Rules of Photography 2

 balance
cropping
framing
simplicity
rule of thirds
merges
symmetry
viewpoint
lines
depth

"Funny" Captions

At her 100th birthday party, Mildred Holmes lights her last cigarette off of the burning candles on her cake. Having a reputation to smoke several packs of Camels a day, Mildred's family was both annoyed and amused by this behavior, however not at all surprised.

Eager to get to her Catholic church service by eight, Edna pushes her cruiser to the max to beat the traffic and score a good parking spot. Regular church attenders recognize Edna by her noisy cruiser and cranky attitude. They are always frustrated by her habit of parking the cruiser in a place for a real car.

Celebrating a longtime friend's third marriage in the countryside, Carol and Gretel sneak behind the barn to each smoke a nice cigar. The wedding photographer chuckled at the idea of their impatience to smoke and snapped a picture before they completely lost their tempers.

Prompt Shoot #2

Cold:

Electric:

Purple:

The Journey Battling Breast Cancer

1. While viewing these photos, at first I felt hopeful for Jennifer Merendino. She and her husband seemed happy and ready to take on the world, and that was what the photos perfectly illustrated for us. As we continue observing the artistic side of her journey, viewers feel more and more sad and hopeless as the subjects of the photo do, until we at last are presented with a picture of her gravestone. After standing by this woman as we view these photos of her, the audience is devastated.
2. After looking at these photos and reflecting on what Angelo Merendino said, I realize the truth within his words. These photos show us the most personal and heartbreaking experiences of this time, and I slightly wonder if Angelo should have been comforting her rather than taking a photo.
3. I don't think I could take photos like this if I were in this situation.
4. If I could write Angelo a letter, I would tell him how outstanding his photos were and that I admire this being a way for him to cope with the death of his wife.

Abandoned Theme Parks

1. If I could visit any of the parks featured in the two articles to photograph, I would choose Pyrpiat, Ukraine. The eeriness of having been left exactly as it was due to the nuclear disaster is irresistible to photograph. It feels like a type of life could still be there somehow, only in a more threatening form. Everything from 40 years ago is still there nearly untouched by humans!
2.
 
3.

•  concentration camps still standing
•  ruins of pompeii
• site of an atomic bomb 
• abandoned concert venue
• ghost town

4.

 

abandoned concert venue

5. It would be so much fun to document this place because of it's musical history and the horror of it having been abandoned. The decay is a reminder of what it once was and how much it has changed. There is always something slightly terrifying and sad about places like these. A concert venue, once seating thousands of people, is now empty and completely destroyed. 

6. To actually achieve taking photos of a place like this, I would first have to identify a particular one. Depending on where it was, the expenses of travel or laws could vary. 

Africa

1. These photos are so beautiful. The closeness that they expressed of the animal is breathtaking. I especially love "Lion Before Storm-Sitting Profile." It's amazing that these photos are completely real and aren't edited. 

2.

 

3. This photo is my favorite because it beautifully portrays Brandt's goal- to capture African wildlife in their state of being. These pictures help us to understand the animals.

4. In the photo I selected, balance is an evident rule of photography. This picture also really fills the frame.

5. Nick Brandt uses a Pentax 67 with modified lens.

6. Brandt's reason for taking these photos is to show the animals in their state of being before they become extinct. 

7. His hope for taking these pictures is that people will be inspired to protect the wildlife.

8. "In 1995 I first drove the main road from Nairobi down through southern Kenya to Arusha in northern Tanzania. Along the way, in completely unprotected areas, I saw giraffes, zebras, gazelles, impalas, wildebeest. A few months ago, just 13 years later, I made the same drive. I didn't see a single wild animal the entire four-hour drive. It's not that they've moved elsewhere. It's that they've been wiped out—turned into bushmeat."

Black and White Photographers 3

1. The photographer that I have used for this assignment is Lee Friedlander. The thing that caught my eye about his photos is the closeness with reality and grime that they have. His pictures represent how the world has no filter and highlights the grime and dirt of it all, unlike photos that appear in magazines and media today. This is the type of photography that I enjoy on my own and that is hung up on walls of my house, although I have discovered it difficult to recreate.
2.
-I see a musician who is legitimately happy. Although he must be tired, he's still enjoying himself. He seems talkative. I imagine him speaking to Lee Friedlander before the picture was taken.
-I smell cigarette smoke and faint rubber from the room. The smell of the room has a sharp bite to it, like someone's breath after they smoke or dip. It's hot air to breathe in.
-I hear the music being played by the piano beside him and his laughter. It's late and everyone is casually speaking to each other. The room is filled with a hum of voices, music, and laughter.
-I taste coffee, which musicians and artists tend to drink at odd times like these. This makes me think of "Meet Virginia" by Train when he sings "she only drinks coffee at midnight// when the moment is not right//the timing is quite unusual..." This song has the same jazzy and reflective vibe as this photograph. 
-I feel the excitement and energy of the room in the picture. It's hot and crowded. Everyone is tired at this point, but not ready to go home.
 
-I see a baby bathing in the sink with a load of dirty dishes behind him. This implies that the parents will have more work to finish after bathing their baby. In another way, it shows how the baby will grow up and have similar responsibilities.
-I smell the soapiness from the sink.The house is still hot from cooking dinner and we can slightly smell it. The trash from today also clearly needs to be taken out.
-I hear the movement of the baby in the water. The baby is relaxed and quiet. The family is preparing for tomorrow.
-I taste the dinner that the family had eaten before lingering in my mouth.After dinner, the family finishes the nightly routine and eats. Today, the baby needed a bath.
-I feel tired from today's responsibilities.After the baby is finally asleep, the parent will sleep as well. At least until the baby wakes up.


3. In class, we should make a blog or power-point about our photographer.

Instagram Meets the Street

1. A theme that we could take here at school could be based around the other forms art within the school such as music groups, art classes or theater. At home, some of us could focus on grunge photography, which I personally enjoy because of it's rawness and honest relationship with reality on the streets or within the rock and roll scene in a way.
2. We should be able to use the cameras at school instead of our camera phones for the sake of quality. Someone like me with a phone from the stone age doesn't want to be using their device to take pictures with.
3. The mural could go on the wall in the courtyard next to G and H hall.

Levels and Cropping