Period 1 - Semester Final

1. My favorite photo from this Lens slideshow is #6 of nine, of a 1960s Mercedes Bens crossing the Haskeen Pan by Nic Bothma of European Pressphoto Agency. I love the contrasting landscape: the ethereal sky touching the acridly yellow landscape of a dried-up lake bed. I love the illusion of the car traveling at great speed, yet it is in perfect alignment with the landscape. Lastly, I love how the sky seems to open up in the middle  of the photo, creating a specialization of balance; the clouds are to the left and right, which frame the photo as well.

2. In my humble opinion, the best photo from this Lens slideshow is #9 of nine, "A red deer seen through the morning mist in Richmond Park, London." by Rob Stothard of Getty Images. There are three reasons behind this: one, overall refreshing yet morose tone this particular photo gives off, enabling your own senses to feel the morning mist; two, the composition and placement of both the deer and the bird on its back (rule-of-thirds); three, the lighting which causes the tree to contrast with the sky, allowing the obscurity of bushes to create a field of depth. 

3. I'd like to think my best work all semester has been from the Masters of Photography project. I imitated photos of Paul Strand. (http://sophieow.blogspot.com/2014/12/paul-strand.html) I think this is my best work so far because I was able to draw a lot of inspiration from Strand's photography; I I was honored to emulate his work. There were no methodical steps in taking these photos, I simply had to get a "feel" of each photo and sense whether or not my work reverberated elements of his. It helped me see through somebody else's perspective, which is unique in my experience. I expended a lot of patience in getting the close-to-perfect shot I strove for. I persistently took many photos and then later eliminated the ones I didn't like. I think the number of shots I will was willing to take helped me become a better photographer. I discovered what did and didn't work for me.

4. I chose experimentation, rule-of-thirds, and balance as my three rules of photo composition. Experimentation is interpreted as being able to add your own personal flair, unguided by any rules whatsoever. I like this one especially due to the freedom of expression it allows (you can always re-invent a new variation of the wheel). Rule-of-thirds is having your photo's subject never positioned in the center, but always 1/3 away from the frame. This allows for a much more pleasing photo and leads to more balance, which I will get to in a second. Balancing a photo means formatting it -- the subject, the objects, the background, etc -- in order to provide enough substance and lessen any distractions that detract from the photo. 

5. 

"Somewhere in Sonoma, Napa" 

Rules of composition used: balance, rule-of-thirds, and possibly framing. 

6. Your first rule is to get closer to the subject of whatever you are shooting. 

7. The benefits of working in a group: you become a recipient to other people's input and helpful criticism, you can grab inspiration from others' work, improve your social skills, and you won't feel so lonely (you'll have someone to go to for advice) 

8. The difficulties of working in a group: it slows you down, everyone has to agree/compromise, people go at different paces, some people are irresponsible, some like to take all the credit, some people never show up. (This never happened in my group thankfully)

9. I enjoyed Vedant's recreation of the Ramones album (http://mehtaphotos.blogspot.com/2015/01/re-creation-of-album-cover.html) I think he is an excellent photographer and achieved a very flawless shot. I love the composition of the photo and how everything looks very balanced and symmetrical. 

10. For the Masters of Photography project I had the honor of studying Paul Strand's work. He was an American modernist photographer and filmmaker, one of the most well-known during the 20th century due to his great contribution to photography as new art form at that time. Not only was he heavily involved in a number of social and political causes, but he was also a very forward-thinking and innovative person; he took modernist photographs in urban settings, and experimented with abstract photos. He is known for his black and white style and contributed to that mode of expression. 

11. She is known for her "Migrant Mother" photograph taken during the depression and the dust bowl of 1930s America. It is of Florence Owens Thompson and her children in 1936. The Resettlement Administration was one of President Franklin Roosevelt's agencies who hired Lange to take those photos in order to support its programs. 

12. Life was founded on January 4, 1883 in New York City but did not begin publication until 1936: for its "Building the Fort Peck Dam" cover story. 

13. Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. 

14. Robert Capa founded Magnum Photos which started publication in 1947

500 Greatest Album Covers: #33 The Ramones, Self-titled album

Reflective Writing: Master's of Photography Project

My perception of "digital photography" changed from an art form only delineating sophistication & beauty to a more profound view. I've also gained a lot of experience during this project, not only by practicing my own eye and feeling and interpreting Strand's photography, but by observation of my group member's excellent progress as well. I've learned that each person is unique in what they choose to capture and how. I was especially impressed by Vedant's work; I appreciate his sense of proportion and aestheticism. Travis' photographs had an intriguing flare to them and so did Nicole's. Nicole was the most enthusiastic person of the group: you can really see how much energy is put into her work.

1. I honestly found that inspiration comes to me when I least expect it. I spend a lot of time in the pre-planning period of things and find it difficult to execute the actual task due to my neurotic perfectionism. The process is messy for me and I eventually am able to put together something I feel is good, not necessarily following any rules or guidelines.
2. My understanding of photography has definitely changed throughout the school year. I see the process behind it and have felt the flutter of excitement that fills your entire being once you know you've captured a photograph in your trademark, through your perspective and your perspective only. I've learned to look at something at all angles, intuitively choosing the most fitting.
3. The benefits of working in a group are that you can exchange advice and perhaps the different styles and inspirations that could be found from others subtly shows up in your own photography.
4. Some of the disadvantages are being overly dependent on others for direction, thus inhibiting your own creative process.
5. Things I would have done differently: find better places to shoot.