This class has been truly a blast. I love all the things we have learned and I definitely feel I have learned a good amount of things about Photography and Photoshop. I have learned so many interesting things about the way photography has come to be and all the different skills involved in photography. At first, I always thought photography was simply taking a picture, now I know all of the different traits of a photo that bring it to be what it is. This is what I have come to learn and feel is most important from what I have gathered from this great class.
I contributed to the youth voices group by adding my own work, and adding more work to the site. This brings out a new artist, but also a way for other photographers to learn things by looking at my work. For me, the easiest thing was writing about my work. I found this easy because it's my own work, and I have my own story to tell about it. The hardest thing was putting my own individuality into a theme of photography I had never done before, which was music photography. This was especially difficult because it's hard to find music photography while taking photos in John Jay Park, or walking along a couple blocks on the Upper East Side. I think that's what makes taking music photography so interesting, because it's a challenge. One thing that I wish I could have done was putting portraits into my portfolio of music photography, but it's definitely something that I will do in the future. Taking a posed photo of someone is so much harder because you can't freeze time, but it's something I want to do.
I can contribute my work with photography, and my opinion to youth voices. I think it is easiest to do what's up and they are very simple, but full of good information. Reading the discussions is very thought provoking. I enjoy responding to others' work as well. It is more off a struggle to join into big discussions because either no one responds, or i never know a response has been made.
I contribute to the Youth Voices community by sharing my ideas and view of the world through my photography. This job of actually sharing my photos is easy to do on this site. Also, commenting on other pieces of work is an easy thing for me to do on Youth Voices. However, something that is hard yet worth the struggle is the photo discussions that go along with my photos. Even though these discussions are somewhat difficult and do take a lot of effort, in the end they are worth it because they successfully wrap up my ideas expressed in photos. One thing that I wish I could do but can't is to have had even more time to upload and share my photographs. This way, I could have expressed even more of my work to the Youth Voices community.
Throughout the year, I've used Youth Voices to publish the work I've done in my digital photography class in order to recieve feedback. I feel like I've contributed my point of view on what photography is by sharing the work that I've done. All of my work represents my outlook on the world and so by posting my images in Youth Voices, I've been sharing my view of the world with other students. It's easy for me to just post discussions here, but it's hard to get feedback from other people. I wish that there was a better way to interact with other students, like a wall to post comments on, just like Facebook. I feel like there should be a more personal aspect to Youth Voices. Sometimes it just feels like the stuff I post is going nowhere. I would be much happier if I were able to interact with other people more.
I feel that my work has progressed over the year and has become more interesting and thought provoking. In the beginning of the year I had little knowledge about lighting and object placement in a picture, but now I know the fundamentals of these concepts and I know how to incorporate them into my work. I like to take photographs of cityscapes with different sorts of lighting provided by the sky and reflections in the water. The reason I take photographs like this is because I like to see the way the different natural environments react to and contrast the urban environments. In the future, I wish to further my knowledge of lighting and weather because I feel like these elements of lighting and different weather will contribute to my urban photographs and give them a natural element to balance the not-so-natural urban environments.
-no registration, just upload and image, edit then click save to the web, site asks for email address and sends a link to the image url -- Ms. Ettenheim
-I did not like this editing website, you can not do much on it. You are not able to work with 2 different images and layers, you can only crop, rotate, resize, blur, write on your image using text and paint, brighten or darken and put different effects. Also the selections are very broad, you are not able to select more detailed things in our image. - Adeline Jadot
The reason I love photography is because I love to take photos of many different things. For example, I love to take pictures of flowers, dogs, and the world around me! I love nature. There are many things around me that I love to capture in my photos. I want to learn more techniques about taking photos and use them in the near future.
When I am doing my work, I make sure to only capture pictures are the exact moment I see them. Instead of randomly snapping photos I wait for the right moment. In my photos, I try to make the background blurry and the main centerpiece focused. I do this in order to make my photos appear more striking.
I take photos to capture to essence of the city I live in and love. But I do digital photography to build on and improve those photos to make them something really special, striking, and personal. I enjoy taking pieces that aren't especially impressive by themselves, and tweaking them to make a really beautiful piece. My goal in the end is to make the viewer stop and look at my picture because it stands out from other pieces. My favorite thing about this work is watching the makings of a really good piece come together.
