Photo 1 Class Review

     This semester was a really fun one! I really enjoyed learning about the art of photography and how to develop an eye for finding different perspectives. I definitely think we should have more than one field trip so we can get more experience, since I think we learn better when we are out on the field. I can't think of any things I disliked about this class, other than Derek forcing me to take photos of strangers >.< but I enjoyed everything else. In fact, I loved it so much that I would find myself waking up on Fridays really excited and in anticipation for whatever Derek would teach us that day. I think my favorite part of class would be whenever Derek would send us out to take pictures, unless they were portraits of other people. I also enjoyed the documentaries that he showed us, especially that of Vivian Meyers. All in all, I have nothing bad to say about this class and I'm looking forward to Photo 2!

Old Sac Field Trip Photos

On Monday the 24th, we went to Old Sac to take pictures. I liked it, and was able to take some good pictures but the weather was kind of against me the whole time. I kept having to change so many things to have a good enough exposure, such as the ISO, the shutter speed, and the f-stops. It was a bit frustrating because I had to stay put and take so many photos for just one subject, and it was worse when the lighting changed quickly. Sometimes I had to go live to see better. But at the same time I'm thankful because it helped me understand how a camera works, especially what ISO is and how it works, because that was the one thing I had not understood until now. I rarely used the 0 mark on the meter scale, since it would almost always be a bit off, so I had to swing it. I am a bit sad that some photos did not come out as good as I wanted them, like the exposure was a bit too high on some or a bit too low on others. That's one thing I would have done different, I would have examined my pictures more carefully. The assignments I chose were Rule of Thirds and Symmetry. I It did help me stay a bit focused and  got a couple of those but most of the time I winged it. I was just exploring the different point of views I could get. I can make plans but I hardly stick with them; they're more like guidelines for me. So yeah, I did have some sort of plan, or guideline, when I first arrived there.
So these are all the pictures I really liked.

 

 

 

 

 

So these self-portraits I took after being left behind are kind of my priced pictures because I was able to remake a self-portrait that Vivian Meyer took. 

                                         

Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier.... I think she was an amazing person that did not belong in this world. Her mind and point of view of the world separates her from everyone else. I also think that same uniqueness of hers made her a lonely person. Her childhood may not have been nice and she may have lacked that motherly feeling that she later on went to pursue as a baby sitter. At the last days of her life I think she really needed a friend, but when the only person she practically had let her down unintentionally, it looked like she kind of gave up.  Her journey in life and the adventures she had is very inspiring though. I do believe she did live a nice life, but I have a feeling she was not able to get what she really wanted. Those last days it seemed as if all she really wanted was to be part of a loving family, to be loved and receive that affection she really needed. She was not understood, and by the end of her life, she seemed really broken.

 I think when she said she was kind of a spy she was referring to how she watches everything around her and captures those precious moments without many people really noticing her. They just thought of her as a weird mysterious person. But that is what a spy is - mysterious.

She was a rare enigma. An inspiration to me if I'm to be honest.

Panning Cars

Today we did panning. It's when we take an action picture that shows movement. We do that by setting the car in TV mode, where we can control the shutter speed, slowing down the shutter speed and following the subject. We took pictures of cars on the street, and I used 1/80 - 1/125 shutter speed with a 200 ISO. I personally had some trouble shooting the cars and making the picture clear, mainly because I did not know until later that in continues shooting you just had to keep pressing the button, not press, press, press. So that was embarrassing. I also think that I didn't have enough time because I really need more practice. There are very few pictures I'm proud of. Most of them are a bit blurry.

 This first one is Derek's. It was a demo picture for me.

 The shot of the orange truck is my personal favorite.