Anyway, here is some of the better stuff I came up with.

The first picture and second pictures are the Renaissance Theater students performing on the square in Paris for the Arts on the Square celebration. They were doing choreogrpahy to a compilation of songs, and this was the best picture I took without the motion blur. The shutter speed was increased and that made the picture really dark. I tried opening the aperture, but I couldn't get a good picture quick enough without letting in too much light. Still playing around and learning.
Picture number 3 was taking in Nathan Bedford Forrest at the musuem there. The checkerboard closest to the lens showed up really well, while the background was blurred out, leaving a good portion of the picture out of focus.
Picture number 4 is in the same area as pic 3. Kara and I were working on trying to figure out how I could use my camera to get the different depths of field, and she placed this....i guess...nut like thing on a post and I tried some different things.

Assingment #1 - Black and White Series

Alright! Here is my series, all about the railroad system in my hometown, Bruceton. Way back when, this town thrived on the railroad. Once they began building more highways and carrying things by plane, the railroad system sorta fell away, especially to the public. The buildings here are the old railroad station.  I desaturated the pictures, tried to get the levels so that each had a grayscale as close as possible without flattening it, did very little cloning, and some dodging and burning. I really liked how the bottom sign "popped".

"Come on, jump for me?"

One of the points of the students writing a blog is so that we can expland our knowledge of photographers in the world and do some research. I have chosen Phillipe Halsman. I chose this photographer because his "Dali Atomicus" caught my eye while I was searching for an artist. I spent at least 15 minutes looking at this photograph.

"How the Photograph was Made:

The photograph was made in the New York Studio of Philippe Halsman in 1948. The photograph was taken with Halsman's 4 x 5 format twin lens reflex camera. In order to make the photograph, the easel, two Dali paintings, and the step stool were suspended from the ceiling by strings. So these items were easy, since they were really held in the air by string. Halsman's wife held the chair in the air. Note that one leg of the chair is not in the picture. His wife is holding the leg of the chair that is out of the picture. So, all of these items while appearing to be part of the massive confusion and motion of the picture, are actually fixed in place.
The parts that are moving, and that required the precise timing are the cats, water and Dali himself. Yes, the cats are in fact flying through the air as they appear to be in the picture. The timing sequence was pretty simple. Halsman began to count, and on three his assistants threw the cats, and the water, and then on four Dali jumped in the air, and then Halsman would take the picture. Of course to get the perfect picture took not only careful timing but good luck as well. After taking a picture, Halsman would immediately go to the dark room and develop it. He would then come back and try again. It took a number of tries to get the perfect timing and perfect picture. Halsman wrote that it took six hours and twenty-eight throws to get the picture that we now know as Dali's atomicus. Halsman indicated that the cats were not harmed in the making of the photograph." -www.fantasyarts.net

I mean, one, it's Salvador Dali. He got to work with Salvador Dali. Let me repeat, Salvador Dali. How cool is that? Although, the circumstances under which they got to meet weren't so cool. According to wikipedia, (I haven't found anything disputing it yet) Halsman was forced to leave his home in Austria because he was accused of killing his father on a hike in the Alps. The feds got him and claimed he killed his father when the father died of traumatic head injuries. He was imprisioned for four years and was let out on the demand that he left Austria to never return. Soooo, he went to france from there.  When France was invaded, he got outta dodge and got a visa for America and hit the old dusty trial. That's where he met Dali. He began taking photographs here in the US and landed himself jobs at magazines and different advertisements.
 Then he did something really fascinating. And he was so darn charming that he got some really important people to help him out with this project, including the Ford family, Richard Nixon, Marilyn Monroe, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, etc. He got them to....Jump. he did a study on jumping.

 He wrote an entire book on it. The man is a genius. (Can't say I'd be the brave soul to try and catch the cat though. I suppose it's really good that they can land on their feet every time.) I am straight up amazed by the man at this point. He was named one of the top 10 greatest photographers in the world as well as winning awards and having numerous exhibitions. There's even a movie about him! It's called Jump! I think I'll go rent it. Or maybe even visit Amazon. Who knows. What I know is that this man was incredible at what he did, and it's not just me spreading the word.

First Assignment!

For the first blog assignment, we have been instructed to choose one of the 72 pictures we shot to edit into the best black and white image we could come up with using what we have been taught in the classroom thus far. So, for my photo, I chose one that I took of Campell Hall. I realize now that I could have taken a much better photo. I should have had the camera more level because the edges of the building do not line up with the edges of the photo. Second, I should have stepped waaaay back. I am too close to the building and the bottom of the building is obscured by the landscaping in front of it. Third, I should have got a shot without the vehicles. Just seems like the vehicles make it an everyday shot instead of something more special. With all that said, we have first image in color.

The second photo is desaturated of the color. Thats basicly all I did to that one.

The third photo, I played with the levels of the black, white, and gray until I liked it.

The fourth photo, I cropped it to try and get rid of the extra empty space around the building. I tried to burn some of the landscaping in front of the building as well.

This is the first attempt at editing photos in this way and any and all feedback is appreciated! Thanks!