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.