Week 15: Best of the Best

Week 15: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on cataloging the best photos we've taken based on the feedback we got and our personal opinion. These are the best photos.

Craft: As this is a compilation of numerous projects and images, the specific craft is different for each image, the overall technology and craft is the same. The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, 58 mm lens, flash drive, occasional and the various scenes around me. There were various props (Old Canon Cameras, Deer Skulls, etc), wood panels, photo to wood transfer paste/transparent acrylic gel,  and Bowens Camera Studio Lights. I used these resources to create the images above. The Bowens Camera Studio Lights came with stands as well as studio umbrellas for the lights. It is with these tools that I have created the following images.

Composition: In this final project for the class, we were tasked with arranging our best images we have taken this semester. As a result, we were not required to take any new images this week. However, with the better weather, it was a good decision to continue and photograph and retake previous shoots. To make these images our best, we had to adjust our images, crop parts out, photoshop blemishes out, and correct exposure, color, etc to achieve the most interesting and aesthetically pleasing images. The photos had to be camera raw files in order to achieve the best quality and control. As this is a compilation image set, some images required a photo of wood transfer techniques as shown. Others required setting up a photo shoot studio with camera lights, etc.

Concept: In this project, we were tasked with arranging the most successful photos we have taken this semester. As this is the concept of the project, all the photos are from a range of projects from previous weeks. Some were photos taken about the school as promotional work, others were altering reality whether it was eluding to a real object being fake and small and the reverse. As a result, the purpose or concept of the images is different. However, the general idea is to select that which highlights and is an exemplar of that this semester. Some were from the same shoot as they were most successful, others were from across the semester from a diverse range of concepts.

Week 14: SXU Photos

Week 14: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on taking photographs based on the idea of showcasing the campus life and students of Saint Xavier University. The objective was to create photos for which the president of the school's office.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, 58 mm lens, flash drive, and the various scenes around me. The equipment was very simple as the pictures that I were taking were not I used these resources to create the images above.

Composition: For this project, we were tasked with going around and taking photographs of the campus, campus life, its people, and the architecture around. As a result, there were no special editing or technical techniques that we would have to deploy for this assignment. The general editing that I noticed that I had to do was the following. While shooting, I had to constantly readjust the ISO to fit the particular lighting situation. Another process that I had to continue to adjust the focus Shutter speed was also tweaked to capture fast moving objects such as people and cars. Post-production involved editing the exposure and tweaking the levels so that the image was bright enough and to remove any noise that appeared. I also had to straighten the photos on occasion due to an offset shot.

Concept: In this project, our concept was creating images that conveyed the city, its architecture and its people. As a result, I had to get into the heart of the city and depict it to the best of my ability with my photos. For myself, I focused on the overall scene, the architecture played a part of it. In some of the pictures, I focused on architecture solely. Others, I focused on individuals. However, I wanted to show the city as a whole, unified scene. A city and what that city represents is tangible in those that live within its limits, the architectural structure that it showcases, and the unified voice that both of those combined make.

Week 13: Urban and Street Photography

Week 13: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on taking photographs based on the idea of city or street photography. Here are the results.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, 58 mm lens, a long-distance telescopic lens, and the various scenes around me. I used these resources to create the images above.

Composition: For this project, we were tasked with playing with the concept of going into the city and taking photographs of the city, its people, and the architecture around. As a result, there were no special editing or technical techniques that we would have to deploy for this assignment. The general editing that I noticed that I had to do was the following. While shooting, I had to constantly readjust the ISO to fit the particular lighting situation. Shutter speed was also tweaked to capture fast moving objects such as people and cars. Post-production involved editing the exposure and tweaking the levels so that the image was bright enough and to remove any noise that appeared. I also had to straighten the photos on occasion due to an offset shot.

Concept: In this project, our concept was creating images that conveyed the city, its architecture and its people. As a result, I had to get into the heart of the city and depict it to the best of my ability with my photos. For myself, I focused on the overall scene, the architecture played a part of it. In some of the pictures, I focused on architecture solely. Others, I focused on individuals. However, I wanted to show the city as a whole, unified scene. A city and what that city represents is tangible in those that live within its limits, the architectural structure that it showcases, and the unified voice that both of those combined make.

Week 12: Minatures

Week 12: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on taking photographs using the idea of tilt-shift to shrink real-size objects to appear as miniatures and the reverse to create miniatures into enormous spaces where we could possibly walk and be in. Here are the results.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, photo lights-Bowens Camera Studio Lights, and the model/subject matter of the photos, miniature art galleries, etc. I used these resources to create the images above. The Bowens Camera Studio Lights came with stands as well as studio umbrellas for the lights.

Composition: For this project, we were tasked with playing with the concept of making objects either miniature using tilt-shift or larger than they are. How this worked was for the miniatures, we either used the tilt-shift option which focuses on a singular band of the photo and blurs the rest or does it manually. I tried a few versions with the tilt-shift but found that in order to be as precise as possible, I would have to manually focus on certain objects in the photo using a clipping overlay mask. This was done in photoshop by clicking the mask layer option and linking it to a copy of the photo. Once I was satisfied with the focus, I then oversaturated the images to convey the appearance of a toy which is brightly colored. In the instance of using a small object and making it appear larger, I used several mini art galleries as the setting. With specific lighting coming from the studio lights, I inserted my self into the mini-scenes by taking a picture of myself and manipulating it so that the lighting coming off me matched that of the scene. As a result, I attempted to make the miniature locations appear full scale. This was done by manipulating levels and curves in photoshop and adding color overlays to match the lighting temperature.

Concept: In this project, our concept was creating images that conveyed realistic settings in different ways. In the first part, we were tasked with creating the illusion of toy cars and other objects by manipulating focus and scale with a method called tilt-shift in which focus is relegated on a certain portion of the image. The second half was creating the illusion of full-scale scenes by taking photographs of mini-galleries with the aid of studio lights.

Week 11: Playing with Light

Week 11: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on taking photographs using the idea of long shutter speeds and "painting" with light. Here are the results.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), phone camera, a flashlight, a computer, and Adobe Photoshop. After taking the photos with a slow shutter speed, I transferred the photos into Photoshop to crop and touch them up.

Composition: For this project, we were tasked with playing with the concept of light in our photos. Specifically, we were painting lights to create abstract shapes or other oddities. The main focus was altering our shutter speeds to capture more light and to see how motion would play into our compositions. For myself, I chose to use a flashlight and see how the light would affect the image. I also played with moving the camera around a stationary light such as a lamp post or laundry displays to see what kind of interesting photos I could make. First, I set my shutter speed to 8" meaning it was very slow, giving 8 seconds to capture all the light and images before the shutter closed. The images with the branches I set t 15". The ISO I kept constant at 100 throughout all my lighting situations, mostly at night or dusk. After that, I imported them into my computer, editing them in Photoshop and cropping them to get a good composition.

Concept: In this project, we were tasked with creating ten images with the mechanical process of constant ISO, "painting with light" and slow shutter speed. As we were painting with light, I found that trying to create a story with the light moving from one point to the next an interesting concept. However, when in practice, it all became one strange object of moving light with no clear beginning and end. Instead, I decided to create abstractions with the light for this assignment, seeing if there were ways to have the object forming the light remain the focal point while abstracting the light and having it make shapes. This was most successfully done with the lamp photo.