Tesselations

Transformation Project

I picked Alice in Wonderland for my Transformation Project. All were altered in Photoshop, not just two.

Alice and the Cheshire Cat

Alice and the Too-Small Door

Alice and the Drink Me Bottle

Alice and the Rabbit Hole

Alice and the Tea Party

So I transformed myself into Alice from Alice in Wonderland because I thought it would be fun, and it was. The most challenging thing about this project would first of all putting together the outfit, because my parents kept refusing to take me to Unique, but the second most challenging parts were getting the colors to match with the backgrounds I'd chosen, in which case I switched into making myself look more animated. The simplest part was making the backgrounds, because for the most part I just took some scenes from the movies, either the animated one or the real life one. If I could add one more picture to the set, it would probably be something to do with painting the roses red.

The photo I'll be sharing tomorrow is Alice and the Drink Me Bottle, because it's the one I think turned out the best. It is Alice about to drink out of a bottle labeled "Drink Me" - one of the most iconic moments of the story. I fiddled with the coloring a lot and the end result made me look animated, so it looked like I blended in with the background more.

Transformation Brainstorm

1) I would transform myself into Alice in Wonderland
2) Because I think I could pull it off, being blonde and everything, and it just seems like a lot of fun.
3) I would take a lot of pictures of myself outside (if the snow melts) in the park across the street from my house, inside the house, and maybe photoshop a rabbit hole to be in.
4) I have a dress that might work, but I might need a bottle that says drink me or something that says eat me, I might also need a tea set/cup and saucer.
5) I will have to look through pictures to find iconic scenes to recreate, and try to get her expression down well.

6) This picture inspires me a lot, and would be one that I would try to recreate. I like her curious expression and the way she holds the bottle, like she's deciding whether to drink it or not.

American Photography (part 3)

1) I think the photos that were the most eye-opening were the ones of war, namely WWII and Vietnam. The images from there were just so graphic and gave me a disturbing sense of what war is all about.

2) They document important events, and so show us truth, but more recently, in the digital age, the truth is able to be altered, and so we find ourselves being slightly more skeptical of the truth than we had been. Also the choice of which pictures appear in the media effect our perceptions on people and/or events, so we are more likely to lean towards the bias of the reporter.

3) Digital photographs have made sharing pictures easier and more efficient. They have also effected our perceptions on what is true and what has been altered, as we can no longer really believe in the truth of photographs.

4) Events covered would probably be of things such as the wars in the Middle East, which are huge and effect many people. Technologies shown would probably be how the cameras have changed, getting smaller and smaller, and with features such as video recording enabled on them.

Digital Collage

Grace of the Galaxies

The images included in this collage are a wide variety. For the background I started off with this slightly textured red picture, then added a picture of these black vines to add even more texture. After I added a few more things, I realized I wanted more detail back there, so I put in stars and a picture of some dark clouds to help blend into the other clouds. In the sort of middle ground I have two sets of mountains with a domed city in the valley between them. Dark clouds are over the city, like a storm brewing. I also have a sun tucked behind one of the mountains, and a clock face faded on top of it. In the foreground there is another domed city and a bridge leading up to it, with a horse drawn carriage heading to it. In the stars I have a few "constellations" including myself, an old fashioned train, a swan, and a police box. The rest of the scenery includes some plains with city lights faded on top of them and a purple river running through it. I also included various song lyrics blended into the images throughout the picture.

As far as changed go, I mostly used photo filters to change the images colors. Other than that, I applied a soft light to some images and text to make them blend in more to the background, as seen in the constellations and the clock on the sun. Most all of the images have been resized so they would go together well, and some images, like the mountains and the train were flipped so they faced the other direction.

At first I thought I would go for more of a view from outer space, but as I looked through pictures I decided to do a view from someone standing on the bridge, because I could include more detail as I went. I also added in the stars when I realized the background I had seemed too plain. the constellations were a completely random idea, because i had no idea how to add myself into the picture, nor did I especially want to, and it was the easiest way for me to kind of get around it.

Usually, whenever I add text to a picture I try to make it stand out, but this time I tried hard to make it blend in so it wouldn't be as noticeable. I also found that I was much less picky with my images as I usually am. I just saw something that I could make work and didn't waste too much time making sure it was the best possible picture.

What I am most proud of would have to be anywhere from my mountains on up. I think that the constellations, sun, clouds, and city in particular look the best and I think they're the most well done part of the whole collage. It turned out even better than I had hoped.

If I could change anything, it would probably be the carriage and horse. I'm not really satisfied with how it looks and it didn't come close to my initial vision, but I'll have to deal with it because I highly doubt any pictures that fit my vision exist. I would also make some of my lines cleaner where I cut images out.

This has to be one of my better collages, and I'm altogether very proud of it. I'm also very happy with the fonts I was able to get for my text.

