Oil Spill Landscapes

The images below were taken off of the website http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/live-gulf-oil-spill-video-feed_n_583682.html#s95593

This image shows a memorial to the things that were lost because of the oil spill. I chose to write about this picture because it is a very strong and meaningful image and I just love it. This picture was taken in someone's yard in Grand Isle, La. The top left corner is in shadows and the light source seems to be coming form that top left corner. There is some depth of field. I feel that this image is not only a nice landscape photo but also conveys a strong message.

This image shows a beach and in front the shore are the words "PARADISE LOST" written in what looks like garbage. This image was taken in Grand Isle, Louisiana. What's good about this image is that the horizon line is straight. I like what they did with it too. We've seen many pictures of the ocean and many times they all look the same but because of the message on the beach it makes it something we've never seen before.

This image, of smoke from an oil fire near the coast of Louisiana, was taken in the air. Because of the smoke in this picture I can't tell if the horizon line is straight or not. Again this is something many of us haven't seen before so it is interesting and shocking at the same time.

I think all of these images are very strong and convey messages just as strong.

That's all for now...

I wish this wasn't happening. I wish these photos didn't exist... I wish the oil spill didn't exist...

Goodbye for now :(

Ethnicity Photos

The assignment was to take a picture of ethnicity. Unfortunately I got sick, one again, and was unable to shoot. When I got back to school I discovered that the deadline was in two days! I went to art class and told my friends Marianna and Cindy my predicament. They were very helpful and suggested we go to Chicano Park and take pictures on Wednesday.

"La Virgin de Guadalupe"

The photo above was taken outside using natural light at an alter to the Virgin Mary. My model, Marianna, is wearing a mexican dress and is praying the rosary. When I got to school the next day I chose two pictures and began editing them in photoshop.

For this image I simply went to "filter", "render", "lighting affects." I chose to use a lighting affect to make it look like the Virgin was glowing and to make Marianna darker but still visible.

I think this photo works because religion and art is a huge part of mexican culture and I think this picture shows it.

"Niña Bonita"

In this photo I have Cindy, dressed in a folklorico dancing dress, sitting on the edge of a fountain. Again I used natural lighting. This fountain was quite cool because on one side the people looked alive but on the other side, the side Cindy is on, the people are skeletons!

For this one I used the clone stamp to get rid of the words "CALL TIA!!!" on her arm and to get rid of the hairpins and hair-tie next to her. After I fixed that I, again, went to lighting affects and chose "flashlight." I made it so that the light was mainly on Cindy but you could also see the fountain.

I think this photo also works because it, again, shows art and it shows what mexican girls may wear.

That's all for now :)

I hope you enjoyed them :3

Bye :D

Make A Wish :3

The point of this assignment was to find interesting places to shoot at SCPA. This picture was shot outside with all natural lighting from the sun, behind the prop cage. My model, Ruby, is blowing a dandelion puff. In front of her (or in the background) is a type of reflective plastic. I'm honestly not sure what it is but it acted like a mirror.

I chose to shoot there because I knew there were interesting things around cage. The dandelion puff was then found and I thought it would look nice.

While exploring SCPA we found many interesting places and it will really help in the future.

Well that's all for now

Bye! :D

Portrait Picture

For this assignment I used my friend Diana as the model. I've known Diana since 6th grade and she's one of my best friends.

This picture was taken outside during lunch. It was a cloudy day and later on it started raining. I used my Fuji digital point and shoot camera.

This assignment was very difficult for me. Diana felt awkward with me being right next to her face and telling her "Don't look at the camera!! Be your self :)".

I took about 64 pictures and narrowed it 1. The only problem with this photo was the feet coming out of her nose. But that was easily fixed in photoshop.

Well that's all for now :)

Bye :D

P.S. LOVE YOU DIANA :3

Group Photo Shoot for SCPA

The assignment was to get in a group and do a photo shoot for SCPA. The shoot had to include some or all of the arts we have at SCPA and the use of strobe lights. I was in a group with Darrian, Ruby, Stephany, Lexi and Latrice. Our models were Lisa (playing the cello), Claressa (dancer) and Katherine (artist). We used 3 people because we know that the eye likes odd numbers.

We decided to shoot outside, in the Senior Circle. We used strobe and natural light from the sun. We set up the strobe light to the left of Lisa. Katherine had the wonderful idea of spreading leaves on the ground. After we got everything set up and our models situated we started shooting. Unfortunately we didn't really keep track of who took what so we're not really sure who took the photo above.

This photo shoot was very difficult and challenging. We had a lot of issues. There was confusion and indecision on what the models should be doing. Once we started shooting the PE people started walking to the water fountain and getting in our shot. We had to herd them around the photo shoot and ask them to run if they got into the shot. But in the end we all agreed that all that trouble we went through was worth the finished product.

I decided to print this photo because I liked how everyone looks in it. One of the things I love about this shot, that I noticed after printing it, is the light coming through the tree. I think this photo is a good representation of SCPA because it shows the arts, we have part of the SCPA campus in the background and we have SCPA students as the models.

That's all for now

I hope you enjoyed our photo

Bye :3

Portraits vs Snapshots

The assignment was to read Soaking Success by Jessica Gordon. The article was about photographer Manjari Sharma and her portraits. Sharma took the photographs in the shower using natural light from a window. Sharma said, "The dynamic changed; with the running water, subjects started to share with me some pretty intimate moments of their lives."

I think the difference between portraits and snapshots is the intimacy of the photo. In snapshots everyone is posed. Using fake smiles or silly faces the models show you what they want you to see. With portraits it is much more intimate and you are trying to capture their essence, the real person. You don't want them to be posed you want them to be their selves. That's what I think the difference is between portraits and snapshots.

I Was Really There

Hello people. This assignment was to take a picture of ourselves and paste it onto another picture and use two different photo effects from www.photoshopessentials.com.

First, I searched up "royalty free pictures" and found the website www.freedigitalphotos.net. I clicked on the album Nature then on Fungi.

Then I took a picture of myself on the computer with Photo Booth and used the magic lasso tool to cut myself out and paste myself into the other picture. After I copied the stick in the bottom right corner and put that over my legs to make it look like I was standing amongst the sticks.

I went on www.photoshopessentials.com and browsed through photo effects and found Painterly Glow Effect With Smart Filters in Photoshop CS3 and Add A Sparkle Trail To A Photo. First, I added the painterly glow. Basically all I did was use motion blur. After I flattened all the layers I moved on to the next effect Add a Sparkle Trail. I made a new brush using a star brush, an airbrush and a fuzzball brush. I changed some settings for the brush. I painted it onto the picture and changed the color to a really light white/pink then I flattened the layers. The last thing I had to do was add the words. I used the lightest green from the trees behind me and wrote "In Wonderland where the wild thing are." I chose to write that because the mushroom reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and because my people say that when I wear my Totoro (a character from the movie My Neighbor Totoro) hat that I look like Max from Where The Wild Things Are.

This assignment was kind of frusterating but fun at the same time. I really like the outcome of it.

That's all

Bye :3