Thanksgiving

 Our assignment over this Thanksgiving break was to take one picture that represented Thanksgiving to us.  This first picture is the "kids" table at our house.  From left to right sits my big sister Kelly, my niece Addison, my brother-in-law Brett, and my big brother Andrew.  Although we are all grown and out of the house (except my brother because he's remodeling his new house), we are still all sitting at the kids table at holidays.  To me, Thanksgiving is about with family, especially my siblings, and being thankful for everything God has given you during the year including the delicious food on your table!  Out of all the pictures I took, I picked this one because it's their most natural state: laughing at the little sister because of something stupid she did.  The second picture is of my youngest niece, Addison Jo, eating her thanksgiving meal.  I posted it also just because I thought it was adorable.

Iconic Presentation

Vulture Stalks A Child

by

Kevin Carter

Kevin Carter was a South African photojournalist whose mission, along with others of the "Bang-bang Club, was to expose the brutality of apartheid.  Carter took this picture on his trip to Sudan to cover the famine going on there.  Soon after Carter got off the plane, he heard whimpering and went to investigate.    When he saw the little girl who had stopped to rest on her way to a feeding center, a vulture landed near her looking for food.  Carter, who saw the artistic and exposing possibilities, took twenty minutes to set up the photo so that it would be perfect.  After winning the Pulitzer Prize for Photojournalism almost a year later and receiving loads of negative criticism for not helping the little girl,  Carter, with no money and haunted by scenes of suffering and corpses, committed suicide.  Even though his life fell apart before him, to this day Kevin Carter is still known as an iconic photographer because of his noble work in exposing apartheid in South Africa.

Macro

We were sent out with a mission to get two micro photographs.  Because it had been raining on and off all day and it was freezing cold, I thought it would be miserable walking around campus; but these conditions definitely made for some beautiful photographs.  I knew I wanted to get a picture of these flowers when we set out on our assignment; but on the way to where the flowers are, I walked up the stairs and saw the hand rail.  I ended up spending more time and more frames on the handrail than I did on the flowers.  The first photo is the one picture I chose out of all the frames taken on the steps.  I chose it because the hand rail is placed in a place that gives the photo interest; also, the rain drops could be seen clearly.  The second photo is my favorite!  I took many pictures of these flowers and the only one of its kind.  The flowers add a pop of color in their strange placement giving the photo diversity and visual appeal.

Breaking the Rules!

This weekend I went to the zoo.  Knowing I had an assignment on breaking the rules of photography, I decided to try to take some pictures down the Bamboo Trail along with some regular photos of the cute giraffes and other animals, of course.  After reviewing my pictures on the way home on my little camera screen, I thought I had failed at breaking the rules.  How sad is that?  Consequently, I was worried all week about getting two good photographs for my assignment; and with my little Canon point and shoot, it was harder than it sounds to break a rule and do it right.  Disappointed and worried, I uploaded the pictures off my memory card onto my computer to get a better look at my photographs I took at the zoo.  To my pleasant surprise, I found a couple photos that I actually liked.  Both photos were taken by not keeping my camera still while taking them.  (Whether that is because I accidently tripped over my own feet or not will remain a secret.)  I really like the first one because the left half is in focus and the right half is not.  However, the second one is my favorite because it almost looks as if it was painted on a canvas rather than taken with a camera.

Centennial Park in Nashville!

Portrait

The assignment was to take a portrait photograph.  A portrait is simply a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person; but more specifically a representation or impression of someone or something.  In class, we were given several examples of portrait photographs and tips on how to do them.  We were allowed to try to duplicate one of the photos we saw; we could either put our own twist on the photograph or try to imitate it exactly.  My portrait photograph is my own twist on one of the examples.  I thought this assignment would be an easier one because I had so many ideas, more time to complete the assignment, and only one picture had to be posted; little did I know how difficult it really would be.  I first ran into difficulty when my first few ideas were eliminated because trying to meet up with people so that you can take pictures of them is harder than one would think.  Secondly, my schedule was booked the entire week; so there went ample time to work on the project.  And thirdly, when I finally decided to take this type of photograph, the prop I introduced (i.e. bubblegum) was actually chewing gum.  Needless to say, bubbles were not being blown very easily.  I took about ten to fifteen photos trying to get one that had the bubble big enough, the subject was not laughing, and her eyes were open.  Although hilarious, the process was frustrating.  This photograph is the best of ones that I took.  Enjoy!

