Oh Jeez

I'm horrible at this blogging thing, I really really do. Now you're just gonna get swamped with posts.

I went on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with my photography class earlier this semester and got some amazing photos that I'm quite proud of. This one isn't the best out of the ones I've taken but I really liked the interaction between the bull elk and bison and thought to share with everyone.

"How ya doin' buddy?"

Photoraphy's Critque #2

Image One (http://500px.com/photo/53199360):
            Within the photo the landscape cuts diagonally across the picture plane lending well to the composition of the piece. Added to this the contrasting tones of light and dark immediately draws the eye with the bottom plane of the photo consisting of lighter, warmer tones than the plane above it. The aperture and shutter speed five the moving low hanging clouds a nice soft feel to them that highly resemble that flowing water which gives it a nice abstract feel.

Image Two(http://500px.com/photo/53223664):
            The composition of the photo is broken into three horizontal planes with the middle plane becoming the focus of the composition due to the clarity and focus of the rocks. The blurry foreground and background are distracting, taking away from the piece. The blurriness surrounding the rocks is not uniformed making it look as though it was accidental (which it could very well be), it also causes strain on the eyes. This could be due the high aperture and low ISO setting.

Image Three(http://500px.com/photo/53186784 ):
             The main focus of this photo is clearly the leaping squirrel with the forefront of the squirrel being in focus which draws audiences attention. The surrounding scenery and items are out of focus drawing more attention to the leaping squirrel. With the added aides of the squirrel and the lone tree branch being in the center of the photo audiences are once again brought back to the squirrel. Overall one of the best pieces out of the three.

Student Art Show

Part of our class is to submit a photo to our college's Student Art Show and I thought I would share my photo with you.

Better Late than Never

        I am a horrible student and have neglected my blog for my photography class for the last few weeks. In the past couple of weeks I have gone to Yellowstone National Park and to a local park with some friends/classmates. Unfortunately, I'm still in the processing of editing them so they will not be posted for the next week or so.

        However, in substitute I have decided to post a some photos from a web entry I stumbled across just the other day. I know nothing of this man's work, what equipment he uses, or if he is a professional photographer or not. All I know was that his photos are simply black and white and tell an exquisite story of struggle.
        I also encourage to check out the web entry your self at: A Husband Took These Photos Of His Wife And Captured Love And Loss Beautifully

In-Class Critique

Critique

1.  (Couldn't load first photo.)
2.  Photograph No. 2 consists of a river/stream during fall with the yellow covering the forest floor. The exposure was a few seconds long to get the movement of the stream along the right side of the photo. The photo is fairly well balanced between the movement of the stream and the stillness of the surrounding forest. However, the lighting of the photo is overly bright making the leaves appear washed out and too bright. Making it difficult to focus on the leaves themselves.
3.  Photo No. 3 is title Blacksands and was shot in Iceland. With the exposure was several seconds long to get the retreating waves movements. The diagonal cut of the black stones and black sand help give more movement to the piece. Also, the really dark tones on the left compliment the extremely bright whites on the left giving rise to movement and a sense of balance that draws in viewers.
4.  No. 4 appears to be a still shot of mountain peaks taken at night. Though the photo could be Photoshopped for the mountains themselves well lit up with the night sky behind being a darkish blue sky. The piece itself is balanced with the two peaks on either side of the photo and differentiation heights. Though the unrealistic lighting takes away from the piece.
5.  The colors pop in No. 5, catching the amazing colors of the thermal pools excellently. The photo also appears to follow the Rule of Thirds with the bright blue sky in the top that lead into the mountain ranges and finally into the thermal fields. All of which are at opposing angles which add extra dimension to the piece.
6.  No. 6 consists of a a brightly yellow bird perched on thin branches of a tree or bush. The shot was taken more than likely with a zoom. The colors of the bird pop and stand out against the out of focus background, the bird is also "framed" with the branches and the blurred branch to the left. With the birds head facing tot he left viewers are pulled in by the lower left corner where the focused branches come in from to the bird then to the left again.
7.  Not a fan of No. 7 the photo appears to be a point and shoot but the main problem is the lighting. The fish the bear caught gets lost with the overly whiteness of the river, the bear also looses some of its' features.
8.  The piece is well balanced with a pama-o-rama shot that takes in the field of red flowers that compliment the setting sun but also helps to make the moose stand out. Composition of the piece is excellent with the setting sun on the left drawing peoples eyes which then leads to the mountains/tree line, which then brings viewers to the moose.
9.  Impact is an eye catching piece with viewers immediately drawn into the setern expression of the osprey that just caught a fish. The movement of the wings and the residual water droplets from the catch frames the osprey excellently.
10.  The lighting of No. 10 is well balanced so the surrounding ice and polar bears are not lost. Though the piece does look awkward with the background polar nearly taking away from the polar bear centered in the middle of the piece. Definitely, feel like the piece would be better without the background bear.

WITNESS photography

       James Nachtwey is a self taught photographer that originally started as a newspaper photographer/photo journalist. After an assignment to Northern Ireland for the 1987 IRA hunger strike became a war photographer and photo journalist as he continued to document "war, conflicts, critical social issues" and has covered disputes from Bosnia to the United States documenting rebels, soldiers, war victims, AIDs, and starvation.

       With some further investigation I discovered he prefers to use the Canon EOS-1Ds and EOS-1V SLR. Nachtwey mainly centers on black and white photos which work to greatly enhance the stories he tells through his lens.

Nicaragua, 1984-Contra mortally
wounded in jungle warfare

Romania, 1990- An orphanage for "incurables"

Bosnia, 1993- wounded soldier

New York, 2001- Searching for survivors

     "I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony.
The events I have recorded should not be forgotten
and must not be repeated."

- James Nachtwey

~Jazz
(photos courtesy of http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/)

Hello Mother Nature, thank you for knocking.

        Last Saturday my roommates and I were able to safely and dryly experience the large storm that had rolled through town. After our dorms were assaulted by torrential rain, harsh winds, and life time's worth of hail we decided to document the hail build up outside our door.

Played around with camera settings to get a
semi-clear photo
 of the flooded drainage in the courtyard.

Hail build up outside of our door.

Got up close and personal with the hail and tried different settings
with the flash on and off to get experiment with the different light.

~Jazz

(photos courtesy of myself)