Slideshow of Best Work from First Semester

First Semester Emulation Final

The goal of this project was to emulate the work of a professional photographer. I chose to emulate a self portrait made by Beth Parnaby. In my emulation, I tried to use much of the same style and mood created in the photo while using a different edit. I feel very happy with the outcome of my final photograph.

Extra emulation - the first slide is my main emulation, but I loved this second emulation to show a different take on Parnaby's self-portrait. On this slide you will also find some extra information about the photographer.

Project Five - Basic Photoshop and Camera Controls

Project Four - Balance and Contrast

PHOTOGRAPHS

Contrast in Scale

This photograph of my friend and I hiking has appeared once before on my blog. I wasn't satisfied with the way the original photo was edited, so I slightly changed it. I made the pinks of the jackets brighter and I dimmed the greens of the plants on the hillside. I felt that this picture exemplified the contrast-in-scale technique. The people on the hill are very small in comparison to the environment around them. 

Contrast in Value

This photograph of a sand-dollar represents contrast in value. As the eyes shift from left to right, the image gets progressively darker. This technique is known as chiaroscuro. I liked this edit because it makes the shell looks like a crescent moon. When editing, I intensified the blacks to make the lines of the shell stand out. This photo could also work for radial balance. The sand-dollar is not much bigger than the size of one's thumbnail. To make the tiny shell stand out while photographing it, I placed it on a black glove. 

Radial Balance

This is a flower in my mother's garden. It has been dried for the wintertime, so the shape and petals still remain. The flowers on the stalks radiate from the center of the plant, creating radial balance in the photograph. 

DIPTYCHS

I decided to compare the front of a sand-dollar to the back. I used the same edit on each. The edit causes the ridges and bumps on the shell stand out. Both the front and the back show radial symmetry and the size of the shells help to balance the overall image. 

In this diptych I compared two different views of a tree. The first image depicts the side of the tree. The moss and lichen has collected on the back in such a way as to give it a striped appearance. The second image the the stump of a tree. I like how the rings of the stump peek through the bright green moss.

TRIPTYCHS

Dog

These photographs are from the first project, the 30x2 assignment. They were three of my favorite images of my dog, Bailey. I gave them all a similar edit and ordered them from farthest view of the dog to the most up-close. 

Various Plants

For my final triptych, I decided to compare three types of vegetation. Each plant has different and distinctive leaves. I liked how each image varied in color and shape. I related the images to one another by darkening the overall photograph and making the blacks stand out to give them a more dramaitc look. 

KALEIDOSCOPES

Silhouette of a Camellia Bush

The original photograph was taken by standing underneath the bush and pointing the camera at the uppermost branches. I chose to give this kaleidoscope an oval edge rather than a circle edge because the circle edge cut out too much of the photograph. With the circle, the complex edges of the plant couldn't be seen. I gave this image a black and white edit to make it look much like a graphic design. 

 November Sunset

I gave this image a dark border because it fit with the darkness of the trees. I made the colors bolder and deeper so as to stand out against the black frame and the black trees. I liked the natural colors of the clouds that meld together in the image. 

Purple Winter Kale

When editing, I gave the kale such a boost in color that would never work if the image wasn't a kaleidoscope. I darkened the shadows and boosted the purple and pinks to full saturation. I boosted the aquas in the photo as well to draw attention to the center of the photo. I particularly enjoy the crinkled edges of the kale, which give the kaleidoscope a chaotic yet artful appearance.

EXTRA

Tree

More Winter Kale

Triptych

Project Three - Color and Grids

Color Complements Grid

This grid is a 5x5 of fingerprints. When I edited the photograph, I made the lines of the fingerprint darker to make them stand out. Then, I added complementary colors to the fingerprints. I chose to add yellow or purple highlights. I found that arranging the photographs in a checker board made for a more visually interesting grid. 

Monochromatic Grid

I chose to divide this grid horizontally. I used four horizontal bars and the same photograph, but I used each bar to represent a different section of the photograph. I alternated two different types of black and white edits. The first is much lighter and clearer. The second is darker and blurs the edges of the plant more. 

Color Harmonies (cool) Grid

 
I used the same custom filter for each one of these photographs. The filter makes the entire image darker, emphasizing the rich blues and vibrant greens. I arranged the grid in a custom order which shows an abstract vision of a waterfall. By repeating but shrinking the top image, it gives the illusion of the top of the waterfall. I used one large image of the waterfall for the middle. I used this photograph for a previous project, but this time I changed it from black and white to color. The chartreuse of the moss and the blue of the water create an aesthetically pleasing image. The bottom three images are all pictures from the bottom of the waterfall.

Color Harmonies (warm) Grid

This final grid is an 8x8 of a smaller grid. The original (depicted second), took four squares with a rotated image of a tip of a leaf. The rotated leaf creates a yellow diamond shape with contrasts with the brick-red ground underneath. When edited, I boosted the contrast to make the colors stand out against one another. I then took the four-square grid and repeated it to create a larger grid. This repetition creates a grid that looks like it could be found in on fabric. 

Mood Photograph

I edited this photograph to create a happy and uplifting mood. The colors featured in the photograph represent a color harmony. The only color that does not fit in the color harmony realm is the deep green of the stem. When editing, I chose to brighten the pinks, oranges, yellows of the orchid and light turquoise of the wall. These colors work well together to create a cheerful mood in the photograph. 

Additional Mood Photograph

I chose to edit this photograph in black and white. I felt that giving it a monochromatic color scheme would give the photo a more calm and focused feel. Color might distract from the simplistic shapes and clean lines that make up the window and the frame. I darkened the image, but used the recovery feature to highlight the edges of the window sill. 

Additional Mood Photograph #2

This final photograph is intended to have a foreboding mood. The people in the image are very small compared to the side of the waterfall behind them. The wall has a looming presence. In addition to appearing very small, the colors that the girls wear contrast with the nature behind them. They appear as if they do not belong in this photograph. I gave the pink jackets extra saturation to juxtapose against the green, giving them a more out-of-place feel. 

Color Introduction

Color Wheel

"Messenger of Peace" by Santosh Rajgarhia

The photographer used color to make the child stand out from their surroundings. The cold, deep blue of the walls create a startling contrast to the vibrant yellow of the child's robes. The simplicity of the photograph is aided by the simplicity of the colors. The colors are not distracting, causing the viewer's eyes to draw to the child. The edits make give the image a serious, but not fearful, mood. I find that the colors in this photograph create a sense of tranquility and focus, just as the child in the image is feeling. The moment seems like a very calm one and the edits that the photographer made further enhance this serenity. 

Project Two - Framing

Contact Sheet

Diagonal

Bug's Eye View

Leading Lines

Frame within a Frame

Bird's Eye View

Rule of Thirds

Filling the Frame

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