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

Upclose

Project One - 30x2

The first subject I shot was of a pot of yellow flowers at Director's Park. I chose to photograph the flowers because I liked the bright color of their petals juxtaposed against the grays and blues of the city. In this first photograph, I show the entire planter. I liked this photo because of the segments it is divided into: the street, sidewalk and railroad tracks create natural divisions within the photo. I also liked the curved shape of the planter against the rectangular shapes of the street. When I edited this image, I decided to saturate the color, increase the contrast and diminish the warmth. These changes made the colors in the photo stand out more, dramatizing the three segments of the photo as well as the flowers. 

This second photograph I took from beneath the flowers. I chose this photo because I liked that it included both natural and manmade elements: the flowers and the building in the background. I also liked the angle which makes the flowers and building seem like they are both growing. I added the "Retrolux" filter, however I took out the scratch effect and increased the contrast and saturation. I also added the "HDR Scape" filter and decreased the warmth, introducing a slight vignette. I wanted to keep the original colors but make them a little bit brighter. 

The final photograph I took of the planter was a bird's eye view of the edge. I chose to put this photo on the blog because I like the shape the edge created. I made this photo black and white because I felt that it would make the photo more visually interesting rather than keeping it in color. I chose to add the "Bright" filter found under the Black and White filters section. I also increased the brightness a little bit so that the texture of the planter would show through.

The second subject I chose to photograph was my dog, Bailey. This first image is of the bottom of her paw. I chose this photo because I liked the detail of the rough pads of her toes and the contrasting texture of her soft fur. When editing this image, I chose to customize Auto Enhance by making the image black and white and adding a vignette. I also made some smaller edits, such as decreasing the brightness and boosting the contrasting to bring out the detail. 

This photograph is taken from a bird's eye view of the dog. I like this photo because of the shapes and colors portrayed on the ground. I liked the jagged shapes of the stones, the curved shape of the dog and the natural shape of the leaves trailing onto the pathway. I felt that the colors of the leaves, stones and dog went well together. I added the "Drama 1"filter to increase the sharpness of the image, which brought out the shapes more. It also made the colors more distinct. I finally increased the warmth and decreased the saturation to further distinguish the colors. 

The final photograph in this series is a portrait of the dog. I like this photo because it is very different from the original. The original was shot in black and white, but the editing gave it a very different feel. I also liked how the image moved from dark to light, dark nearest the dog's chin and light up at the top of her head. When I edited this image, I chose the "Film" filter from the Black and White filter section and then layered the "Dexter" filter (from "Vintage") over it. I decided to take out the blur effect because I felt that it washed out the details too much. I also added a vignette and decreased the style strength. 

Summer 2014

During my summer break, I had the opportunity to spend two months in Europe. I spent six weeks in Spain and two weeks in France. I spent most of my time in Salamanca, Spain. I lived with a family and studied at the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest universities in Europe and one of the best places to learn Castilian Spanish. I was enrolled in a program called ISA High School and through the program I got to make many friends and visit different parts of Spain during the weekends. We visited two beach towns in Spain and Portugal as well as a small city outside of Madrid known for its Roman aqueducts. Through the program, I also got to participate in unique activities such as learning how to cook traditional Spanish food in a nice restaurant in Salamanca and learned how to surf in the northern coast of Spain. In France I visited a friend of mine who lives in Annecy, a small town just next to Swiss border. There I got to see the Alps and spend time with a french family. Afterwards I met my mom and sister in Paris where we began a two week road trip, going to places such as Normandy, Barcelona and Madrid. It was one of the best experiences in my life so far, and it makes me even more excited to graduate this coming year! My summer break of 2014 was one I will never forget.