About the Class

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For this last assignment we were to show off our best photos and tell about our experience in this class.  I really enjoyed this class, but at the beginning I didn't like it.  After we learned more about cameras and how to take good pictures I began to really enjoy it.  I will always use what I learned in this class to take pictures later in life.

Gimp Assingment- Visual Puns

Assignment Description-  For this assignmnet we had to make visual puns by editing pictures together in Gimp. I did the puns Dr. Pepper, Fruit Fly, and Serial Killer.  I thought that this assignment was fairly easy.  I used a lot of layers and I used the eraser tool and the free select tool a lot.

What I Learned-  I learned how to use layers more efficiently and I became more familiar with them.  I also learned how to use the creative commons to get pictures without plagiarizing them.

Photo Assignment 7- Motion

Assignmnet Description:  For this assignment, the last assignment, I chose to do motion.  My brothers were outside playing basketball so I had them do some dunks.  I set the camera to take continuous pictures and I put them together in Gimp so that you could see the progression of the dunk throughout one picture.

Technical Info:
ISO:400
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec.

What I Learned:  I learned how to edit the picture so that there are multiple pictures in the same picture.  It was very similar to the school context assignment.

Photo Assignment 6- Animal

Assignment Description-  For this assignment I chose to take pictures of the dog that I'm dog sitting.  I gave her a bone and just let her do what she wanted to do.  For my best picture she started looking out the window and i took a picture of the side of her face.  I liked this picture because you can think about what she is looking at.  I put her in a spot that had a pretty much solid background.  I set her beside the recliner and when I took the picture I had the lever in the picture.  I thought that it was rather distracting so I edited it out.  I also made this picture black and white because it didn't change the color of the dog, but it made the background darker and it took some distracting colors out of the blanket.


Technical Info- 
ISO- 1600
Aperture- f/3.4
Shutter Speed- 1/100 sec.

What I Learned-  I learned that you can take out distractions very easily.  You don't really have to worry about what you get in the picture that you don't want.  You can always edit it out.  I also realized that black and white can really help the composition of your photo.

Gimp Assignment- Schools Context

Assignment Description- For this assignment we took a picture of a place in the school then we added things to it to make it look real but be fake.  I took a picture of a lunch table and then added the Harry Potter characters to the picture.  Now the photo looks like they are sitting at our lunch tables.  I learned how to add photos to other photos and I learned more with layers.

Photo Assignment 5- Nature

Assignment Description- For this assignment I chose to do nature.  I went in my backyard and took pictures of anything interesting that I saw.  It was really sunny and there was fresh fallen snow so it was very bright and white.  For this picture I actually added the snow to the puffy thing myself.


Technical Data-
ISO- 400
Aperture- f/4
Shutter Speed- 1/4000 sec

What I Learned-  I learned how to shoot close up things in nature.  I also learned that you can add things to the picture to make it more interesting.

Demo- Panning

What I learned:  For this assignment we went into the commons and shot Mr. Bush riding his bike.  He rode through the hall while we panned.  I learned how to make the background blurry while keeping the subject clear.

Photo Assignment 4- Light Painting

Assignment Description:  For this photo assignment I chose to do light painting.  For this I went into my basement and used my ipod to make cool colors.  I shot at a 15 second shutter speed.  I think that my main problem was time.  That was the slowest my camera would go and I struggled to do what I wanted in the time I had.

Technical Info:
ISO: 400
Aperture:  f/4
Shutter Speed:  15"

What I Learned:  I Learned different way to make cool pictures using light.

Gimp Assignment- Panoramic

Assignment Description: For this assignment we took three pictures and using Gimp we put them together into a panoramic photo.  I was challenged because the lighting changed drastically from one side of the picture to the other.  This caused a problem with blending and composting the photos into one.  We used the eraser tool along with the sizing tool and perspective tool.

What I Learned:  I learned how to create a panoramic picture and also learned more about layers and how to use more tools.