When I first take photographs, I try and capture the city scene in the best way possible. I want to show people the best of my world in New York. The tools I use to enhance the photos I take to show the viewer what a wonderful place New York City is, and represent it as best I can. I take pieces with similar feelings of vibes. When I edit these pictures together, they really blend together and complement each other well.
My collage is entitled "Land, Sea, and Sky". When I first started this piece, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with it or what I wanted to do, but as I began to put things together it started to take shape. My favorite thing about my work is the way the pieces blend together and have a deeper connection, rather than just being a bunch of different objects shoved into one picture. I created this piece because it sends a message, about the environment and how it's important to keep it clean and to not damage it. In the future, I hope that whatever else I create (whether it's a piece of art or something else entirely) also sends a message.
Every time I take a picture, I don’t focus on making it perfect, I just enjoy getting a point or statement across if I have one. If I don’t have a point that I’m trying to get across, I’ll settle for just sharing my perspective on things with others. Having a theme for picture taking is easier, because that way I’m not taking pictures of any stray item that comes my way. Especially since I live in a big, beautiful city with my theme (buildings and city life) surrounding me, it’s easy to find something to capture with a camera.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is black and white contemporary landscape photography. I started to become interested in Michael Kenna because his photos are in black and white and they emphasize lighting more making it look really magical.
So far I have learned that Kenna doesn't have a preference to Night photography or Day photography. He prefers to find "timeless" imagery that can be taken at any time of the day because he feels that "confining [himself] to one particular area or one particular time period is... self limiting"
This information is from The Nocturnes http://www.thenocturnes.com/resources/kenna.html. The source of this information is the interview of Michael Kenna by Tim Baskerville. The information that I've been reading is from the organization dedicated to night photography, The Nocturnes, which was founded by Tim Baskerville.
Snow warnings across Northern Utah was not going to stop Michael and I from journeying down to the Red Rock of Southern Utah. On April 1st, I woke up to my parents telling me they don't think it would be safe to drive down to Arches National Park in the snow/rainy weather. Being April 1st, I assumed it was an April fool's day joke. I let the "joke" slip by and continued to pack up my gear into the car. Finally, they said "You need to go check the weather and make sure it will be safe to drive". Being stubborn I said "fine" and check... 'Mostly sunny with a chance of snow' according the the National Weather Service. This was fine by us and were quickly out of town. Once we made it to Moab Utah, we planned out our days. Because we got there in the late afternoon we decided we would start off with a hike to the famous Delicate Arch. This hike stuck out to me not because of the breathe taking views, but because of how ignorant some people are.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is detailed pictures of surfaces or walls. I started to become interested in Aaron Siskind because as I was going through the list of photographers given on the school website, I clicked on his link and I saw interesting photos of graffiti-type photos on walls and other black and white photos of surfaces with different patterns on it the surfaces. He has unusual work that doesn't seem very noticeable at first but really catches your interest if you look closer to his work. So far I have learned about Aaron Siskind that he was born in NYC on December 4, 1903. He was an English teacher in a NYC public school before he started photography in 1932. He was part of a group that was supposed to document neighborhood life during the depression. His work consists of photos of walls and surfaces and other photos about everyday life, photos such as in Harlem. I like his work also because they have a grainy, more old type of look to them. They are not present photos and I think the antique quality gives them more spark and his abstract photos are interesting too.
I have chosen to study Michael Kenna because his pictures are very interesting, and they give a very cozy, dark, soft mood to the picture. He used black and white film, but his pictures have so much character and feeling in them.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is how to make people look so compelling in a photograph, preferably with out using a modern digitial camera. I started to become interested in Sally Mann because her old method of taking photos makes the naked people in them stand out with a powerful innoence. So far I have learned that Sally Mann takes photos using photographic methods of the early 19th century. Her early photographs are of her imediate family of 3 children and her husband. Now she spends her time taking pictures of landscapes of the south. On the left is an early picture of Sally's 3 kids.And on the right is a more recent photo of trees and roots taken somewhere in the south.
Someone I have become interested in learning more about is Michael Kenna. I started to become interested in Michael Kenna because his photographs captured the ecense of what I looked to capture in my own photography. So far I have learned that Michael Kenna grew up in an interesting household. His father was a religious leader. This however does not surprise me because of the calm state of his photographs.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is surrealism photography. I started to become interested in Jerry N. Uelsmann because he is the first surrealist photography that I have studied. So far I have learned that the photographer has been combining images in a modern looking way before Photoshop or any other program was even available. Instead he used a darkroom to expose the photos and combine as many as seven photos together in a visually appealing way.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is capturing a picture that shows the roots of that picture. I started to become interested in Ansel Adams because his pictures, the pictures that include color, show the roots of a picture and it captures something simple to something that shows so much. He takes pictures that mean something to you; it can take your breath away. From the photographs I have seen he was very interested in nature and landscapes, as I am too. Ansel Adams was a photographer who took photographs of nature and the wilderness.