Ideal World

1) My ideal world would be full of technology, mostly cities, but it would also be mixed with a little bit of fantasy, castles and such. A blending of the two. The buildings would all look old and hobbled together, but in everyday life there would be extremely advanced technologies to help with the little tasks. Nothing would be simpler because of technology, it would just be a simple "this is the way it is".

2) This ideal world would not be on earth, it would have to be on another planet, maybe even in another time.

3) The colors would be very rich, dark reds and purples in the natural environment. In a "man-made" environment the colors would all be little glowing spots of blue or green surrounded in black.

4) Sonic screwdrivers (Doctor Who reference there, ha) would be a must, because opening doors is just so much more fun that way. Any electronics would be tools designed to better help their users. Hovercraft ships (that look like curvy blue boxes) drawn by a horse-like species (who are animal, not intelligent) would be transportation. Weapons would be swords that transmit electricity, so they shock to kill more than cut, providing a quicker death. Hologram screens. In the more natural world there would be things like animals and trees and all that stuff, but also a surprising amount of precious gems, which are useful because they give off light, hence their light sources instead of lightbulbs. They are not as valuable because there are so many of them. Books also exist in wide variety, but they are written with special ink on special paper so they will never fade or fall apart.

5) Robots. No artificial intelligence exists here. Time machines also do not exist. No statues or monuments are in this world (because there was this one crazy scientist this one time who brought them to life as a personal army and tried to take over the world. He failed and they were all destroyed)

6) The types of people living there would be from all walks of life. There is a Lower City, which is pretty much the slums, except instead of selling drugs they sell mood patches (almost the same thing). Then there would be the Middle City, where all the normal, middle class people live. These people are the laborers, the workers needed to keep the city functional and running. Most specialize in a certain area, like plumbing or technology repairs. Then comes the Upper City, where all the elites live. This includes the great scientists and technicians who come up with inventions. Intelligence is the highest value, and when people there are young they are given tests to determine their intelligence levels in various areas. Those with exceptionally high scores are allowed to move up in rankings and are given more privileges and responsibilities. The government is constructed of a Council, each member of which gets an equal vote. The members are elected from each social class by the social class they will represent. Men and women both have equal standing in society.

7) Communication would be, for the most part, face to face, actually talking. They are really focused on knowing people personally, and conceder it rude to not show your face while talking to someone. If a secure, faithful relationship has been established between two people, then they might use phones to communicate while apart, however, these are mostly only used if a quick discussion is necessary and they are not able to meet in person.

8) There are two suns, that rise and set in the north and south, constantly, so there is never night, only day, except for when one is setting and one is rising. The grass is red and the mountains stretch taller than anywhere else in the universe. But the cities are the most magnificent. Each is like its own little skyscraper island, connected to others through a network of bridges that stretch like a spiderweb across the earth. From space, each city glows with blue and green lights, but the buildings are spaced so they spell out the name of the city from above, so travelers from other planets know where each city is.

Documentary Photography Project

Mini Me

Mask Failures

Baby Dino

Smiling Witch

Darth goes to STA

Vampire on a Diet

I chose to photograph Halloween for my project, but more specifically the Halloween party at the community center. I chose this because it's that time of year and it was easy to be able to get a lot of pictures. The pictures I took have a sort of fun feel to them, with a little bit of irony as well. I learned that Halloween doesn't have to be all scary, that there are plenty of fun costumes out there and it's more about the fun than scaring people. My favorite image would have to be the first one, of my brother (the little Darth Vader) and another older one who we saw the instant we walked into the room. It was so funny that they had the same costume that I had to take a picture of it, and I think the obvious height difference makes the image memorable.

Documentary Photography Proposal

• I am planning to document Halloween, my family, friends, and anyone else I find to really represent it well.
• I chose this idea because Halloween is coming up and is a major holiday.
• I will take pictures at my house, at school, and possibly on the street Halloween night.
• I will try to capture creativity in people's costumes, focusing on the ones that are well done. I'll try to show what makes Halloween fun and scary at the same time.
• I will take pictures this weekend and Monday of next week.

American Photography (Part 2)

One event shown in the movie was World War II. Photographers were specially commissioned to go along to the war and take pictures for newspapers and such back in the states, to let people know how the war was going and to glorify American troops. I think that the pictures from here are really dramatic and give you a small sense of how horrible war could be.
Another event that they talked about was when the Hindenburg exploded. One person happened to get a few chance shots of it, and that picture made the event real, otherwise no one would've believed it and it wouldn't be "news". I think that the pictures taken of this event are cool because there's only three of them and they're very good quality, considering how fast the photographer had to load and reload the camera in the short amount of time.

If I could document one event in history through pictures, it would probably be the Revolutionary War, because it's my favorite period in history and it had a lot of action going on then. Plus, it would show how our nation came to be, what our founding fathers and american heroes really looked like.

