Blessings, Traditions, Thanksgiving

For this assignment, I was asked to choose a subject that, to me, represented Thanksgiving. I can say that I appreciate Thanksgiving as a college student; the chance to be with family is definitely a blessing.

In choosing a subject, I ended up with something unexpected, yet I feel that it fits well: my family's Thanksgiving flag. On it are two pilgrims on an orange background. We have had this flag in our possession for as long as I can remember. 

The fact that we have owned this flag for so long strikes a chord in me. I love the fact that we still, to this day, continue to hang this flag at our porch, even when we travel to other places for the Thanksgiving holidays. Thanksgiving, to me, is very tradition-led. We have the same cranberry fluff, the same cider, and the same way that we cook our dressing, every single year as long as I can remember. I love traditions, and even the idea of continuing one as simple as hanging a flag is important to me. Such an idea makes me want to continue traditions such as this one when I am grown and have a family of my own.

The Sartorialist

If I could pick any photography blog as my favorite, I would have to name The Sartorialist (thesartorialist.blogspot.com).

The Sartorialist, named by Time Magazine as one of their "Top 100 Design Influencers," is a fashion photographer. The Sartorialist (as he calls himself) travels the world in search of local and cultural street fashion, and posts his shots on his blog. His experience in the fashion business leaves him well-equipped to  this task. Along with each picture, he writes a quick commentary about the picture and, on occasion, the fashion that is pictured in it.
The reason why I love The Sartorialist has to be the fact that his subjects seem so real and down-to-earth. Half of the time, the subjects in his portraits are not even looking at the camera, almost as if the camera does not even exist. The majority of his subjects do not look like high-fashion supermodels, either; they are simply people on the street who happen to be wearing great clothes. Whether or not they realize their fashion choices are excellent is never known by the Sartorialist's audience. The Sartorialist is simply there to take a picture, and that is what I think is beautiful about his blog.

If you would like to check this blog out, click here.

Up Close and Personal

Macro mode is my favorite form of photography. I think it is because I love the crispness that up-close photography can contain if performed right. It does take practice, but I feel that I can obtain neat shots by simply fiddling with settings on my camera.

This picture makes me happy. I took this just outside of the Student Center, and I really like this angle of this particular flower. I love how desaturated the color of the flower is in comparison to the background.

This picture is a close-up of a headband in one of my friends' suite common rooms. I thought the way that the rhinestones caught the light was very neat, so I decided to take a picture. I love how some of the beads are out of focus and how some are in crisp detail.

This third picture is a close-up of a tree trunk outside the student center and across from Johnson Hall. The rainy weather during my photoshoot outside really helped with the colors of this shot. I absolutely love the detail.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed exploring macro mode photography. In my exploration, I learned that in order to create excellent close-up photos, I just have to have patience and work hard in order to obtain the shot I want. Once I obtain that shot, I definitely feel that it is worth the work I put into it.

The Wright Brothers: An Iconic Photograph

When I was asked to come up with and create a presentation based on an iconic photograph, this historical event came to mind. The Wright Brothers' first flight on December 17, 1903, was a flight that changed the dynamics of not only travel, but also of the way the world viewed things. Our world became so much smaller and easier to access thanks to the Wright Brothers' inventions. With their testing based in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright were able to test various materials and models in order to produce the plane shown in the photo. When that fateful December day rolled around, the Wright Brothers employed coast guards from the Kill Devil Hills area of North Carolina to help carry the plane. One coastguard, John Daniels, was asked to take a picture of the flight. John Daniels was the one man who took the only photo of the event using the Wright Brothers' Korona-V camera, the nicest camera at the turn of the nineteenth century, set up on a tripod and focused in the direction of the passing plane.
I consider this photo iconic because it represents a huge turning point in our nation's history: the point at which we as a nation were finally able to touch the world in a new way. I also consider the photo iconic because it is, to me, a timeless symbol of triumph for not just two men, but for the whole world.

Risk Taking and Breaking Rules

I consider breaking the rules in photography a risk, but I consider it a good one. Freeman Patterson discusses the idea of breaking the rules as a way to create more interesting pictures.

The "rule" I decided to break was the act of keeping my camera steady. I struggle with this one a lot, because I have a hard time steadying my hands while I take pictures. Usually, the result is that my picture is blurry and I cannot see distinct pictures. So, the fact that I could intentionally distort a picture by moving the camera while the shutter clicked was fascinating.
The picture I chose is of a poster above my bed in my dorm room. It's a quote from Winston Churchill that says, "Keep Calm and Carry On." It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to take this photo, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the result. I have a life-long love of England, and I have been interested in this slogan for a very long time. I consider the intentional distortion a tongue-and-cheek way to say that keeping calm is a hard thing to do when your world is shaky. I also love the fact that even though the picture is fuzzy, the message is clear: whenever you are down, your world is not right, or if you cannot see where you are going, just keep your head high. It's a message of optimism that resonates with me.

The second "rule" I broke was the act of keeping a subject entirely in focus. Whenever something is out of focus, it can seem unsettling. However, I think it can look good when artfully done.
I chose to use my wristlet, a very familiar object to me, as my subject. I love how the bird pattern on it becomes fuzzy, and I love how the colors blend together, almost like a painting. I feel that if the photo were completely in focus, the photo would not have this mysterious, tranquil quality that it appears to have. I also love how the keychain is only slightly more in focus than the main subject: the pattern of the wristlet itself.

In conclusion, this assignment was very fun and interesting. I enjoyed breaking the rules, and I'll keep the ideas I learned in mind when I take pictures.

Carnton Cemetery: An ELP Photo Essay

On Sunday, October 17, 2010, I paid a visit to Carnton Cemetery. Carnton Cemetery is located five minutes from Downtown Franklin and is directly attached to the neighborhood in which I live. I really enjoyed my visit to the cemetery and the history present there, and I especially enjoyed photographing the different gravestones.

*the last photo of me was taken by my mom. :)

A Portrait of Dana

When I was asked to create a portrait for this assignment, I had originally planned to use one of my suitemates as a subject. Since I live with seven girls in a suite, I figured finding a subject would be easy. I ended up finding a perfect subject in Dana Zhang, one of my good friends from high school. She is originally from a suburb outside of Beijing, China (her real name is Peng Zhang). She is one of my best friends and has been since my junior year of high school. So, when I asked her if I could photograph her for my class, she happily accepted.

We were at a concert, so I only had the chance to take a few shots. The lighting at the concert (due to the huge overhead lights at the Bridgestone Arena) did prove challenging to work with, but I felt like the flash helped some. The shot I chose was not the shot I expected to be "the one," but it's the most interesting. I chose to tilt my camera at an angle, and the shot came out extremely well. I also love the close-up of Dana because you can see the sheer excitement in her eyes. This concert was Dana's first, so she was absolutely ecstatic. I was so happy to capture that in her face and in the shot. I also had intended to make this picture black and white, but I like it much better in color because you really can see the excitement that was felt by one of my best friends.