Week 12- Rachael's Photostory

Week 11 - Portrait

This week was interesting working with portraits and I have always enjoyed taking portraits. I wasn't very happy with the lighting in this shot, because it was overcast, but I think the shot is okay. Like many others, I had to think about the background and make sure that it was appropriate and I think that this works, with a sort of up close greenery and a background landscape view. In photoshop I did some minor spot healing and and I changed the picture to black and white and made adjustments with the levels. I can't wait to take more portraits!

Week 10 - Clone

I was experimenting again with the clone stamp, and I think that I have had more success in the previous images that I have posted because with this image there was less material for me to clone from, so I think that it looks sort of obvious that the pattern on the bottom left repeats and is copied! There is more exploring and fine tuning to be done with cloning and it will take a lot of practice!

Week 10 - Text

For these images I chose to do a bit of cloning to take out some of the scraggly trees in the way, but I couldn't take out as much as I would like to, so I cropped the bottom of the image off. Then I played with a simple relaxed font, and wrote the location of where the picture was taken. The color of the font is taken from the tones in the bottom of the image. I was experimenting with a darker green for the text also, but I ended up thinking that the brighter green was a little more engaging. Anyone have an opinion on that or any other comments? Thanks!

Week 9 - Filters

For this image I viewed several different filters in the "filter gallery". This allows you to see filters over other filters and you can change the effects of each filter. For this image I used "palette knife" filter and I adjusted the detail and smoothness. I like the effects and I think that the possibilities with filters are endless because there are so many ways to layer them and adjust them.

Week 9 - Burn & Dodge

Many of the pictures from my trip are very washed out, and overexposed. I played with the burn tool on this shot, and in the bottom one I tried to get some more contrast. I found that although you can change the exposure level of the tool, it was still kind of hard to control and I think that although the color is restored, it may be too dark in some areas, but when I went back to dodge some of the areas, it was too obvious and way lighter. These tools will take some practice but I think they can be effective.

Week 8-Photo Adjustments- Image Set 2

For this image set I adjusted the photo so that It had more contrast and richer colors. I used curve adjustments and I also used the spot healing and the clone stamp again in the sky to soften some of the clouds. I think that the original image is to dark and doesn't have a lot of contrast so I think my revised image really brings out the color in the sunset as well as the overall contrast of the piece.

Week 8-Photo Adjustments- Image Set 1

For the first two before and after shots, I used a landscape image, and I used the clone stamp tool quite a bit to remove the guardrail on the left and then I also used it to get rid of the lines on the pavement. I also removed a few scraggly trees on the right treeline. I also played with the curves adjustments and I gave the image more contrast and darkened the whole piece slightly. I understand that the new CS5 has a tool where you can take out whole elements and it is basically the clone stamp tool but much faster and more precise.

Week 7 - Photoshop Manipulation

These are two pictures that I just played around with in Photoshop and I used several tools, crop, magic wand, quick select, etc. I found that playing with the magic wand was really fun because there are so many possibilities with each selection. I liked exploring the hue/saturation and seeing the results from the alterations. With the top image I selected certain petals of the flower using quick select and then I manipulated the hue and saturation and I also resized those selections. Then I placed certain selections under the original to look like there are more petals than there are. I also experimented with more unrealistic coloring in the bottom photo. It was fun to use the magic want to get certain pixels of color, and then to alter that color significantly. This was a fun assignment just to work with some photos and begin to delve into the endless world of Photoshop.

Landscapes

These are a few from my visit this week in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We took many landscape shots when we were touring the Cabot Trail. Sorry I am posting these so late, but I just got back a few hours ago and I wanted to share!

As far as my exploration with landscapes, I think that the rule of thirds is a good place to start because it is still applicable and can make an image more interesting. Another thing is that I learned I really want/need a new camera! There were so many times when I was really struggling with my camera, but I think despite this, I got some nice pictures. Let me know what you think!

Week 5 - Framing Slideshow

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Week 5 - Photo Comparison

These are a new breed of peony that we have blossoming in the yard. I really enjoyed playing with the focal image and where to place it in the image. I found that by doing this image I like all of the images that are on the outer thirds of the page and I think that they become more interesting because the composition is more engaging and your eye follows a path across the page. I do think that the centered image is nice, but it is not as appealing to me.

 I think that these are similar because yes they are a similar subject matter, but it is amazing how moving the central object off the center axis can create such a more aesthetically pleasing image. Again I do like both of these images but the top one is better in my opinion. I think the lighting really adds to the image and makes it seem light and airy.

  I like the last two images I posted and again I think the image on the bottom  that is off-centered is a more visually appealing image. This assignment clearly works and when you see two images side by side it is much easier to prove a point and to see the importance of trying new techniques.             

Week 5 - Composition and Aesthetics

The research that I did on composition and aesthetics all focused around different ways to look at a photograph and to think about the shapes that are being showcased in your image. Obviously the rule f thirds and the golden ratio are good places to start as far as making a piece more interesting, but also looking at an object from a non-traditional point of view can help to make a piece more interesting. Thinking about the forms and shapes can make you more aware and observant within coming up with new compositions and subject matter to capture.

Week 4 - Lighting

This was taken at dusk, and I really like the soft lighting with more cool tones rather than the sunny warmer tones in the other two shots. I also like this composition as well and the contrast between the white pink on the left and the darker on the right is pleasing to the eye. I have learned through classes and my own experience that first thing in the morning and sunset is the best time to take photos because the light is perfect. That being said I found that my photos from night and morning are the ones that are my strongest I think. This was a great assignment!
This was taken mid-day outside ( in the shade ). I like this image because it is very abstracted, but in a elegant way. I like the lighting also but not as much as the other two.
I decided to use my favorite flower again but I tried to abstract it more and make more of an interesting composition. This was taken in the morning, inside. I really like the lighting of this one because it is so soft and I think the translucent petals allow just the right amount of light to seep through. I think that this is my favorite shot of the week!

Week 4 - Color Modes

This is a monotone shot because they are all part of the same hue. I took this in the morning and it is of some trees that were all lined up on the edge of our property. It was very sunny but I found it interesting how the background trees seem to melt into the heat of the day.
This shot is analogous because it has white, gold and yellow all in the same picture. I took this in the morning and it is of my blinds in the house and they were stacked up like this and I thought the color gradation was interesting and the levels of light coming through was neat.
This one is complimentary because purple and gold/brown are across from eachother on the color wheel. I think that this was the hardest color mode for me to photograph, but I think that at the same time this spontaneous shot seems to work well. This is the bottom of a vase on our table.

Week 3

Week 3

Here is my collage that I created from walking around the yard and capturing some macro shots. I love taking macro shots because you can really take an ordinary object and capture something unique or different about it that you wouldn't normally expect. It is interesting to see how different an object appears when it is zoomed in upon!

Intro

Welcome to my class blog for digital photography at CCV.

week 1

I took these pictures of a chair in my house this afternoon. I really like this assignment because it lets you explore an everyday object, and look at it from angles that you wouldn't normally see it from. I like the bottom image better because it is a little more abstracted and you can apreciate the craft that went into the chair because this brings the viewer close and you are looking at a part of a chair that you generally would have your back against.