This information is from the Sierra Club that contains information about him. The source of this information is to promote Ansel Adams work. The information that I've been reading is from the Sierra Club, an organization, which promotes everyone to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is combining two photo's into one and also black and white photography. I started to become interested in Jerry N. Uelsmann because his photographs and technique really caught my attention. So far I have learned that Jerry N. Uelelsman produced alot of his work using a dark room. He was able to do what we do now with Photo Shop using the darkroom. He believed that a piece of work can have many negatives in the end and doesn't have to focus on one. He was a very well educated man who not only did photography but taught it to others as well. He has had over 100 shows in the last 40 years.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is scenic pictures that pop. I started to become interested in Steve McCurry because his photographs of NYC are exactly the kinds of pictures I aspire to take. So far I have learned McCurry is most famous for his photograph of 'afghan girl' and takes many trips to foreign countries where most of his photography takes place.
This photograph is from Steve McCurry's website, link is below.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is scenic pictures that pop. I started to become interested in Steve McCurry because his photographs of NYC are exactly the kinds of pictures I aspire to take. So far I have learned McCurry is most famous for his photograph of 'afghan girl' and takes many trips to foreign countries where most of his photography takes place.
This photograph is from Steve McCurry's website, link is below.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is learning about famous photographers that share the kind of photographs I would like to pursue. I started to become interested in Charles Cramer's color photography because his pictures are exactly the type of intriguing, excellently taken photographs that I would like to produce at some point in my life. So far I have learned that Cramer originally printed black and white pictures and found himself later interested in the printing of colored pictures, which makes up the majority of his work at this time.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is various other topics of things to take pictures of. I started to become interested in Brassai because he took most of his photographs in Paris, which is a city I love, and the photos caught my attention. So far I have learned that he takes photos mostly of Parisian nightlife, including the things that aren't so well known. He takes phorographs of a lot of things that you wouldn't normally expect people to take photos of, things that are a lot darker and more dramatic. For example the photo below, which I found at Masters of Photography.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is using fashion photography in music photography. I started to become interested in Craig McDean because I loved how he played with colors in his photos. So far I have learned he is famous for his fashion photography.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is the effects of day time shooting, and night time shooting (more generally, lighting). I started to become interested in Steve McCurry's work because he took some photographs in a similar style as me but his seemed to capture much more emotion. So far I have learned how blurring and focusing a picture, along with the time of day of the picture, can effect the mood and emotion of the picture. Also weather can effect the picture.
This information is from Steve's website. The source of this information is the website of Steve McCurry, showcasing much of his work in separate galleries. The information that I've been reading is from this site, by viewing his photographs and reading his bio which is on the site as well.
Something I have become interested in learning more about is burning and dodging to make my photography of cars more effective, to focus more on the car and not the background. I started to become interested in Richiard Misrach because he seems to use the technique that I am interested in quite effectively. So far I have learned that he likes to take photographs of places like the desert, places very remote, and I can tell from looking at his work.
I feel that my work has progressed over the year and has become more interesting and thought provoking. In the beginning of the year I had little knowledge about lighting and object placement in a picture, but now I know the fundamentals of these concepts and I know how to incorporate them into my work. I like to take photographs of cityscapes with different sorts of lighting provided by the sky and reflections in the water. The reason I take photographs like this is because I like to see the way the different natural environments react to and contrast the urban environments. In the future, I wish to further my knowledge of lighting and weather because I feel like these elements of lighting and different weather will contribute to my urban photographs and give them a natural element to balance the not-so-natural urban environments.
Every time I take a picture, I don’t focus on making it perfect, I just enjoy getting a point or statement across if I have one. If I don’t have a point that I’m trying to get across, I’ll settle for just sharing my perspective on things with others. Having a theme for picture taking is easier, because that way I’m not taking pictures of any stray item that comes my way. Especially since I live in a big, beautiful city with my theme (buildings and city life) surrounding me, it’s easy to find something to capture with a camera. 
On the left is an early picture of Sally's 3 kids.
And on the right is a more recent photo of trees and roots taken somewhere in the south.
S
