Self-Portraits

Big-eyed.

Taken: 12.4.10

This was my favorite self-portrait. I really like this picture because of the expression on my face. It catches your attention because you wonder what I am doing, and at first may not know. I am rolling my tongue, a feature that is special to me because it is hereditary. My  favorite element of this picture is my eyes. I love how big and pretty they look. I think this picture captures my personality pretty well. 

Another reason I really like this picture is because of the direct light. I set up the light on a chair but it wasn't tall enough so I added a pillow for the bright lamp to sit on. I like how the light hits my body and the looming shadow it creates behind me. The last reason I like this picture is because of where I am positioned in the frame according to the rule of thirds. I also like the many leading lines there are that lead your eyes directly to me.   
It was in the "Student Photos of the Week" this week that my teacher makes, and I am proud of this photo!

Rule of Thirds & Symmetrical Balance

This is my contact sheet for the rule of thirds and symmetry project. As one can tell my composition for the rule of thirds photos was better than my symmetry. I had trouble finding things that were symmetrical rather than creating it. I think my best symmetry pictures are the ones of the lake where there is horizontal symmetry due to the reflection in the water. 

I like my rule of thirds pictures, and if you look at some of my pictures on earlier rolls of film I had already incorporated that rule some. A twist that was added to the rule of thirds project was trying to use leading lines. Leading lines are lines that lead your eye to the main subject of the photograph. My best composition of this is my very first picture of my friend Clara in the soccer goal.

Girl in Goal

In this picture, I used the rule of thirds. This was my best composition using leading lines. There are so many lines leading to Clara, the subject. This is one of my favorite pictures on the roll of film.

We ARE Tualatin

I also like this picture of Clara doing a "T" on the away football bleachers. This is another example of a rule of thirds photo and leading lines were also incorporated by the bleachers and Clara's arms. A reason I like this picture is because of how it represents Tualatin HS in a sense.     

Qualities of Light

Beautiful Mother                                     Mysterious Mother

 
















The picture to the right was my first print for the project. In this photo direct side light is being used. It is my favorite print of the project because of how beautiful my mom looks. I absolutely love the intricate detail you can see and the way the light is positioned. I like the distinct shadows it creates and how the background is black so the focus is all on her. 
The picture to the left is the same one but I burned and dodged it. My teacher said that I should do that one class, but then the next he said I didn't have to because the original was well exposed. The result of the burning and dodging was great though. I was having trouble with that new process because my first attempt was way too dark. I quickly had to redo it (class was almost over) and the Mysterious Mother image is what I got. Both versions of the picture are good in their own ways. The one to the left shows my mom's face more clearly and gives her distinct features. I really like her eye in the Mysterious Mother. This picture also creates a mystery because part of her body is slowly disappearing into the blackness behind her.      

The Glow of Love

This is a silhouette of a Beanie Baby kangaroo and its baby. I really like this silhouette because of how little you can see. I love the affect the light creates on the platform. I also like how you can see the beady eyes of the baby kangaroo in the mother's pouch. This picture took a lot of intricate work because of the way I set it up. I created the platform with a few of my school textbooks. The platform you see is actually my physics textbook. I put a lamp behind it and took the picture through the railing. It's hard to explain but it took a lot of careful planning and the outcome looks cool. This picture creates a glow type of atmosphere.

   Dolls Come Alive at Night   

This is another silhouette image I took of an American Girl doll. It really exemplifies the "creepy" doll stereotype. I made the doll stand up so it looked like she was walking. I put the lamp behind her to create the silhouette. One aspect i really like of this image is how you can see the doorway and the blackness that is beyond in it. It gives an eerie feeling of the unknown. I also like how the doll is positioned in the rule of thirds and not right in the center. Who would have ever thought a sweet little American Girl doll could be so creepy? 

All Tangled Up

This picture was completely spontaneous. I was at home after school and was passing by our dinner table to get a snack when I saw how bright it was outside. I like the way the light hit the ground and the hose. I thought it would look cool, so I went and grabbed my camera. That hose has been there forever, tangled up like that and reminds me of when I was younger playing in the hose like that during the summer. I positioned the hose within the frame like that, and without really knowing it used the rule of thirds. I like the shadows the tree created in the grass and the shadow of the hose. This is an example of a direct light image, the sun being the source of light. I really like the texture of my patio and the lines leading to the hose.

