Self Directed Project
For my self Directed Project, I decided to explore long exposure photos and motion blur. Long exposure has always interested me because it captures more than just one second in time, in a still photo. For this project I decided to focus on two different aspects of motion blur, one with lights and one with a subject that is moving.For the photos focused on light, I went to a bridge in Surrey that overlooks a highway. There were a fair amount of cars, however unfortunately the bridge had bars that blocked some of the view. I took a lot of photos from on the bridge and beside the bridge at a very low shutter speed and f-stop. It took some experimenting but I was eventually able to get good results from the photos, showing the movement of the cars and leaving their traces in the photo. I edited the lights and contrast in this photo to help make it stand out more.
For the photos focused more on the motion blur of a subject, I went to a park near my house. Setting up my camera with a low shutter speed and f-stop, as well as the lowest ISO possible, I was able to achieve this blurry look after a couple tries. To best stabilize the camera I put it on a tripod and used a remote to take the photo. Because I took the photos with a remote, I was able to take the photos as well as be in them, as I needed someone to be moving (Luckily no one else was at the park having to watch me run back and forth from a spinning playground object to my camera). After taking a lot of these photos, I found a few that turned out fairly well, and edited their levels and curves in Photoshop.
My “big idea” for this project, was to capture moments in time to show how quickly life goes by. The motion blur symbolizes how life moves so fast, it can be kind of blurry sometimes. The photos show a still, peaceful background, but the subject is a fast-paced object that can not be focused on. My goals for this work were to capture these moments in time and to make a visual of how quickly time goes by. I think these photos turned out well, although they were not exactly what I envisioned at the beginning of this project, I am really happy with the work I was able to produce. I definitely learned a lot more about my camera and long exposure from this project, which I guess shows how even after 2 years of photo there is still so many new and interesting things I can try. I also learned more about my personal style, and that I still would like to experiment with new processes and ideas. I am really happy with the way this final project turned out, and I think that this is a good way to end my photo 10 year; wanting to keep improving with my photography.
For the photos focused more on the motion blur of a subject, I went to a park near my house. Setting up my camera with a low shutter speed and f-stop, as well as the lowest ISO possible, I was able to achieve this blurry look after a couple tries. To best stabilize the camera I put it on a tripod and used a remote to take the photo. Because I took the photos with a remote, I was able to take the photos as well as be in them, as I needed someone to be moving (Luckily no one else was at the park having to watch me run back and forth from a spinning playground object to my camera). After taking a lot of these photos, I found a few that turned out fairly well, and edited their levels and curves in Photoshop.
My “big idea” for this project, was to capture moments in time to show how quickly life goes by. The motion blur symbolizes how life moves so fast, it can be kind of blurry sometimes. The photos show a still, peaceful background, but the subject is a fast-paced object that can not be focused on. My goals for this work were to capture these moments in time and to make a visual of how quickly time goes by. I think these photos turned out well, although they were not exactly what I envisioned at the beginning of this project, I am really happy with the work I was able to produce. I definitely learned a lot more about my camera and long exposure from this project, which I guess shows how even after 2 years of photo there is still so many new and interesting things I can try. I also learned more about my personal style, and that I still would like to experiment with new processes and ideas. I am really happy with the way this final project turned out, and I think that this is a good way to end my photo 10 year; wanting to keep improving with my photography.
I really enjoyed getting to go to Stanley Park with the photography class, it was a lot of fun and I was able to get a lot of really good photos. It took around an hour to bus and skytrain to Vancouver, and then it took my friends and I a little while to walk to Stanley Park from the station. Walking to the park was nice as I got to get some pictures of the city as well as more natural pictures in the park. I was able to take many different kinds of photos, landscapes, portraits, macro, and more, which allowed me to improve in different areas of photography. I did not take as many nature shots as I thought I would, but I did take a lot of other photos that I am really proud of.
