TIMBERWOLF PHOTOGRAPHY: 2015

17 December 2015

BEST OF 2015

16 December 2015

DIRECTIONS:
Make TEN (minimum) photographs of THREE different people (subjects):
1. Only one human under 21 years old.
2. No solo babies under 6 years old. (Yes, a parent with a baby is fine, but no solo babies!)
3. Anyone over 60 years old will earn you extra credit (Why? Because we revere our elders, and they deserve our attention. They have stories to tell).
NOTE: This is not a "glamour shot" project, so do not have your subject "smile" or "say cheese" for the photo. If your photographs are of people "smiling," the photos will not score well.

MUST INCLUDE TO REACH A SCORE OF 4/4:
(These must be included in the pictures for your score to reach a 4)
1. Use of DIRECT/CHIAROSCURO light.
2. Some sort of creatively unusual/unexpected composition.
3. Your subject in an environment/place, or with objects/materials that describes him/her. (For instance, if your Grandma works on cars, photograph that person in the shop. Or if your Grandpa needlepoints, make that equipment part of the photograph.)

OBJECTIVE:
To practice composition and to record the expression and nuance in the subject’s face. Think of it as trying to capture, in a still image, the essence of your subject. What is essence? Maybe this is captured in a slight (or dramatic) facial expression, a body gesture, body language, or the setting for the photograph in relation to the person.

HOW-TO ENGAGE YOUR SUBJECT:
Schedule a couple different times to photograph your subjects, as this will possibly allow for different moods, energy levels, etc. Engage your subject in conversation as you take the pictures. Talk to your subject about his/her life. Ask about a favorite vacation, best friend, most embarrassing moment, special event, proudest moment, greatest accomplishment, a moment of surprise, grief, etc. Be respectful of your subject's sensitivity, and that perhaps he/she may not want to share certain details. It is your responsibility to make your subject feel at ease. Share some of your own information to start the process.

CHIAROSCURO/DIRECT LIGHT: (In a sense, we've already talked about this earlier in the semester)
chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.

Chiaroscuro explained. CLICK HERE.

Note: be careful to keep at least one eye visible in the photograph. We want to be able to connect with your subject, and that will not happen if the eyes are both hidden in shadow.

An example of how to set up chiaroscuro lighting. CLICK HERE.

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHS FROM PAST YEARS:

BE MINDFUL OF THE FOLLOWING:

SHUTTER SPEED.
If you are photographing indoors (or in low light), you will most likely need to place your camera on a sturdy surface or tripod. Remember the sock filled with rice that we talked about in class? This 'beanbag' will be an excellent device to use now if your shutter speed is going to be below 1/60.
Shutter speeds explained (click here)
More shutter speeds (click here)
Avoid 'camera shake' (click here)

LIGHTING
Make sure that the light is BEHIND YOU, NOT THE SUBJECT. Do not make silhouettes for this project.
Lighting (click here)

OTHER SITES TO REMIND YOU:
Photography Tips (click here)
Photo.net (click here)

Here's a blog with some ideas for your portraits:
(CLICK HERE)

IDEAS:
Lens Culture Portrait Awards. CLICK HERE.
Portraits in India (CLICK HERE).
Tom Carter (CLICK HERE).
Martin Schoeller (CLICK HERE).

10 December 2015

PROJECT #18: LEVITATION

DIRECTIONS:
YOUR GOAL: Make the unbelievable believable.
1. Make three unique levitation photographs via the methods below and the tutorial(s) given in class.
2. Only ONE image from campus is allowed.
3. You will be graded on the official "scoring rubric."

TWO PAST STUDENT EXAMPLES OF A FOUR (4 ) ON THE SCORING RUBRIC:

THE HOW TO'S:
How to at Colossal. CLICK HERE.
The Art of Levitation. CLICK HERE.

6 photographers who levitate. CLICK HERE.

50 Examples of levitation. CLICK HERE.
7 Tips for better levitation photos. CLICK HERE.

How to do it. CLICK HERE.

And another idea. CLICK HERE.

LOUIS LANDER DEACON

Louis Lander Deacon's site. CLICK HERE.

Article about Deacon. CLICK HERE.

NATSUMI HAYASHI

Natsumi Hayashi on NY Times. CLICK HERE.

Yowayowacamera.com. CLICK HERE.
More of Natsumi. CLICK HERE.

LI WEI

A video about Li Wei. CLICK HERE.
Li Wei's site. CLICK HERE.

OTHER EXAMPLES:
65 Examples. CLICK HERE.
Rick Nadal's site. CLICK HERE.
ABrian Speice. CLICK HERE.
Bairon Rivera. CLICK HERE.
Anka Zhuravleva. CLICK HERE.
Moose Photography. CLICK HERE.
And another idea. CLICK HERE.
Floating fruit. CLICK HERE.

More levitation GIFs. CLICK HERE.

09 December 2015

PLANET DIRECTIONS

THE ORIGINAL DIRECTIONS WERE TO TAKE YOUR PHOTOS IN A WIDE-OPEN SPACE (FIELD, PARKING LOT, ETC.) THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO BUILDINGS/TREES/ETC., THE HARDER IT WILL BE FOR YOU TO PATCH/FIX THE EMPTY PARTS OF THE PLANET. DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH INDOORS UNLESS YOU WANT A MASSIVE CHALLENGE THAT YOU WON'T HAVE TIME TO PATCH/FIX.

STEP 1

Select/Highlight the appropriate images in the content window in Bridge.

STEP 2

With all appropriate images selected in Bridge, go to TOOLS + PHOTOSHOP + PHOTOMERGE.

This will begin the process of stitching together all the photos.

STEP 3

Make sure “Blend Images Together” is checked.

Make sure you can see .jpg files listed in the “Source Files” column. Click “OK.”

STEP 4

If you have correctly overlapped the taking of the photos, Photoshop will be able to create the panorama. If you have not photographed correctly, the resulted image will be fragmented.

A. Once the blending process is complete, you should have a left-to-right panorama like this: