Lyrics

The lyrics I chose for this project are “What Am I Saying” by Lil Rob. I chose these lyrics because there are certain verses that I really identify with. It gives me a sort of a sense of peace and that I can identify with. It also makes me contemplate decisions that I have made and choices I will make in the future. I also happen to be thinking of certain things, even though the song is about love, I can relate to other things as well and how people make me feel.

"I'm lettin you know, I'm makin my move I know the love shows, you got me talkin like this See I don't wanna be Just another one of them guys who feed you lies Girl you're too fine As for my mind, well you blew mine You got me feelin like I'm walkin on cloud nine One of a kind, hard to find, but I found mine"

Social Issues

My social issue is on expectations and how people expect various things from different people. The statement “the bar is not high enough” can be interpreted various ways. One way is that is it easy and that I can do better or nobody expects anything so they have low expectations. It affects me and the various people around me because many people expect a lot from me and some people do not expect anything from the people around me. I chose it because I am expected to do great things such as get straight “A” or help ten people at once with different things.

I chose this issue because I had some of my brother’s teachers and he is smart. When they asked me if I was his brother and suddenly expect me to be just as smart or smarter. That does bother me because to know what is expected when they have not gotten to know me.

Haunted Chavez

The project was to find a location at Chavez and try to make a haunted scene. My first idea was to go to the athletic training room and do something there. In order to do that then would of need to take pictures after school and that was not possible at the time. Then I saw plenty of people on the track and there was plenty of room lots of people and they had similar clothing which made them look like some sort of army. I began to get different angle shots of different people and play around with it in photoshop. The initial idea did not change much because I wanted some people as zombies to go and attack a single person. The hard part was figuring out a location and trying to make the people blend naturally with the setting. Another thing was that stumped me was figuring out who was going to be the emphasis in my picture. My classmates kept telling me that they saw one of my characters as the emphasis when I wanted a completely different person to be it. Another problem I faced was to figure who was going to be in the picture because I had a plethora of potential candidates that would of worked just as well. I chose the ones I did because they were in similar positions that worked well with the emphasis. With that I think I did well on positioning them well and all the characters interacted well with each other making an interesting picture. I thought that the project was interesting and it let me be creative. It was enjoyable because everyone was able to make a unique picture. I think my picture could have been better with a different angle of the location, making the characters face a different way. I could of done various things but in the end I was fairly satisfied with the final outcome. If I could of done it differently then I would, and make a completely different picture that could of been much better.

Critique: Parkeharrison's "Guardian"

On a tree stump stands a man with branches attached to his back that resembles wings as though he is about to take off. With longer, thicker branches on his feet lead us to him. His crane like pose shows a deep sorrow he has inside. The waste land around him shows the destruction as the fog begins to lift. You can see the anguish that surrounds him with all the broken dead branches. Other signs of life cannot be seen. This picture portrays that it will take a lot more to keep us grounded and nothing can stop us from reaching our goals.

Scary Expressions

When I look at this picture it makes me think of a hungry person. The reason being that they eyes are opened really wide as though they have been without food for a while. Once they finally saw food they get happy and that is why they have the eyes opened wide. That also gives me the impression that they will kill for the next meal since they are zombies. It also makes me think of "The Scream" because it does resemble it sightly.

When I look at this picture it makes me think of of an alter ego. I think that because you have a happy person in the foreground and this menacing looking ghost in the background. They both have similar poses as though they are trying to direct someone. It also makes me think of Mortal Combat the game, because the winner does a silly pose and the evil person comes in to steal the soul of the loser.

When I look at this picture it makes me think of a mutant or someone changing into something vile. I think that because only part of the face is different from the rest and one eye is obviously different. That person has been angered and they are in the process of turning into a monster. They will stop at nothing to get what they want.

The Scream: My Interpretation

The person is screaming because the world is going into chaos. You can see that because the sky appears red with the swirling orange in it and it appears that the land behind him looks like it is being destroyed. Everything appears to be warped. All he can do is scream and watch as his world is being destroyed and awaits his inevitable fate.