I really like the nature photos I took. There were a lot of bright and colourful flowers planted throughout the park and the city, which made for really nice photos. Some more photos I took around the city included this photo looking through the armrest of a bench and one of boats in a marina. These photos had unique and interesting compositions and perspectives. I also like the landscape photos I was able to take at Lost Lagoon. Unfortunately the sky was overcast for most of the day so I don’t love the sky in the photos I took of the water and trees, but I do like the different shades of green throughout the photos and how they all kind-of match each other. The pictures I took at the beach I really like as well. One has two people looking off into the distance, which frames the photo nicely, and the other is focused on the colourful barges in the background, I like the simplicity in this photo. Some of my favourite photos are the portraits that i took. All of the portraits have a shallow depth of field, focusing on the people and turning the natural and colourful backgrounds into a nice blur. I think I did a good job capturing these photos, some candid some not, I am really proud of how they turned out.
Editing these photos was fairly easy, and I learned how to edit my photos a lot more efficiently. All 13 photos did not take that long to edit, and I learned to create a process to follow. For each photo I sharpened it, fixed the levels and curves, then depending on the photo I changes the colours and saturation. I am now able to edit my photos a lot quicker and a lot better than before.
I am really proud of all the photos I was able to take on this trip. I think I can now take and edit photos with more efficiency. I had a really good time on the trip, and I am glad I have the photos to remember it by.
I really like the nature photos I took. There were a lot of bright and colourful flowers planted throughout the park and the city, which made for really nice photos. Some more photos I took around the city included this photo looking through the armrest of a bench and one of boats in a marina. These photos had unique and interesting compositions and perspectives. I also like the landscape photos I was able to take at Lost Lagoon. Unfortunately the sky was overcast for most of the day so I don’t love the sky in the photos I took of the water and trees, but I do like the different shades of green throughout the photos and how they all kind-of match each other. The pictures I took at the beach I really like as well. One has two people looking off into the distance, which frames the photo nicely, and the other is focused on the colourful barges in the background, I like the simplicity in this photo. Some of my favourite photos are the portraits that i took. All of the portraits have a shallow depth of field, focusing on the people and turning the natural and colourful backgrounds into a nice blur. I think I did a good job capturing these photos, some candid some not, I am really proud of how they turned out.
Editing these photos was fairly easy, and I learned how to edit my photos a lot more efficiently. All 13 photos did not take that long to edit, and I learned to create a process to follow. For each photo I sharpened it, fixed the levels and curves, then depending on the photo I changes the colours and saturation. I am now able to edit my photos a lot quicker and a lot better than before.
I am really proud of all the photos I was able to take on this trip. I think I can now take and edit photos with more efficiency. I had a really good time on the trip, and I am glad I have the photos to remember it by.
Contemporary Photographer - Julian Escardo
The contemporary artist Julian Escardo’s photography style really stood out to me from a lot of other architecture photographers. Although I have already done a lot of architecture photography, the way he added abstract and really changed the photos into art was really interesting to me and something I wanted to try. I was also really inspired by the perspectives he was able to make the viewer feel, his photos are taken in such a way that you really feel like you’re looking up and the tall buildings. While trying to take photos like Escardo, I had to change the way that I usually looked at buildings in Vancouver, and I had to go out of my way to get a different perspective and angle that would make the photos seem more abstract and the buildings less recognizable. One problem I came across while trying to take these photos, was trying to find buildings that were cool enough to capture. Unfortunately, it was not easy for me to travel and photograph the interesting skyscrapers in Los Angeles and Paris like Escardo does, so I had to use the buildings in Vancouver. I took most of them downtown, and I was lucky to get some really cool and unique angles that I would not have noticed before. I ended up editing these photos a lot, one thing that really stands out in most of Escardo’s photos are the skies filled with wispy clouds, and Vancouver being the grey and cloudy city it is, I had to photoshop in some of the skies. I also had to add some more colour into the buildings to make them stand out a bit more. In the end, my photos did not look exactly like Julian Escardo’s, but more of a combination of both of our styles which was actually pretty cool to see. I am happy with the photos I was able to produce, and I learned about having more of an open mind while taking photos.