Light Project Contact Sheet

Portraits

These are my contact sheets for the portrait project. I photographed my friend, my brother, and my mother. For this project, I had to photograph at least 12 pictures of someone who was over 21 years of age.  I was disappointed that a lot of the pictures I took of Miranda didn't turn out because I had to take them around 6 after her cross country practice. The light wasn't enough outside apparently. I had some good ideas for her portraits; I just needed more light. My favorite portraits would be of my brother. I got really creative in these ones and tried to make sure there was enough light. In my mom's pictures I tried to change up the areas and photographed her in her main habitat: the kitchen. Although some didn't turn out because she was working in her habitat, I really enjoy the one of her contemplating and staring off in the distance while in the kitchen (picture number "30"). 

Silly Miranda

 This is a picture of my friend, Miranda. I had the idea to have her hold up a frame so it looks like a picture within a picture. I told her she could do whatever she would like with this, and on the spur of the moment she stuck her tongue out and made this face. I like this picture because of the comical aspect and how the background, frame, and clothes are a pure black and white.  I just wish that the shadow of the frame did not cover her eyes. A direct light upon her face would also make this a better picture.     

  Concentration

 This is a picture of my brother. I asked him to pose for some pictures with his guitar. I set up a light coming from the top right as one could tell by his shadow. What I like about this picture is that even though it may looked posed, it wasn't posed at all. I was setting up and he was waiting for me. He started to strum his guitar while waiting and didn't realize I was ready. I snapped the shot right away. Next time, I could improve by setting up better lighting for the picture because I wish this picture was lighter, also.

Harmony.

 

This is my print for the "One Thing" project. I really like how it turned out, and it was my first print ever! It was sunny outside and I wanted to make use of that light, so I took the guitar outside and laid it in the grass. I love the texture that the grass creates around the guitar.

I am also very proud of this picture because it is in the first issue of THE PAW this year! It made the second page where all the PAW staff names go. YAY! :) 

One Thing contact sheet

This was my first contact sheet and I think it turned out great, in terms of printing. I enjoyed taking my pictures, especially the ones outside. For being my first project, I think many of these pictures I took came out really well!  There are so many I want to print!

Photograms.

This is the second photogram I made. In this one I used Iron bead creations. It is plain and simple. It gets the message across.

This is the third photogram I made. I used a pair of key chains that were attatched. I also put in my anchor necklace again.

I like how jumbled this one looks. I used the iron bead love creation, a spiral of a spiral notebook, a star martigraw necklace, my bird charm, and a tack.

Anchors. Fly. Away.

This is my first photogram I created using an enlarger and objects I brought from home. In this photogram, I used my anchor necklace and another necklace with a bird charm on it. I like the placement of the anchor necklace on the paper and also the contrast between the background and it.

I named it Anchors. Fly. Away. because you hear people say "Anchors away!" and "Fly away!" In this picture there is an anchor and some birds flying away so I combined the two phrases.  

Pinhole Pictures

Pinhole photography fascinated me as we were learning about it by watching videos and implementing it in the classroom. After taking the following images, I wanted to make even more! Both images taken 9.16.10.

Cool!

 This was my first pinhole image. The bottom is the inverted.

I really like the image.

This is the image i really wanted.

This is the invert.

Pinhole Self-Portrait

My first project was taking a picture of myself using a can with a very little hole in it. I set up my can and taped the top lid with electrical tape so light wouldn't enter through it. I picked a random place in the room where nobody was at and set my can atop one of the tables, angling the can towards me. I tried to settle myself in a comfortable position, kneeling on the ground, and when I was ready I opened the electrical tape on the tiny hole to let light in the can. Even though I had been warned, I smiled in the picture which I soon found out was quite difficult. The exposure time was 2 minutes and 36 seconds, and that is a long time to keep smiling for! 
I wanted to be creative, and my idea was halfway through that exposure time to move my head to the other side so that it would look like I had two heads coming out of my one body. I completely moved my body so that didn't work and instead created a ghostly aspect. I actually like the way that looks now because if you look closely, the "ghost" of me looks like it is peeking over my shoulder. I also really like the background because of the perspective point the cabinets create. It looks like they go on forever and is my favorite element of the picture. Overall, I was quite pleased with my first picture in photography class which was taken using a "canera."  

Taken: 9.14.10  This is the inverted image using Photoshop.

The negative image. 

First Post Ever.

Photography is my favorite. :)