Food, Emma

When I took the photo all I could do was smell the lemon in this small sliver of pie, my mouth began to water and still does when I look at this photo. The pie was very fluffy and light, and jiggled with even the slightest of movements. When I took this shot I thought about how the color of the pie complemented the colors in the mug behind it. 

Jacob Riis Project

Here is a link to a recent movie I made about the life of the famous photographer, Jacob Riis:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/103011727@N08/10996902873/

Out of The Window, Emma

The Buckthorn Tree
The leaves rustle on the ground
All the trees bare
Except the old buckthorn tree, which is still sprouting green leaves

Since I was young the buckthorn was a thing of magic and mystery
Its tangled branches and twisted roots grew larger and larger just as I did

I still look up to the tree
I look at it's green leaves, tangled branches, and twisted roots
I wonder what sort of stories it could tell if it could speak
All the years it grew and grew and watched me grow and grow

Spooky, Scary Images

Abandoned Toys 

A bear, a clown, a lamb, and an old dummy

These are the only things they left in the house

On the lawn they were strewn about almost as if they were playing when it happened

The dummy sat on the steps

Toppled over, dirty, and broken

This is where she left him

Where the girls went no one knows

All they know is that they are gone

And they know that the toys are there

Time frozen as if they were still there

Hobbies Emma

When I was taking this photo I was reading the Sherlock Holmes story, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, in which Sherlock Holmes has to pay attention to extreme details to solve the mystery of the hounds. When I read this I thought it would be interesting to take a photo that showed the detail of this book, because the stories in it pertain to the smallest of details. This also photo also shows two of the necklaces I was wearing at the time, which also have many minuscule details in them, but they are out of focus because I thought it would make a much more powerful image if it was just the book. I really enjoy this image because it has such attention to detail that you can even see the indentation of the words on the spine.

Portraits

When I took this photo I was trying to get an interesting camera angle and getting a interesting shot with mixed emotions shown. In this photo I used the strategy breaking the rules of composition and putting the subject in the center of the photo. I also used the props of the sunglasses and the coffee cup to make the photo more interesting. This photo reminds me of myself when I wake up in the morning and get my cup of coffee and go to school, which gives it an almost humorous feeling for me.

of When taking this photos, I was trying to get an expression of joy and calmness and trying to use the compositional strategies. I added a prop in this shot so it wouldn't just be an ordinary head shot. I used many techniques for my photos, but in this photo I used the technique of breaking the rules of composition again, by placing my subject in the center of the photo. I also used props in many of my photos, and in this one I used a parasol to add contrasting colors.

David Hockney Collages

The Cubist Period was created from 1907-1914 and has been used throughout the 20th century ever since. This style is credited to Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are said to be creators of the art movement. Cubist Artwork focuses on two dimensional plane, which throws away the old ideas of light and dark values to for shadow and realism. The movement also features the subject as fragmented objects with many sides being seen at same time, which is not how they would normally be seen in nature.

One of the modern cubists is David Hockney, who was born in 1937 and is a british painter, drawer, photographer and everything  else in between. Some of his works include graphic art, portrait work, paintings, set and costume design and photo collages. In his photo collages, he shows multiple angles at the same time that should not be together which is one of the main features of the cubist movement. Hockney may have been inspired by the cubist period because many of his photo collages and paintings do not use shadows or light, which give it the appearance of a flat, two dimensional plane.

Famous Portraits

Richard Avedon’s portraits feature dead center subjects and sometimes very odd props like elephants or bugs. His photos also feature many contrasting shades that make the subjects and overall photos much stronger. I chose this photo because I really liked the strong contrast between the woman’s skin and the elephants, which made her stand out. The elephants not only made a very interesting prop, but also a great item for contrast to make a more dynamic photograph.

Arnold Newman’s photography style includes mostly black and white with many shade/color contrasts. Taken at different angles and some taken with busy backgrounds that give context and story to the photograph. I chose this photo because of it’s strong composition that uses not only the rule of thirds but also has very strong contrasts with the pale background and the richness of the red and blue of the man’s suit.

Annie Leibovitz photos use vivid and interesting colors add an almost fairytale like feeling to many of her photos. Some photos shot like candids where person is in the middle of an action. I chose this photo because I found the color scheme very interesting and I liked how they used the portrait strategy where you play with the eye contact of the subject, in this instance the subject is looking at a book instead of the camera.

Portrait Strategies

My Five Favorite Portrait Strategies:

Obscure Part of Your Subject: Frame parts of the body that you want to be focused in the picture using a piece of cloth or clothing.

Introduce a Prop: Add a prop to add a story to the photo, but don’t detract attention to the main subject.

Break the Rules of Composition: Playing around with rule of thirds by putting things at the edge of the shot or dead center can make an interesting photo.

Experiment with Lighting: Playing with light and light exposure can create different moods for the subject.

Shoot Candidly: Take photos of the person actually doing something will almost always look better than a posed shot of someone doing something.

Signs of Fall

This photograph was taken in my elementary schools garden for an in class project on the signs of fall. This photo shows the compositional strategy of background blurred, which gives the subject (the flower) all the attention. I chose this photo because I think that not only the composition is strong, but it also has very vivid and beautiful colors.

Compositional Strategies

This photograph of a sheep shows the composition strategy of rule of thirds, which features an uncentered subject to diverge the eyes from the center. I chose this subject because I was looking for an almost humorous shot, and I think I achieved this. I chose to upload this photo because I believe it shows strong compositional strategy and also is a cute and funny photo of a sheep.