Assignment #1

For Assignment #1 the attention was put into how to compose a picture. Forcing us to make decisions on what to include and exclude. This was a new concept for me, and I started to pay attention to shapes, objects interaction with the frame, and colors.
Once I narrowed down my images to ten I than had to pick my top three. This task was difficult for me. I am very indecisive and also learning how to train my eye when it comes to photography. I ended up picking two pictures from a fence series. Next was of an image looking up through tree branches. This is already three images, but I still liked two more. I did a series experimenting with my reflection in the mirror and a poster. And finally an image of my two friends I could not get off of my mind. The moment I caught as they left the pool just makes me happy.
To start my images of the fence are similar, but the differences make it hard for me to decide. The first one is like a narrative. On the left you see a girl walking out of the image while her shadow is casted parallel through the rest of image. In the forefront of the picture a fence is in focus, while the background is blurry. Also the viewer feels as if they are looking through the fence. On this fence a sort of moss is growing, adding organic shape to the image. The next fence image is similar but the top layer of the image is blurry, while the background is in focus.
The tree image is really neat. The tree looks like a silhouette and takes up most of the frame. The two main branches form a circle in which the viewer looks up at a blue sky. My favorite idea came when I was in my bedroom. I started playing with my reflection in the mirror and a Blondie poster. I chose a picture where my face makes up half of the poster. Also the corner of the mirror is angled exactly like the poster. The color is not like I wanted, but I liked the concept a lot so printed it anyways.
Last is the image of two girls walking. One is messing with her dress as the wind blows it up, while the other looks on in confusion as she realizes her photo is being taken. Bother of their personalities come through the image. It is a predominantly blue hued picture, but the girl in the back sticks out in red. The faces and placement of the girls in the photo is why I like it.

photography by blind people

Check out this link....It is similar to the class I am taking working with people of Aphasia. Excpet this is of blind people working with photography.

Picture for Discussion

For our first assignment we had to read “The Nature of Photographs,” and pick a picture to discuss in class and prepare one question to pose for discussion. I chose an image from “Easton Portraits” by Judith Joy Ross, 1988.
For our first assignment we had to read “The Nature of Photographs,” and pick a picture to discuss in class and prepare one question to pose for discussion. I chose an image from “Easton Portraits” by Judith Joy Ross, 1988.
Judith is a portrait photographer. This image is of three young girls in bathing suits looking shyly at the camera while behind them, in the distance and out of focus, a teenage boy observes the proceedings. I feel the picture varies in textures, starts a narrative, and is cleverly composed.
She captures their individuality and innocence. Seem like sweet young girls.
This is a straightforward image of the girls centered in the frame. The space they inhabit is not clearly defined. We are left, instead, to read their faces. Also by leaving the space not behind not in focus, she captures the emotions of each photo's subjects without succumbing to the clouding context of their surrounding environment. As the book states, “There is a gravitation of attention to the plane of focus. Attention to focus concentrates our attention” on to the girls.

She workes with an old-fashioned view camera that produces 8 x 10 negatives

As for my question: Do you think this image represents childhood and innocents or a passage into women hood?

my new class. and how much i do not know

I am very excited, and intimidated, about my current class “Digital Photography/ Photo as Language.” It is an advanced level studio art class using photography as the medium. It is also a service-learning course exploring the communication abilities of photos for People with Aphasia. This being an advanced art class does not intimidate me, but photography is a new medium to me. So is the language disorder, Aphasia. I had never even heard about this disorder until this class, and am learning about it as we go. It often occurs in those that have suffered from strokes, which leaves them with the inability to communicate well through speech/writing. But this does not mean their thought processes is affected. As a class we will be traveling to The UCF Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders to work with adults rehabbing from this disorder. Photography will be working as a therapy to release their ideas and share them with others. As a visual culture this may help the individuals communicate better with society.
By the end of this course I hope to understand Aphasia better, and be able to spread more concern about this disorder. I also hope to understand photography better, and feel more comfortable being behind a lens.