Top 5 Photos Ranking

1st; Photo #9
2nd: Photo #15
3rd: Photo #8
4th: Photo #24
5th: Photo #22

Favorite Picture: Arnold Newman

I liked the Self Portrait Baltimore MD 1939 because for one, taking a picture in the mirror was a cute idea, one that produced a more entertaining and light-hearted photo than the others that he took did. I also liked how the camera was relatively close to the mirror, yet the mirror itself doesn't fill the frame and allows some of the background to show through. I had a double-take when I first saw it because I wasn't sure if the person in the mirror was standing behind an empty frame or was reflected off of it. It's a cool photo.

Multimedia Festival Poster 2

Why is this poster good?
We took advantage of Photoshop's abilities and made a colorful, simple, and informative poster.

Why is it better than the last one?
We were able to experiment with Photoshop and created an original poster that was more visually appealing than red writing on a plain black background.

What did you do to create this one?
We used multiple layers and altered the opacity of each layer and box to produce a slightly transparent effect in the background. I took a close-up picture of a canvas bag, which provided the texture in the background. Lucas made rectangles and arranged them after a model poster that we used for inspiration.

Movie Monday - The Photo League Questions

1. What was The Photo League's credo?

The camera was more than a means of recording reality; it was a device with the potential to change the world.

2. What organization did The Photo League separate from?

The Film and Photo League

3. What was the workshop?

The Photo League’s school, offering photography classes to anyone with a camera and $5 tuition. Director Sid Grossman insisted the goal of the photographer was to achieve an emotional connection with the subjects.

4. Who taught "the workshop?"

Sid Grossman

5. If you were to devote one year of your life to one project, what project is worth your time and energy?
   In the aftermath of a lot of the social controversies concerning hate crimes and racial inequality, I would devote at least a year to juxtapose both the vast racial inequality as well as moments in which we cannot deny that people are brought together. I am not a police-hater, nor a majority-hater, but I do want people to notice that yes, there are these racial inequalities, but that the moments of incredible human kindness, compassion, and understanding are just as important. We need to fix the disparities, but we need a reminder every so often that those disparities are not the only relationships that exist.
6. What was The Harlem Document?

The Harlem Document is a portfolio of photographs that reveals Harlem’s poor living conditions and neighborhood in the 1930’s.

7. Who started The Harlem Document?

Aaron Siskind started The Harlem Document.

8. A photographer discusses a photograph where "the children looked like they came out of a __________ painting. Who was the painter?

Caravaggio

9. Why did the photograph mentioned in #8 look like it was by the painter?

The kids all looked very sweet and innocent, but specifically the one sitting on the right had a perfect ray of light hitting his face, illuminating him.

10. Who was Lewis Hine? (name two significant contributions)

He photographed child labor which showed children as young as eight working long   hours under dangerous conditions. Later in World War 1, Hine served as a photographer with Red Cross. He was also hired to record the construction of the Empire State Building.

11. Who was Weegee?

Weegee was a photojournalist who took images of the aftermath of New York street crimes and disasters.

12. How did The League change when The Nazis took power?

They became focused on supporting the war effort. They showed patriotism in America and gruesome descriptions of the war.

13. How did The League change during WWII?

Photo League members enlisted with armed forces and took part in battles on every theatre of WWII.

14. How did Siskind change after WWII?

Siskind turned away from the social and political world after WWII.

15. What was the Saturday Evening post?

The Saturday Evening Post was a photojournalism magazine similar to LIFE.

16. Who was Barbara Morgan? What did she photograph?

Barbara Morgan was an American photographer best known for her depictions of modern dancers.

17. What eventually undermined the Photo League?

The Photo League was put on a list of possible totalitarian, communist, or fascist organizations, created by Tom Clark.

18. What was the "Growing Menace" mentioned in the film?

Communism

19. Who agreed to serve as President when The League was under investigation?
    W. Eugene Smith
20. What happened to the league?
    FBI agent Angela Calomiris testified that Sid Grossman had recruited her from the Photo League into the Communist Party. Although the League was never officially on trial, people became scared and didn’t come anymore. Due to the loss of members, the Photo League closed down in the summer of 1951.

Multimedia Fest Poster

Concert Poster re-creation

First Semester Final Exam Period 3

1. My favorite photo from the Lens slideshow is the last picture, the one with the deer silhouetted against a dusty, dusky background. I really liked how mysterious the lighting made the deer look, as well as the overall effect on the scene. The difference in shadows even with such sparse lighting was also quite beautiful despite its lack of color. It really showed how, even when you can't see most of the scene captured in a photo, the hints of shape and form are enough to capture the person's attention. Finally, I really liked just how still and peaceful the scene looked. Clearly, the two animals shown aren't too afraid of the photographer, who probably didn't make a scene trying to capture them.