Creative Me

This project was an opportunity for us to put the tools we have learned to use. We were to take one of our portraits, and change it creatively using the following: selection tools, layers, adjustment layers, layer styles, blending options, paint brushes and opacity.

I like the way that the picture is in black and white. Another thing that I like about the picture is that the spotlight is shining down on me as thought I am expected to do something great. I find myself to be complicated yet simple like an Ipod because your not sure how it works you just know that it does. My favorite tool so far is the blending options because a picture can take on a different life with each option. I feel pretty confident with my knowledge of photoshop because I do know most of the tools and their basic function.

Adjustment Layers

In this exercise we learned about Adjustment layers. Adjustment layers allow you to add adjustments to your image on separate layers instead of directly to the image itself. This comes in handy during long complicated projects. In Photoshop every tool is specifically designed to help improve your photo. However, here we took some artistic liberties and explored adjustments creatively.

Self Portraits

For our Self-Portrait project we were to take three self-portraits. They were all to be in black and white, and they were all to capture a mood of some sort. We were also challenged to be as artistic as possible, and stay as far away from normal, cliche portraits that we see on personal pages etc. as possible.One had to use the rule of thirds as the base for the composition; One had to incorporate leading lines, and one had to be taken from a more extreme angle.

The difficulties I had on these pictures is trying to express myself with limited resources. The one I believe to be the most successful would be the leading lines because it is supposed to show that I like track a lot and I am determined to be successful. What I could of done better is to use props that show who I am with much more detail. I felt that these pictures could have been better with the camara position or the use of props. I will learn from this and make sure that the next time I do better with the thought process.

Contact Sheet

Over all I liked how the contact sheet turned out. I liked how some of the colors compliment each other. What I could of done better is to rearrage them to have a completely different picture. I believe that the extreme angle turned out the best because it shows a perspective on how we view things. The trick that I liked best is the macro because you see things that you do not usually see such as the little details and grooves.

Compositional Trick #5: Cropping

Cropping is a trick that photographers do all the time, even if they don't realize it. Every time a photographer chooses to cut something out of his/her frame, before they snap the photo, that is in essence cropping. We also have learned tools on Photoshop that allow us to crop an image after we have taken it. When cropping in Photoshop it is possible to improve our composition or change it completely.

The way I changed it, is by cropping out most of the background to focus more on my partner. I like the original better because you can see more of the background. There are two ways you use crop, one is to remove any unwanted objects from the picture. The second way is to improve the composition of the picture by enhancing it.

Compositional Trick #4: Extreme Angles

To acheive this extreme angle I had to lay down on the floor and point the camera upwards. What I like about the picture is that there are various semi circles through out the picture and how the sun gives a white aura around my partner. What I could of done to make it better is to have chosen another position to take the picture. I think that using extreme angles gives the observer a different outlook on various objects and how they can be portrayed. You would use extreme angels to have a different point of view and create a diverse effect.

Compositional Trick #3: Macro

The macro function on the camara allows the user to magnify the emphasis to get a close up picture. The depth of field is how close or far away the picture takes you in. A shallow depth of field shows a close up and you cannot see very far into the picture such as a the texture of the floor. A deep depth of field is were you can see very far into the picture such as a mountain range. You use macro when you want to get a close up of a small object and enhance it to see the little details. I really like the marco picture of the gum on the floor because you can see the texture that you would not usually see when you walk by. I also like it because it has an extraordinary shape.

Compositional Trick #2: Leading Lines

Leading lines are used to take you to the emphasis. They are also used to show your eyes were to look in the photograph. They also take you deep into the picture. The leading lines in my photograph take you to the emphasis which is the trash can.

Compositional Trick #1: Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is an imaginary grid. It appears like a tic-tac-toe type thing. You place the emphisis you want on one of the intersections to have it in the desired position. This is done so the emphasis is not in the center of the photograph.