Assignment I Am Most Proud Of

The assignment I am most proud of is Free Choice. Contrary to opinion of other people in the class who thought it should be at the beginning of the semester, I think it was perfect timing to have it as our last homework assignment. I don't think you need it first to figure out what you like to photograph because you do that throughout the semester with the specific assignments. For example: I realized Hobbies & Interests and Food were two of my favorite assignments and things I liked to photograph, while the Shadows and Shapes assignments weren't really my forte. What's great about having this assignment at the end is that we are taking it of things we love to photograph (which we really know the answer to at that point), and we get to use the things we have learned throughout the semester! I learned different composition rules and features on my camera that made my photos turn out way better. Also, Maine weather should always be taken into account. It was so ideal to have a nice day to take photos outside, my favorite place to photograph. I took photos of things like the sunset, the ocean, and my family's garden. The feeling of coming out with a few photos that I was really proud of was truly amazing. It feels as though all the work I did during the semester had paid off. Adding on to my Free Choice post, here are some other photos from this assignment I am proud of. The first is another of a flower. The flash made the background dark and made what's on the pedals crystal clear. The second is the photo I decided to print in class. I was so happy the photos from this assignment were put on the white cardboard background, so now I have it to hang up in my house. I don't think I can take much of the credit for this photo, I have to give it to the beautiful nature, colors, and weather of Maine. The ocean is one of the things I am passionate of taking photos of. I only had the opportunity to do that, share it with the class and even have in on display on the school because of this assignment.

Memorable Experience

The experience that comes to my mind as the most memorable this semester was the field trip to Bowdoin. I really enjoyed the exhibit, and my favorite part was how most of us got to point out a specific photo we liked and learn more about it. The woman showing us around gave interesting information, but didn't go on and on until we got bored. The trip was great timing because we had learned about some of the photos and photographers in class, so we could share our input and knowledge. I loved the diverse selection of photos, and the fact that many of them were very out of the ordinary and thought-provoking. It was fascinating to learn the different methods photographers used to add effects to their photos before photoshop existed. It was a lot harder without technology, but they found ways to be creative and inventive with real life objects. This has impacted my learning because it has inspired me to dig deeper and find out more about ways photographers have experimented with their photos to change them (with & without photoshop). I have enjoyed finally learning to work with photoshop. When I take a photo that turned out well, I will often use photoshop to enhance it. I am lucky to have the countless tools on the program that can make my photos perfect in my eyes and it would be stupid not to take advantage of them. I also liked being able to be creative with these tools in the Culture Clash assignment - I honestly think our final products are reminiscent to some of the photos in the exhibit. I never would have been motivated or even thought to do any of this without the field trip. Even though it was only about an hour and a half, it increased my creativity and interest in researching different photographers. I am grateful I had this field trip to expand my horizon and I think what I took from it will still stick with me next year in Photo 2 and 3.

"Who Am I" Video

This is a link to my "Who Am I" video.

Culture Clash

Purpose:

• To create a Clash of Cultures by creating your own Photo montage, combining images from Beijing, China and Yarmouth, Maine, USA;

• To further develop your Photoshop knowledge and skills;
• To create a “surreal” landscape by montaging a variety of photographs;

To know, use, and understand the Four Collage Techniques to in your Photo Montage: Juxtaposition/fragmentation, Point of View, Scale Change, Overlapping

The successes to this project for me were learning more about photoshop and the overall final product. Even though we had used photoshop before, I learned many more of the tools. I am really proud on how the final product turned out because I think it incorporates both cultures well. The difficulties would have to be where I decided to put everything, and erasing. I know it doesn’t have to be realistic, but I wanted to put everything somewhere that made some kind of sense. Also, erasing can be very frustrating and time consuming when you have to zoom in and get every little detail, while still making sure it doesn’t look messy and keeping straight edges.

Free Choice

When I created this image it was sunny out for the first time in a while. The sun was reflecting on my family's garden and bringing out the beautiful bright colors on all the flowers. I could smell the sweet and refreshing scent. In the background I heard the ocean crashing on the rocks. With all this I got a feeling of what's to come this summer and just the amazing Maine weather coming out. I love how thanks to the flash, the viewer can clearly see the specific patterns on each pedal and on the leaves. My favorite part is that the flower in the front is the main focus and the background is simplified.

Culture Clash Planning

Juxtaposition - The fact of two things being seen or close together with contrasting effort

Fragmentation - The storing of a file in separate areas of memory scattered throughout a hard disk

Point of View - The position from which someone or something is observed

Scale Change - The difference in something in how much it's moved or changed

Overlapping - Extend over so as to cover partly

Inspiring Digital Artists: David Revoy

Purpose:
To become familiar with 5 accomplished digital artists.
To see what is possible in the world of digital art.