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.

A New Way to Crunch Numbers (and Letters)

 As an artist, I am a big fan of seeing things that can be created out of ordinary objects or things. So when I got this assignment, I was excited and curious to see what I could find and take pictures of.

For this assignment, I was asked to take pictures of things that resembled letters and numbers. Using the pictures I made, I was to create a word (containing a minimum of five letters) and two numbers.

For my numbers, I chose to do the number 19. I chose 19 because the day I took these pictures was the day of my 19th birthday. Also, my personal "lucky number" is my age, so 19 was a perfect fit.

I found the "1" on a tree. When the light hit that particular tree, the shadows formed the outline of a number 1. The "9" came from a window on the front of the Ezell Center on campus.

For the "letters" portion of the assignment, I decided to create my name using shadows and various foliage:

                                                                  

 I absolutely love the way these letters turned out, and I enjoyed capturing them on film. My favorites have to be the "a"s made out of leaves and branches and the "h" made out of the shadow of the railings at Dugan Field.


In conclusion, I enjoyed venturing out on campus to find letters and numbers. It was very interesting to see how thinking creatively can create interesting shots that appeal to audiences, especially when they are arranged in sets to create new things.

From Above...

I love scouting around places to take pictures. Both scouting and happening upon various items and places are very appealing to me; they are both great ways for me to step outside of my personal box and into a whole new world.

For this assignment, I had to shoot pictures "from above" a subject. I had a lot of fun with the process of this assignment. I was able to scout my campus and visit places I had not been to before, like Dugan Field, and creatively compose pictures that were interesting and eye-catching.

I visited Dugan Field's stands for the first time and decided to look around for good places to take pictures. Right as I was about to leave the field, I saw a sign that said "Players' Wives Only." I thought it was sweet, so I took a picture of it at an off-center angle. The more I thought about it (and after my professor pointed it out to me), the picture had some humor in it that came out more and more. You really would not think that any on the baseball team would have wives, but the sign is there anyway.

I am a big fan of Jane Austen. The love of her books is something my mom and I have in common. The other day, I fixed a cup of tea and used this mug. On the sides, it says, "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." This quote is from Mr. Darcy's letter to Elizabeth in Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Seeing the mug on my table inspired me to take pictures of it. I feel like its angle and lighting from my flash is interesting enough without my audience thinking, "Oh, it's just a mug."

In conclusion, I really enjoyed taking pictures from above. The angle did not seem like it would be as exciting as others, but it was a lot of fun creating these shots.

It's Timeless To Me

When I think of the word "timeless," I think of something exquisite and valuable. I think of something that literally stands the test of time and wear. I think of something that's old-fashioned yet not dated, something that anyone can relate to, something that evokes sentimental emotions and feelings of happy nostalgia.

I was very excited about taking several "timeless" pictures for this assignment.
I personally love the classic eras of the forties and fifties. There was such a sense of positivity and carefree joy back then that I loved. When I think of the forties and fifties, I think of the story of my grandparents' meeting for the first time and the happy life they continue to live today. I think of "I Love Lucy," too, and the carefree attitudes of the show's cast.
In taking these pictures, I kept those ideas in mind as I hunted subjects down. In the end, I decided on the following shot:

This is the shot that I think exudes timelessness. There's something about an empty bench that's very intriguing to me. I feel like there are so many possibilities that come with an empty bench: if two people sit in a bench, will they become friends, or best friends? Will they fall in love and have a future together? Or will they just coexist? It may just be my romantic mindset, but my imagination runs wild when it comes to pictures like this. That's why I consider this my main "timeless" shot.

The following pictures are outside the assignment, but they were taken within the time frame. I just wanted to post them here because I really liked the way the shots turned out.

I'm not sure why, but this fountain reminds me of "The Sound of Music." It reminds me of the scenes in that movie within the lavish courtyards of the Von Trapp family. Although that movie is not in black and white, there's a timelessness about it that seems to transcend age. That's why I like this picture of a fountain.

While I was taking photos, I thought of the Bell Tower. I've had a couple of generations go to Lipscomb before me, and I thought that the Bell Tower would be a good symbol of generations past, present, and future. In trying to create an "older" feel, I played with my ISO. I bumped my ISO extremely high (1600, the highest my camera can go) in order to get a grainy effect. I like the result a lot, I just didn't think it was "timeless" enough for me. I'm glad I was able to play with my ISO settings again, though.

In conclusion, I think timelessness is an important quality to have in a photo. I also enjoyed experimenting with what is truly "timeless" and capturing in on film. If I can capture a feeling of happy sentiment in a photo, I think I've succeeded.

Take a [Glimpse] Through My Blue Eyes

According to glimpseblog.blogspot.com, a glimpse is defined as "a type of photograph consisting of a glimpse, a frame, and a background scene" and the "…area of a photograph which is partially or completely surrounded by the frame and offers a view of the background scene."

I love the concept of a "glimpse" photo. The heavy use of frame in "glimpses" is intriguing to me. So, in taking these pictures, I did my best to follow the definition of a "glimpse" and create a sense of intrigue in my own photographs.

For this photo, I experimented with the idea of using my hand to create a "telescope," much like when I was a child. I absolutely love the result. The chandelier is a decal on my dorm room wall. I used my hand cupped around my lens to give my audience a "glimpse" of what appears to be a silhouette of a chandelier. I love the idea of a "telescope" because it gives the picture an almost childlike quality.

This picture came as a surprise to me. During my art class, rain began to pour down heavily onto the tin roof of our portable. Our whole class went outside to hear and feel the misting rain. I pulled out my camera to take some pictures. In this photo, I positioned my camera so that the wooden pole and the side of the shed created an off-center frame that enclosed the two-by-fours and trash cans. I like this picture because of the mystery behind the pieces of wood and trash cans strewn across the gravel. What could the wood be used for? Why are there so many trash cans? I enjoy the fact that I can ask those questions when looking at this picture.