Gimp Assignment- Portrait

Assignment Description:  In this Gimp assignment we had to take portrait pictures using two different methods and then put them into a frame using Gimp.  I thought that this assignment was harder than the other Gimp assignments.  We first put the pictures into Gimp and resized them to be the same size.  Then we put them on a black background and added a white frame to the back of the pictures.  Then we added a text box with our name on the bottom.

What I Learned:  I learned how to use multiple layers in this assignment.  Also I learned how to add frames to pictures and how to resize photos to be the same size.

Photo Assignment 3- Shadows and Light

Assignment Description: For this assignment I chose shadows and light.  It was rather difficult to get the shadow the way I wanted and I had trouble getting the brightness of my object the way I wanted.  I set up the little statues and shined a flashlight on them.  This created a shadow on the blanket behind the statues.  At first the flashlight was too bright so I created my own diffuser by putting tissues on the flashlight.  This worked pretty good but then it was hard to get the shadow on the blanket.  To fix this I took the bight pictures and, in Gimp, selected each statue and adjusted the levels to make them a little darker.

Technical Info: 
ISO- 1600
Aperture- f/4.5
Shutter Speed- 1/25 sec

What I Learned: I learned that it is very difficult to set up a shadow and light picture.  I think that if I went outside and found objects with interesting shadows this picture could have been a lot better.  The next time I shoot for shadows and light I will deffinatly keep in mind my difficulties during this assignment.

Photo Assignment 2- Macro

Assignment Description:  For this assignment I put eight colored pencils on a piece of white paper in rainbow order, and arranged them in a circle.  Beforehand, I sharpened each pencil so they were as sharp as possible.  I had the lights on and to add more light I used a desk lamp.  I used a point and shoot camera that was in macro mode.

Technical Info:
ISO- 400
Aperture- f/8
Shutter Speed- 1/13 sec

What I Learned:  I learned how difficult it is to shoot macro without a proper macro lens.  The macro setting on point and shoot cameras does not work as well as I think a DSLR would with a macro lens.  I think if I had a macro lens there would be less blur than there was.

Gimp Assignment- Car

Assignment Description:  In this project we too a picture of a car, taken at the auto show and fixed it up to make it really nice.  We changed the background from a busy scene to a plain black background.  We used many different tools including, the clone tool, the fill bucket, free selection tool.  It took a lot of work to take the glare out of the hood and to change the background to the black and to tint the hood.

What I Learned: I learned how to edit photos to enhance the color and to take out defects.  I think knowing this will really help me make my future pictures much better.

Still Life Photo Assignment

Assignment Description:
For my first photo assignment I chose still life.  For this photo I shot the board game Clue.  I took one of the person and their card, one weapon, and one room card, then I set them up with the dice and used a desk lamp for lighting.  I took pictures in my basement with the lights off.

Technical Info:
ISO: 800
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/40 

What I Learned:
I learned different ways to light pictures and create good backgrounds.  Also I learned how to change the exposure triangle to make the photo better.

Gimp Assignment- Pop Art

In this assignment we were re-creating the Andy Warhol effect with our own pictures.  I chose a picture of one of my friends and using Gimp for the first time we added the pop art effect.  I thought it was very difficult to figure out the correct way to add the colors and make four images appear, but eventually i figured it out.

Composition Assignment

About This Assignment:  In this assignment we were taught eleven different elements of photography, and were to photograph one example of each element.  The elements are lines, texture, rule of thirds, depth of field, pattern, symmetry, color, space, perspective, balance, and framing.

Photo Description:
Lines- "school balcony"
Rule of Thirds- "pay phone"
Texture- "wall"
Depth of Field- "mechanical pencil"
Pattern- "heart folder"
Symmetry- "hallway"
Color- "golf ball"
Space- "candle"
Perspective- "pool pocket"
Balance- "school walls"
Framing- "pool balls"

What I Learned:  In this assignment I learned that there are many ways to make a photo interesting.  Also, I have never thought of capturing a picture of something offcenter, but it really helps make the photo more attractive.