Final Exam- Photo Essay

Every Christmas, my family and I have a tradition where we receive a family from SafePlace, a non-profit organization for victims of sexual and domestic violence. when we receive the family, we get a wish list of the top two things that they want for Christmas, along with age, gender, and clothing/shoe sizes. We go to a store and pick out the things that they want, and buy it for them. This year, we went to Kohls for the shopping.

The mother had three children, a 13 year old daughter, and 8 year old and 2 year old sons. Logan, my three year old brother helped pick out a pair of shoes for the two year old. He loved getting the presents- he was extremely excited to go.

My sister, Elizabeth, checks the list for the shoe size of the 8 year old boy. My brother Ryken and her picked out the pair of basketball shoes that he asked for. Both the older son and the 13 year old daughter asked for Jordans, but since they were out of our price range, we got Nike basketball shoes instead. The boy's second choice was Nike shoes, so his gift was perfect.

All of the family members asked for shoes. Therefore, we ended up getting four different pairs. It was expensive, but it was great helping out someone else.

We had to check the prices to make sure that they weren't too expensive. Each family member could only have a certain amount worth of gifts.

After Logan picked out a toy for the 2 year old, he wanted to keep looking at toys. He loved getting to pick out the toy for the family, but I think he was also excited about going to look and play in the toy section.

The 13 year old asked for a Bath and Body gift card along with the shoes. There weren't any gift cards available, so Liz picked out some different lotions and perfumes for her instead.

While we were checking out, Logan waited for the chance to look at and play with the train set. He later said that he wanted "to go to the house of the family and show them how to [set up the train set]" The total ended up being about $200, which was actually less than my mom expected.

While checking out, the cashier saw that one of the pairs of shoes had two left shoes. We had to go back to the shoe section and find the same pair with the right feet.

After a good shopping trip, we put the gifts in the car and headed to the nearby Chipotle's for dinner. It was a great way to end the day.

Publication Assignment 2: The Brownie Store

During lunch and passing periods, there is a store called the Brownie Store and it's open during lunch and passing periods. They sell brownies, Rice Krispie treats, crackers, pickles, and water for $1 and under.

The store resides at the end of the main hallway, near the courtyard and gym. At the beginning of lunch, so many students line up to buy some stuff that they pass the doors. As Ashley Armstrong says, "The brownies are divine! They are really moist and chocolatey." Her friends agree.

A student pays for his snack at the door. The teacher who works there is very cooperative with the students, and is very good at his job.

Publication Assignment 1: The Talent Show

The MAC Radio Talent Show featured eleven different acts, including dancing, singing, comedy, poetry, and even a band. Pictured here is Terra Estep, who read an amazing poem.

Jennifer Riviera sung Stay, by Rihanna, and won the talent show. 

The hosts of the show had to entertain the audience between acts, especially when there were some technical difficulties. Here they are, taking a selfie.

Sports Photography

http://www.astropix.com/SPORTSPIX/NSC/NOTES.HTM

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/the-perfect-camera-settings-for-action-and-sports-photography

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/h20zbjpj/photographing-sports-indoors-and-out.html

My choice is the first link. It has a lot of great in-depth information. They have very detailed how-to's about the different techniques and the things that you need to know how to be able to do. They also talk about the career of sports photography, which is very helpful. It gives us an insight to the life of the photographers and the risks of becoming one.

Photo Challenge 4: Family

This is my favorite picture in the series. Arthur is as much my family as my sister or my mother. This goes the same with any of the animals I have had, but Arthur holds a special place in my heart. My entire life is horses. I sacrifice time and money into them. Since Arthur is my first horse, he is even more important to me. I love this picture because he is being extremely adorable.

Logan is my 3 year old brother. He is really cute and lights up the whole room when he laughs. He is definitely a big part of the family.

This is my sister, Liz. She's annoying and sassy but she's my sister so I have to deal with it. She can be sweet sometimes, and when she is, she's really awesome to be around.

Photo Composition Gallery

SIMPLICITY

This picture shows simplicity. There is only two colors, and one subject.The background is very quiet. The picture also has a shallow depth of field, uses rule of thirds, and has repetition in the rocks. 

GOLDEN HOURS

The main composition is golden hours. The picture was taken during the sunset. Other aspects are sidelighting and shallow depth of field.

