Photographically, this past year has been both exciting and challenging. It was a blast experimenting with different approaches in the lab. The fact that I couldn’t get the precise images I required was the worst part. Regardless of how well the lighting and time constraints worked with my camera. I can honestly say that photography has taught me a great deal. It never occurred to me that I might have an interest in photography. The more experience you have in the field, the more enjoyable and easy it becomes, but you still need patience for it. It has been very clear to me this year that I am really talented. Labs on shutter speed with the balloon and the time we sat here and constructed enormous backdrops out of magazine scraps were two of my favorite parts of this year. Both the water balloon lab and my latest long exposure final image are among my favorite pieces that I have created throughout the entire course.

We are now entering the Blind Photography phase, where we are instructed to capture two final photographs that feature an object and a person. My long exposure photo is based on a ballet dancer that exhibits all of her dance positions. The idea for my light painting came from a speaker that could make light music. The process of capturing either image was quite challenging. The long exposure, in which I can see three different sides of my face, was the most patient and time-consuming. All three of the exposure triangle’s settings—ISO, shutter speed, and aperture—were vital to this procedure. In my opinion, the two most important factors were the shutter speed and how I chose to illuminate the scene. Since I had the most difficult concepts for both images, I nearly gave up on both. However, I’m happy to report that the effort was well worth it. In all of my pictures, I had to ask my students for assistance with the lighting. That much is certain. Having this burden lifted is all I’m grateful for.

After all the sweat and tears, lol…. I had a good time expanding my horizons and building my talents. This class has really helped me with growth on my editing and picture taking skills.

What was your initial belief when you were first assigned the project?

It was my first thought, while receiving the project, that I would never be able to do it. I thought it would be entertaining and challenging all at once, so my emotions were all over the place.

What was your inspiration behind the city?

The depth of knowing an actual compassionate human being and the enormity of large cities both served as inspiration for the the city. My favorite big cities include Houston, Panama City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami. A girl named Ann’iese is the creative force behind this city and I adore her. Her kindness, beauty, and compassion shine through in everything that she does.

How did your city differ from Peter Root’s City of Staples?

Compared to Peter Root’s City of Staples, my city was smaller, and Root’s style was more gloomy. I hoped that my city would be a place of warmth and brightness.

How can one tell a difference in aperture settings? What did you notice about the different aperture’s within your own work?

Looking at the blur effects and angles, one can determine that the aperture settings are different. As the aperture got smaller and closer, the background became more blurry and the features in the city buildings shone out more.

What do you think is most successful about your work? What could you have done better or how can you grow as a photographer?

The variety of viewpoints and ISO levels was, in my opinion, my work’s strongest attribute. I have the details and backdrops locked. I wish my work in Photoshop and Lightroom had been cleaner. On my city buildings, the tape wasn’t removed precisely as it should have been.

Are you overall proud of your end result?

The final product is something of which I am rather proud. If I hadn’t been joyful and open-minded, I don’t think anything could have turned out badly; I think I gave it my all.

Thank you everyone for getting a sneak peek at the action behind the scenes! Don’t miss Lake Angeline, the light show, and the massive shopping malls! 😋

Over the past two weeks, we have been introduced to ABC Photography. ABC Photography is what you think it is, capturing each letter of the alphabet… You would think it’s easy, but it’s not. You had to get creative with each of the letters and make sure each letter was good enough to read. The letters I found were the hardest to find: B, E, G, N, Q, and R. On the other hand, A, D, L, M, O, S, T, X, and Z were easier to capture. Z was by far the easiest of the 26 to find! The word I created was heart. I chose to include the word heart in my letters because every day I get reminded to have a good heart. This project was something of its own, as in, it was something you really needed an eye for. You just had to search carefully and use your intelligent mind. My favorite and most interesting letter is T. It is the most interesting to me because my name starts with a T, and I found this letter on the church’s cross. 

A bookface is a technique that uses a matched body part on the book cover to create the illusion of a merging of real life and art.

The assignment required us to choose an element and find a book that almost matched it. We were each given the task of finding a book that we liked and thought would make a good, easy reference for human beings. I spent the majority of a week looking for possible models who would be a perfect match. I overcame several obstacles to become the cover model for two novels: “The Road of Paris” by Nikki Grimes and “Exposed” by Susan Vaught. Searching for suitable models for every book was a blast. “The Road of Paris” featured me since I believed my skin tone would be the most fitting. Regarding “Exposed,” the girl in the books had a nose that was just like Lauren’s. I began modifying the images in Lightroom and Photoshop after I had shot them in a variety of ways. Great outcomes were the eventual result of this.

Farewell 2k23…

People often associate the word “revolution” with the arrival of a new year and the beginning of a fresh set of goals. The way you live your life, or at least certain aspects of it, evolves annually. In the previous year, 2023, it had brought me a rollercoaster full of emotions and challenges to face. However, I did discover that, despite my kindness and generosity, I am a very vulnerable person who has been taken advantage of. Putting other people above myself and doing what was best for them only served to make me feel worse. I realized that no one was paying enough attention to my efforts, so… my “revolution” for the new year is to prioritize my own needs!

A look into photography…

To end the first semester of photography, each of us had the task of creating four self-portrait images as a final. My four images included a fantastical, an image with text, a conceptual, and a basic. Of those four, my favorite piece consisted of my image with text. The idea behind my image with text was to give off a horror film cover; a girl who has been through a trauma has almost been caught red-handed. In order to complete this image, it took me many tries in the mirror. The lighting had to be perfect, the framing had to be perfect, and my hand placement had to be perfect. Through Photoshop, I incorporated a red handprint, the text “WHO DID IT?” and also “NO FACE=NO CASE” along the bottom left.