2. I think the last photo is also the best one. The subdued lighting makes a huge impact on how the mood of the photo is understood, and I think the photographer captured the peace of nature quite well. It's also a bit of a minimalistic photo because the deer and bird in the middle command all the attention. The rest of the background is there to frame the subjects of the photo rather than to emphasize or bring attention to it. The eye is naturally drawn to the objects in the left third of the photo, and the frame just brings out the subjects much more nicely, without being overly loud or commanding. 

3. I think this is my best photo from this semester. I'm still really proud that I could get my camera to focus so well on the delicate strands of spider web, especially since I was still experimenting with my camera to see how different F-stops and aperture settings would affect my photos. I also really liked how I managed to blur out the background and bring the web into a sharp focus without decreasing the quality of the rest of the photo. I didn't have to edit the vibrance and saturation of the background colors, which was really awesome. For ATPI, I did end up editing those settings, but I honestly still preferred the original with only the contrast decreased to decrease the harshness of the light on the tree. It was a very natural photo, which is a plus. If I had more time, I would've liked getting a picture with less of a harsh contrast of lighting, because that was the worst part that I couldn't quite get rid of without lessening the quality of the rest of the photo. I chose the lesser of the two evils. If possible, I also would've preferred getting a picture of a larger web so the subject of the photo is more obvious. I'm not sure if the casual observer would've realized that I wanted the focus on the web instead of the tree or the web and the tree.

4. My three rules of composition are leading lines and lighting, fill the frame, and the rule of thirds. 

5. 

Photo of a spider web clinging to a tree: Uses leading lines and lighting and fills the frame. 

6. Your first rule was "Get Closer". 

7. a. The first benefit is that everyone brings different experiences and opinions to the table, so the group can try different combinations and see which yield the best results. 

    b. We can also learn from each other's experiences and apply it to ourselves so we can become better people.

    c. Working together also trained us to be more cooperative by teaching us how to solve the occasional dispute over where, what, and how to photograph.

    d. Working with a group is a lot of fun. Since we're forced to talk to each other, we grew closer as a group of friends rather than as a group of colleagues. We also learned how to deal with different personalities. Lucas is particularly bubbly and entertaining to work with, but sometimes he talks a bit too much. I grew used to him and to appreciate his open-ness with us, which is a characteristic that someone like Andrew doesn't have naturally. 

    e. Working in a group also gives us the option to ask each other to proofread and check our work. I learned from college essays that I can't edit my own work very well after a certain amount of time because I'm so used to knowing exactly what I want to say and how I say it that I can't tell when something doesn't look or sound right. It's useful to have a few fresh pairs of eyes to look at my work and constructively critique it. 

8. a. One of my main issues with groups is that the larger the group gets, the harder it is to keep the group together and go places to finish assignments. 

    b. In most groups, there's at least one person who won't attempt to do their part at all and just assumes that they'll get the grade everyone else worked to get. Those are always annoying to have in a group since the group work is supposed to be a group effort. They just become dead weight.

    c. The larger groups get, the harder it is to work together since more than a few will have opposing opinions, making it harder for the group to work together in harmony. 

    d. Working with other people also gives you restraints in behavior. My close friends can probably predict what I will do in any given moment, so I have no reason to act in a different way from the way I act. However, working in a group of people keeps me within the boundaries of what's "socially acceptable" with people who don't know all of my quirks. 

    e. If you're stuck in a group with people you don't know or don't know very well, it's always kind of awkward to just spontaneously begin a conversation with one of the tried-and-true-but-boring conversation starters. Until you get to know your group members well, it's hard to really enjoy working with them. 

9. This is my favorite picture, from my friend's blog. I liked the second one from the top, with Andrew smiling and jumping because he has a great, bright, wide laugh-y grin that we don't see very often but is priceless when we do. 

10. Our master photographer was Philippe Halsman, who helped introduce the notion that subjects of photography don't have to be still and somber. They can be having fun or doing something vastly different, or jumping to make the photo more casual. He helped introduce the fun, the spontaneous, and the weird aspects of photography. 

11. Dorothea Lange's most popular photo is "Migrant Mother", taken at a frozen pea farm in Nipomo, California in 1936 during the Great Depression. During this time, she was employed by the federal organization the Resettlement Administration.

12. The original Life Magazine was created in 1883 as a partnership between John Ames Mitchell and Andrew Miller. The photojournalism Life magazine was created in 1936 when Henry Luce bought it. The photojournalism magazine began publishing in November 23, 1936. 

13. In 1947, Robert Capa founded the Magnum Photos organization, unique because the photographers owned their photos. 

14. "Falling Soldier" was taken in Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936.