SIDELIGHTING

This picture uses sidelighting to highlight the subject. The sun is coming from the left, so that side of the horse is lighted and the other is in shadow. The picture also uses golden hours and has a clear focal point.

ENVIRONMENTAL LIGHTING

This picture used no flash, which makes it environmental lighting. The water is frozen, which was achieved using a fast shutter speed. There is also rule of thirds and simplicity.

CLEAR FOCAL POINT

There is a clear focal point in this photo.The camera is focused on the stem, and the rest is blurry. The picture also exhibits simplicity in the colors, and a plain background. There is a very shallow depth of field.

FILL THE FRAME

Lael fills the entire photo. There is almost no background. There is a clear focal point- her eye. The depth of field is shallow, and the photo was taken from a different angle.

RULE OF THIRDS

This picture shows mainly rule of thirds. The boots are on the third lines. It is very simple, but there is a full depth of field. Parallelism is also shown.

PLAIN BACKGROUND

The background here is very simple and plain, which makes the eye focus on the subject. There is also a shallow depth of field, and some front lighting.

SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD

The subject is clear, while the background is very blurry, which shows a shallow depth of field. Rule of thirds is also shown, as well as front lighting and a clear focal point.

S CURVES

In this picture, there a an 'S' shaped curve. This draws the eye to the curve, which is the subject. The picture is also very simple, and it has a shallow depth of field.

EV Bracketing and White Balance Assignment

EV Bracketing:

-2 EV: F6.7 1/125 100

-1 EV: F5.6 1/90 100

0 EV: F5.6 1/60 100

1 EV: F5.6 1/60 400

2 EV: F5.6 1/60 400

During this assignment, I learned about how you can changed the exposure on photos manually. The negative EV's made the photo darker, and the positive ones made it lighter. This help because it can change the amount of light without changing the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO.

White Balance:

Auto: F5.6 1/60 100

Tungsten: F5.6 1/60 100

Daylight: F5.6 1/60 100

Custom: F5.6 1/90 100

Fluorescent: F5.6 1/60 100

Shade: F5.6 1/60 100

Cloudy: F5.6 1/60 100

 I loved learning about the white balance because it helps in different lighting. It can also put a neat filter on the pictures without having to do it in photoshop. I was able to figure out how to do it on my camera, which was different than the others, which also helped me understand it better. 

View and Respond 8 - Photo Composition Practice

I like the photo of the horse and rider falling. The main technique is the depth of field, which is great because you can see the rider very clearly, but you can also see the horse well. It also exhibits parallelism, filling the frame, keeping a simple background, and rule of thirds.

I also like the one of the flood victims in a boat with their dogs. The main technique used is rule of thirds. it also shows parallelism between the two people, simple background, different angle, and depth of field.

Tips for Inexperienced Photographers Notes

1. Fill the frame- move closer
2. Find your light source
3. Set auto focus to focal point
4. Change the angle
5. Beware the background- simple or busy?
6. Put at least one person in environmental portraits/landscapes
7. Compose before you shoot
8. Rule of thirds
9. Leading lines
10. Depth of field
11. Framing
12. The golden hours
13. Parallelism
14. Shoot with and without flash

Publication Assignment 1: The Lock Down

After Mr. Susman's 5th period english class was moved out of the portables, Finn Corbett shows off his Jar Jar Binks mask that he brought for Halloween with his friend Townes Hobratsk posing in the background. Both students and teachers dressed up. Costumes included Donald Trump, skeletons, and fallen angels.

Parents wait in a line from the front office to sign their children out. At about noon, the administrators let the kids leave with an excused absence.

The electricity went out in the morning during the worst of the storm. In many of the classrooms, the only light they had were the emergency ones. But in Lael Weatherby's choir class, "All four emergency lights went out." As if the day wasn't scary enough!

Barn Photoshoot 1

My first good barn photoshoot. As many of you know, I love horses. I have one- his name is Arthur. So does my best friend, whose horse is named Mo. We were at the barn when the smoke cloud from the Bastrop fires passed over us. I created a gorgeous natural filter on the photos. The lighting was absolutely gorgeous!

 Arthur shining in the setting sun.

 Arthur staring wide-eyed at me. He's so cute! I'm a little biased though <3

 Tula on Mo

 An adorable picture of the pair

The light rays are stunning and the expressions on their faces are interesting... 

 Both with their eyes closed. This was a candid shot- I din't tell either of them to shut their eyes.