School Context Assignment

Our goal for this assignment was to change the context of the school.  This means we had to take a picture of the school, hallways, lockers, cafeteria, etc., then add something to the picture that usually isn't there. For example, adding an alligator to the pond or having President Obama eating lunch in the cafeteria.  While adding these things to the original photo your main goal is to make it look natural.  One way to make it look more realistic is by adding shadows to your objects. When including shadows you must consider the direction os the sun by looking at our objects' shadows, the size of the object, and how bright the sun is.  If it's cloudy you're object shouldn't have a night black shadow, but a lighter more transparent shadow would be the more natural looking choice.

Motion Demo - Panning

Today we learned how to pan while taking photos.  When panning you follow the moving subject you are photographing until it is in front of you, take the picture, and then continue following the subject as it moves past you.  In order to take these kinds of motion pictures the subject must be moving horizontally across the frame.  If there is any vertical movement the subject will be blurry.  The end result should be a sharp, clear subject with a blurred out background.

Motion Assignment

For this assignment my goal was to capture moving objects.  The picture I chose is of the splash coming out f my pond after a rock was thrown into it.  the key to taking motion pictures is the shutter speed. if you want to freeze the action in time a faster shutter speed is needed, but if you want to be able to see the blurs of the movements you should use a slow shutter speed.  Another challenge is getting the correct exposure. By having a fast shutter speed you are reducing the amount of light allowed into the camera. Likewise, with a slow shutter speed an increased amount of light is captured.  In order to compensate for these conditions adjusting the aperture and ISO settings are necessary.  Another difficulty when shooting motion is being able to take the picture as soon as the required motion occurs.  Timing is very important in getting a quality motion picture.

ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
Aperture: 3.5

Panoramic Assignment

This week's assignment was to stitch together multiple photos into one wide angle panoramic photograph.


In order to create a panoramic image you must take a series of pictures of the subject and then combine them.  A key part of having the photos flow together well is making sure the exposure is the same for all of them. If the exposures are not the same or at least very close you will be able to see the lines where the photos end after you combine them all.  In order to merge the pictures we used Gimp.  Photoshop also has a merger button that allows you to instantly merge all of your photos. A key part of editing the photos together is blending.  Blending allows you to create the effect that you have taken a single wide angle panoramic photo.

Animals Photo Assignment

For this week's photo assignment I to capture animals.  While photographing animals you want to capture the character of the animal.  If you have a really playful dog taking a picture of it sleeping wouldn't be a good representation of how the dog really acts.  A more appropriate picture would be of it running through the yard or playing with its toys.  Taking pictures of animals is a difficult task since they do not like to remain stationary while you take their picture.  A fast shutter speed is required to eliminate the blur from their movements.  Also, it is impossible to tell when an animal is going to do something photo worthy so you have to remain patient and just wait and see what the animal gives you.

Shutter Speed: 1/250
Aperture: 8
ISO: 800

Gimp Retouch Assignment

Before

In the original image there are many flaws. You can see the reflection from the overhead lights on the hood, the background is very distracting, and other lighting issues. By editing the photo in Gimp, we are able to erase all the flaws and make the picture for pleasant to look at.









After

Gimp allowed us to eliminate many flaws n this photo.  The first thing we did was crop the image and make it more square. We then adjusted the lighting in the photo in order to emphasize more features.  Next, we used the cloning tool tool to edit out the reflections of the lights on the hood and to blend the colors together.  Lastly, we blacked out the background in order to draw your full attention to the car.  The editing we did enhanced the photo and made it much more presentable.

Macro Photo Assignment

For this assignment I was utilizing the Macro setting on my camera. By having my camera in Macro mode I was able to take extreme close-ups of objects.  Another useful feature when taking these photos was Aperture Priority mode.  Adjusting the aperture allowed me to focus more closely on the main subject.  Close-ups are an excellent way to reveal details not usually seen on an object. For example, by taking a close-up of a bee you are able to see every single hair on its body and all the spikes on its legs.

ISO: 800
Aperture: 8
Shutter Speed: 1/30s