In conclusion, "glimpses," for me, have an air of intrigue and mystery when created in photography. The results yield curiosity from the audience, a quality that is very important when creating pictures.

Sillhouettes/Shutters/Slinkies/Hearts

I'll just go ahead and say that this project was a lot harder than I expected. However, it really challenged me to play with my camera and really get to know its features.

For this project, I had to create two silhouette-style photos. The concept is fairly simple: take a photo that's lit from the back and is completely shadowed or blacked out in the foreground.

As challenging as this was, I really enjoy the results.

My first "silhouette" picture is of a slinky (or, rather, the shadow silhouette of a slinky). The slinky I happened to have in my dorm cast an interesting shadow on my dorm wall.

This second picture is one I'm extremely proud of. As simple as making a heart with my hands looks, I had to do a lot of work to create this shot. My camera is at an ISO of 1600, with a halogen bulb-like sensitivity setting, and no flash is used at all. I used a self timer in order to make my hands free.

In conclusion, this assignment showed me that I could really create good pictures by fiddling and tweaking the inner components of my camera. Because of the pictures I took for this post, I learned so much about what my camera can do.

Design and Elements of it

Elements of design serve a twofold purpose: they serve as a guide for physically taking pictures and they allow the photographer to make his or her pictures more interesting and appealing to an audience. When using the elements of design, pictures become more structured and intentional as opposed to mindlessly pointing and shooting with a digital camera. When thought is put into the way a picture is taken, there is most likely an element of design involved.

The two effects of design I will be covering in this post are Filling the Picture Space and Amputation.

The act of Filling the Picture Space is to use a subject to fill the entire frame of a photo. According to Freeman Patterson, "The size of important objects in a photograph should be determined by the theme of the photograph." So, if the subject matter is, say, a flower, then that flower basically dictates the nature of the picture.

In this picture, my subject is a flower. Although it is fake, I really wanted to experiment with filling the frame with it, so I took a few test shots.  I have absolutely no visual effects on this picture except for the flash on my camera (samsung point and shoot). I love the way this turned out because not only does it fill the entire frame, it also saturates the color in a way that makes the flower look interesting. This picture represents Filling the Frame in that its subject (the pink flower) fills the entire space and catches the reader's attention.

The act of Amputation isn't actually "amputating" anything, but leaving out a body part when creating a composition. Patterson claims that "amputation weakens the composition only if it interferes with expression by drawing attention to itself," but it can be "offset...by placing lines or shapes or colors on the opposite side or corner to establish balance."

When I think of the design element Amputation, I think of the times when I've had to retake pictures because my friends claimed "their head got cut off." I wanted to do something different besides leaving out a hand or a foot. In this shot, I decided to get a picture of my nails (they are press-ons). Again, no effects whatsoever, save a bright flash. The flash made the biggest difference in this picture because the black in my nails stands out against the white of my laptop computer. The white background is what allows the composition to remain artistic, even when the "amputation" is intentional. This picture represents Amputation because the whole hand is not represented in the frame, but is instead "amputated" in the final composition.

In conclusion, Elements of Design are used in order to make photography more appealing to an audience and to guide the photographer in creating his or her picture, along with making the composition more appealing as a whole.

Something Familiar and Lovely

There is something to say about recognizing that something is familiar. When something is familiar, it's considered treasured and prized in one's stores of memory, even when he or she does not realize it.

One thing I consider familiar is my favorite pair of Converse high-top shoes. That may sound like a cliche, but I really do love these shoes. Three things make them favorites: their blue color, the bright and happy details, and the adorable bunnies printed on the sides. These shoes make me happy every time I put them on and wear them because I feel that they reflect the creative and optimistic sides of my personality.

To take this picture of my shoes, I tied the laces together and hung them over my doorknob in my dorm room. I tried to create good lighting by taking the photo in front of the mirror. At first I tried making the flash reflect off the mirror by placing my camera in front of it, but I had a hard time getting a good view of the shoes in the frame. Overall, I like this final composition because it is off-centered and shows off my shoes at a good angle. I did apply some photo editing: On my camera, there is a forest setting that brings out greens and other foliage colors to enhance pictures taken of nature. I used that feature to bring out the green in my shoes.

I took this picture while my shoes were still hanging on my door. I absolutely love the detailing and how happy the bunnies look. I have always loved bunnies since I was little, so I was drawn to these immediately. The way the bunnies are screen-printed onto the shoes resembled hand-painted work on canvas, which gives the pair of shoes an artsy feel. The details cover a part of one side of the shoes, which are high-topped to accommodate fun designs. There is a vibrant style added to the photograph to bring out the bright colors.

I decided to photograph my shoes from a different perspective from the other two photos above. I like the two outside pairs equally, but I wanted to show my favorite shoes in the context of shoes I just like. All of the pairs of shoes that I wear have some sort of story behind them. My flip-flops came from a place I love to go to in Florida, I wore my silver flats to my high school graduation, and my "bunny" converse are my favorite shoes of all time because of various elements in them that make me smile. I wanted to switch things up, so I used a black-and-white setting directly on my camera and snapped the photo.

In conclusion, my Converse shoes with bunnies printed on them are what I consider familiar. I loved taking pictures of this pair of shoes because the shoes themselves evoke feelings of positivity and happiness. Anything in general that evokes those feelings draws me in. I believe that it's a part of my personality and the way God made me, because I strive to be positive and cheerful in all that I do. I also believe that we are drawn to familiar things because they make us happy and secure in who and where we are. Since God draws us in and makes us feel happy and secure, that's a sure sign that He wants to be familiar with us as well.