Let go of the past and embrace the new…

To start the year off right, I would like to get rid of all the negative energy and wrongdoing. Most importantly, my main goal is to find myself and be the best version of myself I can be. Bringing in bigger priorities and different standards, going with the flow of things, and letting God carry me through safely. A few aspirations that I have to continue as a photographer are improving my framing and focus. I feel that I rush things a lot when it comes to a camera; I just need to take my time. 

SHORT TERM GOALS:

• Better Grades
• Communication Skills
• Including myself in more activities; volunteering/partying
• Cooking more
• SAVING MONEY
• Beauty
• Picture taking

LONG TERM GOALS:

• Passing Junior Year
• Horse Showing
• Getting my truck
• Veterinary Practices
• DOING ME
• MAKING MONEY

INTERESTS:

• Get CDL at 18
• 18th birthday #DeonDay
• Start a workout routine
• Acne Free
• Flower Business

Self-Expression; What is it?

Self-expression is often viewed as being selfish, but it is the act of expressing one’s views and feelings, which can be perceived through actions, words, or decisions. Self-expression is the act of doing right by yourself and not for someone else. You should not worry about someone else in the process of making yourself better.

Importance

Self-expression is essential because it enables us to be the best we can be, realize our greatest potential, and add substantially to the world in which we live. We must accept both the person we are and the person we hope to become (as in, a better person). If we were unable to effectively express who we are and what we think, life would be one huge, boring blob. It would be quite depressing to see the world full of people who have no potential. Without the ability to express ourselves freely, we would not be able to be our true selves.

There are many different methods through which one might convey their thoughts and feelings. When I have a conversation with someone, I almost always talk about how I’m feeling at the moment, what’s really going on in my thoughts, and how anything might be influencing me. My go-to methods of self-reflection include things like cooking, coloring or drawing, dancing, exercising, eating, sleeping, and, most importantly, carrying myself with a strong suit of confidence. 

Self-Expression In Song Form

To conclude my self-expression, Brenda Ueland once said

“Everybody is talented because everybody who is human has something to express.”

Brenda Ueland

and I agree. We should all be our own people. As a matter of fact, it is highly essential to be yourself. 

Lab

This lab was actually pretty fun and weird at the same time. Lol

Scavenger. Over the past few days or weeks, each of us was given a scavenger hunt on the elements and rules of composition. The sizes, colors, shapes, textures, and other characteristics make up the elements. The rule of thirds, balancing elements in images, angles, and eye following are some composition rules. In simple terms, we were asked to submit 8 images for the composition category and 11 images for the elements category. You shoot a lot more photos than only 11 or 8, but you just need to submit the best ones to Artsonia 11 or 8. My favorite image in this situation is the one I uploaded that follows the rule of thirds. Although there is a tree in this image, the presence of a model (a person) creates the rule of thirds. This is my favorite photo because it captures Kai (model) and the tree, but the tree boosts Kai’s presence. I used .5 frame on my lens to get both Kai and the tree, which gave it an effect of a little blur and focus. My peers believe that viewpoint and rule of thirds photos are also the most effective ones.

In photography, all images are created in a certain file format. This includes:

• JPEG
• HEIF
• RAW
• PSD
• DNG
• PNG
• GIF
• BMP
• TIFF

Descriptions:

• JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group

You quickly lose some image detail due to the decreased image quality. Jpegs, which have a relatively small file size, can also be kept in any browser.

• HEIF: High Efficiency Image Format

HEIFs are unable to be easily seen in any browser. They, too, must be processed by an editing program and are much smaller than Jpegs.

• RAW: unprocessed data

The quality of an unprocessed photo is excellent. It takes a long time to convert and edit these photographs.

• PSD: Photoshop Document

This file format supports the manipulation of several photos on distinct layers. They can also be saved again as a new image using any software.

• DNG: Digital Negative

Long-term storage of digital negatives is thought to be safer. They can be accessible by any editing software, however, the conversion from RAW to DNG takes a very lengthy time.

• PNG: Portable Network Graphic

PNG files can preserve transparency well, making them ideal for overlays and logos. These files are bigger than JPEGs in size.

• GIF: Graphics Interchange Format

These file types are smaller. They may have animation in them. Limited color palettes might also provide poor visual characteristics. Additionally, they oppose partial transparency.

• BMP: Bitmap

Printing can be done with bitmaps. High-quality advertising photos have very large file sizes.

• TIFF: Tagged Image File Format

TIFFs are smoother than any other sort of file and can be converted to JPEGs. These are usually large, high-quality photographs that take up a lot of space.

9/11 — A very important day…

The terrorist incident on September 11, 2001, is the largest anniversary in the United States today. Even after 22 years, it continues to have a significant influence on American citizens. Osama Bin Laden, the attack’s and organization’s devil, crucified a great number of people. the pain that must accompany a loved one’s passing. innocent invasion victims that suffered trauma.

Many bystanders who witnessed these incredibly risky attacks took pictures of the disasters and the victims. We can empathize with the victims and witnesses through these photographs. Due to the fear that the attacks are causing them, these two women are supporting one another. Due to the attacks, many people were forced to deliberately cause their own deaths. Attacks in the towers where people were employed resulted in fires on the majority of floors. Some of the people in this image committed suicide by jumping out of the windows. We can evoke feelings in those who were forced to take matters into their own hands by using these photos. I feel really depressed and believe that the airlines could have had better security in place.

September 11, 2001, saw the occurrence of this terrorist act. Unfortunately, because I was born in 2006, I did not survive. I am fortunate not to be involved in this catastrophe. All the lives lost were senseless. The constant fear that people in New York must experience escapes me. This affects me because I worry that there might be another catastrophic assault like this one. Overall, everyone has a great deal of regret.