Environmental Photos
Studio Portraits
To make my portraits the best they could be, I tried to get the lighting I could. I think lighting is very important for portraits, so that's why getting the studio light so perfect was important. For my environmental portraits, I had to make use of the natural light that filled the room. For my studio portraits, my model was my friend Alyssa. She has a very fun personality, she’s so nice and not really afraid to do much, so I wanted to express her powerful personality. I used dramatic lighting and allowed her to pose in a way that I thought really represented her. For my environmental portraits, my little sister was my model. She has a very carefree personality, she is really sunny, but also very relaxed I wanted to show her somewhere where she felt comfortable, so the best place for that was in a bed, with some natural light brightening the room. The colours were dull and plain, and she was on her computer, because I wanted to show her doing something normal. For my environmental portraits, I was inspired by the series of portraits of Audrey Hepburn, just in a house, taking on a phone, I took a lot of inspiration from that. Some difficulties I faced were not getting the right angle or perspective that i wanted. I had to be very patient and try a lot of different ways of taking photos for me to get the ones that I wanted. The advice I would give to someone doing this project is to be patient and take as many photos as you can. I found that it was better to have more photos than too little, as you will have more options to chose from. Overall this project was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed taking portraits for the first time.
Double Exposure
This project was very challenging, and I got to learn a lot about editing in photoshop. At first I was just experimenting with a lot of my photos, putting them together and seeing what looked good. I needed some photos, so when I went downtown with my friend I took a lot of photos of the city and of her while there. It took me a while but I was able to start once I got the hang of layer masks and layer modes. For The first image, I used some photos I took of this colourfully painted alley, I thought that combining them would make a really interesting piece. I love how the wall adds a texture to the photo, and how bright and bold the colours look. It is simple but at the same time very busy. For the second photo, I used a picture of a painted alley that I found when I went to the states, and a picture I took of Jessica at night. I really like how it looks like her face is made out of the bricks, and how the graffiti makes the photo more interesting and colourful. I really like how this photo turned out. The last image was kind of rushed, and I think that’s why I don’t like it as much as the others. I used a photo of the streets as well as one of my sister. I could not get the editing to turn out how I wanted, and I definitely struggles more with his photos than the others. I do like how the hand is coming over the face, like it is trying to block the camera from seeing something. All these photos connected people to cities and urban environments. I think that it shows how people can be connected to the places around them, and how these places can become a part of you.
Escape
This project was inspired by photographer Brooke Shaden, and her levitation artwork. This levitation project was also supposed to demonstrate an “escape”. I chose reading as my escape, I wanted to capture the feeling of escaping to another world when you are reading, and feeling like you can do almost anything. That is what is happening in this photo, the model is “escaping” from the average and everyday world. To make this piece, I had to take a photo of my model, Jessica, posing on a chair to look as though she were floating. Next, I had to take a picture of just the background. The real magic happens in Photoshop where I erase the chair and added the book pages flying in the air, so it truly looks as though she was floating. My goals for this project were to express the feeling of escape one feels when reading, and I think I was able to do that. Overall i really like this piece, I think the dress really stands out and looks really beautiful and the flying pages make the photo look even more bizzare to the photo. I think I did a good job editing this photo, and I also really like the colours and composition.
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Senses of Fall
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Photo 1: Sight Photo 2: Sound Photo 3: Smell Photo 4: Taste Photo 5: Touch Photo 6: Movement |
Artist's Statement:
This project was meant to capture all of the senses I would relate to fall. For sight, I took a picture of the colourful trees, for sound, a crackling fire, for smell, some cinnamon, for taste, hot coffee, for touch, a fuzzy blanket and furry friend, and for movement, someone excitedly kicking a pile of leaves. For each of these captured senses I used different camera settings. For sight and taste, I used the rule of thirds as a guideline for my photos. For Sound and Movement, I focused on using other fast or slow shutter speed. For Smell and Touch, I used a high and low f-stop. Taking all of these photos allowed me to experiment and learn more about the camera and how to use it. For all of my photos, I was inspired by what my interpretations of fall senses were (as explained in my Research and Brainstorming section). I did my best to try and capture these senses with a camera. I think I did a good job of photographing these feelings, but my goal for this project was to capture the photos in a way that others would be able to tell what sense I was trying to take a photo of. Overall I think I was able to do a good job completing this project. Although it was very difficult to capture not only all of the senses (and movement), but also use different camera settings, I think I now have a better understanding of how the camera works and how I should be taking my photos. I really enjoyed finding ways to capture all the senses for this project, and the knowledge of the camera I gained while doing so.