Portraiture Project

Leaning on the Fence

Bored

Over Her Shoulder

Lights Up Her Smile

Laughter

Beauty Retouch

I photographed to people at a party that I went to last weekend. I was originally going to photograph my brother, but he was being uncooperative, and the little girl who is in the photographs volunteered to let me take pictures of her. She was playing ping-pong and other games with the older lady, so i ended up taking pictures of both of them.

My favorite photograph is the one I titled Lights Up Her Smile, because the lighting in that shot was just so perfect for a picture that was completely by chance and the colors really pop.

Line Color Texture Project

Color 1:
Pink Flowers

Color 2:

Garbage Bag

Line 1:

Rack

Line 2:

Pant Line

Texture 1:

Woven Purse

Texture 2:

Mushroom Tree

The subject of the two color photos were some pink flowers in my backyard and a bag made out of ice cream wrappers. The line pictures were a rack that my mom uses to put bread or other stuff she bakes on, and the other picture is some pants hanging out to dry on my neighbor's porch. The first texture picture is  my mom's purse and the second is mushrooms growing on a tree. 

I changed these pictures mostly by turning the vibrance all the way up and by adjusting the Levels and Curves so the dark parts were darker and the light parts lighter.

My favorite picture is the one of the drying rack, my first line picture. I think that the black lines of the rack and it's shadow are really strong, and they stand out against the reddish orange table. The lighting is neat and you're not really sure what it is if you didn't know.

I discovered that I really like to get in close to objects that I'm photographing. I liked the subject matter to take up the majority of the photo so it looks cool but you can't tell what it is too easily.

If i did this project over again I would take more initial pictures so I would have a wider selection when picking and choosing them.

Line, Color, Texture

Line

1) The subject is a canyon.

2) This is a birds eye angle

3) Somewhat symmetrical, with the walls on either side of the river.

4) The curving layered lines of the rock trace the river below and give a sense of height.

Color

1) The subject is a flower

2) This is a close up shot

3) Symmetrical, in a way, the flower is in the center, with leaves around it.

4) The bright purple color really pops against the green background.

Texture

1) The subject is a mushroom.

2) The shot is close up, and high angle

3) Symmetrical

4) The fine lines on the inside of the mushroom create a sense of texture, you can almost feel it just looking at the picture.

Editing Photos

Low Angle

Vibrance +100
Curves - Output = 35, input = 58

Establishing Shot

Brightness +73
Vibrance +100
Curves - Output = 219, Input = 198

Extreme Close Up

Vibrance +100
Brightness -67
Curves - Output = 209, Input = 167

High Angle

Vibrance +100
Brightness -23
Levels - 26 from left

Medium Shot

Vibrance +100
Curves - Output = 56, Input = 100
Brightness -38

Close Up

Vibrance +100
Brightness -49
Hue +180

Eye level

Vibrance +100

Long Shot

Vibrance +100
Brightness -57
Curves - Output = 15, Input = 45

Learning Shots and Angles

Close Up

This photo is a close up of a burger. It makes it look much bigger than it actually is by getting in really close.

Medium Shot

This shot shows the subject from the waist up with some stuff in the background, making it a medium shot. It looks like a "normal shot".

Birds Eye View

This is a birds eye view of a city, taken from somewhere up high. it makes everything look smaller and more "ant like".

Eye Level

This shot of flowers is taken at "eye level" (if flowers had eyes) and shows the world from the subject's height.

Rule of Thirds

This picture shows the rule of thirds, with the grass and fence seperating the forground and background into two parts, and the bush creating a third.

Symmetry

The reflection in the water is symmetrical to the actual building, in addition to the reflection being split down it's line of symmetry.

American Photography (part 1)

The video we watched gave a brief overview of the early history of photography in the United States. It greatly influenced the culture of the time period, particularly though newspaper photographs, which brought the news closer to home and really grabbed the reader's attention in a way that headlines couldn't.
Another thing that photography did was expand our view of the world. Scientific photographs allowed us to see planets and microscopic organisms that we hadn't ever seen before. This lead into huge advances in many scientific fields.
I thought it was cool how important photographs were to celebreties, which is something I hadn't really thought about before. Photography allowed them to expand their careers by bringing their image into the home and making them seem like real people their fans could know personally.
I would like to know other styles of photography other than the ones mentioned in the film.

What is Art?

'A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession.'
~ Albert Camus


Art is expression. It is emotion put into worts, images or sounds. Art is what shows everyone else how you see the world. It is opinion and it is not right or wrong, it simply is. Art is whatever you want it to be (that's cliche, I know, but it's very true). It exposes your thoughts and feelings, a reflection of your mind.


There are different types of art, pictures, paintings, music, video, anything can be an art. It's only limited by your imagination. Sure, there's a bunch of principles like Color and texture and Shape and Line, but those are just the building blocks. those building blocks teach you the rules of art, but it's only when you start breaking them that real art is made.