My thoughts and observations on building an "Imaginative Bridge" between the work of experts in various domains creating compelling experiences, and the work of teachers doing the same...
Selection of my topic for the photography project was an interesting journey. Knowing the topic had to be something I care about certainly took my mind to my children immediately. After reflecting on Ken Rockwell’s statement, “The better you know your subject, the better your results will be,” and knowing that my children are all I ever photograph, it seemed a no-brainer. However, then I reread the assignment… “no portraits of friends or family members.” Seemed simple enough, just keep looking, thinking, wait for inspiration. After a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, a trip to an animal shelter, a trip to the Humane Society, 1000 pictures later, the one that stood out to me was taken on a whim in my own backyard. The puppy wanted to go out, I saw the snow coming down, grabbed my camera, and taught him how to play fetch.
The idea of the first photograph was to capture the wonderment & playfulness of a puppy’s first snow. This photograph was taken as an amateur would normally take a photo; see an interesting subject, point & shoot. Obviously, the results are very ordinary. This photograph more documents an event, than tells a story.
The second photo was captured looking at the same subject, while considering the many “Forms” that make a photographic image compelling and interesting. The results are drastically different than the “point & shoot” technique. This photograph contains many graphic qualities that are not only pleasing to the viewer, but will hopefully elicit an individual emotional response from each person viewing the photograph.
Below please find the list of Forms considered, and the related effect on the viewer, when transforming a photograph into a “work of art”:
Composition: The photo utilizes a more attractive framing and composition. It is intended for the lines of the slide and fence to draw your eye to the subject.
Focal Length: A longer lens choice creates a shallow depth of field, creating a pleasing soft focus background, and drawing your eye to the subject. The telephoto lens also accentuates the falling snow.
Lens Height: Setting the camera at the puppy’s eye level, the viewer is engaged in the photo, as if they were rolling in the snow with the puppy.
Photo Shop Effects:
Cropping: Creating a widescreen aspect ratio creates an interesting frame, and a sense of horizontal movement within a static frame.
Retouch: Removing some stray leaves and twigs from the foreground snow achieved both the removal of items that draw your eye away from the puppy, and create a blanket of virgin snow for the puppy’s romp.
Exposure: The exposure was increased a bit to give the snow a whiter appearance.
Contrast: Contrast was increased to create a bolder image with richer blacks.
Color Saturation: Colors were increased just a bit to bring out the green of the slide and the color of the dog’s ears & ID tag.
Sharpness: Increasing the sharpness helped separate the puppy from the soft background.
Selection of my topic for the photography project was an interesting journey. Knowing the topic had to be something I care about certainly took my mind to my children immediately. After reflecting on Ken Rockwell’s statement, “The better you know your subject, the better your results will be,” and knowing that my children are all I ever photograph, it seemed a no-brainer. However, then I reread the assignment… “no portraits of friends or family members.” Seemed simple enough, just keep looking, thinking, wait for inspiration. After a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, a trip to an animal shelter, a trip to the Humane Society, 1000 pictures later, the one that stood out to me was taken on a whim in my own backyard. The puppy wanted to go out, I saw the snow coming down, grabbed my camera, and taught him how to play fetch.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the first photograph was to capture the wonderment & playfulness of a puppy’s first snow. This photograph was taken as an amateur would normally take a photo; see an interesting subject, point & shoot. Obviously, the results are very ordinary. This photograph more documents an event, than tells a story.
The second photo was captured looking at the same subject, while considering the many “Forms” that make a photographic image compelling and interesting. The results are drastically different than the “point & shoot” technique. This photograph contains many graphic qualities that are not only pleasing to the viewer, but will hopefully elicit an individual emotional response from each person viewing the photograph.
Below please find the list of Forms considered, and the related effect on the viewer, when transforming a photograph into a “work of art”:
Composition: The photo utilizes a more attractive framing and composition. It is intended for the lines of the slide and fence to draw your eye to the subject.
Focal Length: A longer lens choice creates a shallow depth of field, creating a pleasing soft focus background, and drawing your eye to the subject. The telephoto lens also accentuates the falling snow.
Lens Height: Setting the camera at the puppy’s eye level, the viewer is engaged in the photo, as if they were rolling in the snow with the puppy.
Photo Shop Effects:
Cropping: Creating a widescreen aspect ratio creates an interesting frame, and a sense of horizontal movement within a static frame.
Retouch: Removing some stray leaves and twigs from the foreground snow achieved both the removal of items that draw your eye away from the puppy, and create a blanket of virgin snow for the puppy’s romp.
Exposure: The exposure was increased a bit to give the snow a whiter appearance.
Contrast: Contrast was increased to create a bolder image with richer blacks.
Color Saturation: Colors were increased just a bit to bring out the green of the slide and the color of the dog’s ears & ID tag.
Sharpness: Increasing the sharpness helped separate the puppy from the soft background.