This project was meant to capture all of the senses I would relate to fall. For sight, I took a picture of the colourful trees, for sound, a crackling fire, for smell, some cinnamon, for taste, hot coffee, for touch, a fuzzy blanket and furry friend, and for movement, someone excitedly kicking a pile of leaves. For each of these captured senses I used different camera settings. For sight and taste, I used the rule of thirds as a guideline for my photos. For Sound and Movement, I focused on using other fast or slow shutter speed. For Smell and Touch, I used a high and low f-stop. Taking all of these photos allowed me to experiment and learn more about the camera and how to use it. For all of my photos, I was inspired by what my interpretations of fall senses were (as explained in my Research and Brainstorming section). I did my best to try and capture these senses with a camera. I think I did a good job of photographing these feelings, but my goal for this project was to capture the photos in a way that others would be able to tell what sense I was trying to take a photo of. Overall I think I was able to do a good job completing this project. Although it was very difficult to capture not only all of the senses (and movement), but also use different camera settings, I think I now have a better understanding of how the camera works and how I should be taking my photos. I really enjoyed finding ways to capture all the senses for this project, and the knowledge of the camera I gained while doing so.
Photographic Representation
This project is a collection of images that I think represent me and my interests. A few images were meant to represent my family and where I am from. The picture of the Vancouver skyline is supposed to show where I live. I think that this picture is really nice because of the detailed clouds and how the buildings have a silhouette effect. The picture of the light house represents the maritime, as I have family in New Brunswick and I like to visit there. I think this photo is excellent because the lighting and black and white filter makes it very dramatic. Most of the photos represent my interests and things that I think really show what I like. I love animals, and most people who know me know that I love cats, so I thought that a cat would be the perfect photo to represent the part of me that loves animals. I think this photo is really excellent because of the eye contact they used, the eye contact the cat is making with the viewer is really powerful. Another interest of mine is music, my family is very musical and I was lucky to grow up appreciating this art. The instrument I think I am the best at would be the ukulele, no one else in my family plays it, so it allows me to stand out. I think this photo is a good example of leading lines and has an excellent composition. I used a photo of a sailboat to show my interest for sailing, and how it connects to my family. On my dad's side of the family (from New Brunswick) almost every kid goes to sailing school, I have been and received my CanSail1, and I hope to go back. I think that using a white sail boat as the subject really made it excellent as it allows the boat to stand out and contrast from the darker background. The photo of the forest was meant to represent my love for nature, I have a big appreciation of nature and how beautiful it is, and because I grew up in B.C., a land of many forests, I thought this photo would be perfect. I think this photo is really excellent because of the lighting, the way the light pours through the tress and creates shadows is really nice. The last photo that represents my interests is the photo of the mountains. One of my favorite things to do in the winter is going skiing, I love going with my friends to whistler and with my family to Sun peaks. I think the dramatic shadows in this photo make it excellent. Another things about me that I wanted to have represented in this collage was my love of travel. I love traveling and I have been lucky to go on trips with my family. One really cool place I have visited was Alagna Valsesia, a ski village in Italy. My family stayed there with our friend's family and the whole time I felt like I was living in a story book. I think this photo is really excellent because it really shows what the village is like. One of my favourite places that I have visited was Avignon, a walled city in the south of France, a while away from this city is a bridge called the Pont Du Gard, which I used in my collage. This photos lighting and composition is really nice and really attracts the viewer to the photo. The last photo in this collage is a photo of me, it is from my last vacation when I visited the sunshine coast. I think this photo shows a good use of leading lines. Overall I think all of these photos are excellent and do a good job at representing my and my interests.