ISABELLA

  

Our assignment for this weekend was to take pictures of things that looked like letters and numbers.  We had to pick a five or more letter word and any two numbers; then take pictures of things that looked like these letters to make up our word and number.  I chose the word "Isabella".  Isabella is my four year old niece and she is the cutest, smartest little girl you will ever meet.  This assignment was extremely difficult at first, but after a while I started to notice objects that would look like letters.  I took most the pictures on campus but some I took when I got back to my hometown.  Most the letters were not too hard to find, but the second "A", "B", and "S" were quite difficult to find.  The second "A" was the chains of a swing with a vine going straight across; I had to push the swing back and pull the vine forward, but I think the picture turned looking pretty good.  I took the picture of the "B" when I had a photo shoot with Isabella.  (She had a hard time balancing on one leg.)  Back at campus I found the the "S" in the rocks of the construction site by fanning; I was ecstatic when I found the "S" in the broken up concrete.  My two numbers are one and zero.  I chose these numbers because this is the year 2010 and thought it only appropriate to have 10 as my numbers.  This assignment was difficult, but fun all at the same time. 

 

From Above

       Our assignment this time was to take two photos "from above".  We only had an hour to take one photograph and it had to be taken on campus; the other photograph could be taken at anytime and anywhere.  In both settings, the subject of the picture could not be in the center. This project was challenging because of the time limit, the time of day, and the lack of being able to plan for the first photo.  Contrary to what I originally thought, I got several really good photographs during this one hour.  (Even though my battery died, TWICE!)  The assignment was only to post two photographs, but I couldn't decide between three so I posted them all.  Hope you enjoy.

With these first set of photos, I stood outside on a chair at one of the patio tables; the sun was at such a place in the sky that it put a shadow on another chair around the patio table. I placed the chair to the right of the picture with the shadow lingering to the right.  Simple, but the simplicity is what draws me to this picture.

These next photos were taken of leaves on a brick walkway.  I actually didn't take many of these photos, and most of them did not turn out very well because of lighting and placement of the leaves.  This photo was the only one that I liked out of this set, and now it's my favorite picture I took that day.

This last set of photographs were taken in the courtyard of Fanning Hall after I charged my battery for my camera.  I didn't expect any of these to turn out very well, but a couple of them did.  This one was my favorite because it was so different.  

Timeless Photographs

   For my seminar class, our assignment was to take a photograph that was timeless.  When one looks at a timeless photo, they are not able to pinpoint the exact time the photo was taken; whether that's what time of day, the week, the month, the season, the year, the decade, or even the century.  I found this assignment to be quite difficult.  We were under an hour time limit which was challenging in itself, but it challenged me artistically as well.  The only thing I thought that I could capture to be timeless was trees, bushes, or other plants.  I took about ten to fifteen photos of these subjects.  Some turned out quite well, but I was not satisfied.  It was while I was talking to a friend about how light my backpack was because I only had two notebooks and my piano book.  The following is my thought pattern: piano book, need to practice piano, piano is black and white, cool angles, timeless photographs possible.  Needless to say, I headed straight to the McMeen Music Center.  I got some really cool shots in the practice room.  I hope you enjoy my timeless black and white shot.

This picture shows the keys and part of the backboard of the piano.  The keys look to be in good condition, but the backboard appears cracked and worn.  There are some pianos fifty or more years old that are kept in good condition and look new, but there are also some pianos only five or so years old that have not been taken care of and look worn and dilapidated.  This picture can be viewed as either new or old; that is why it is timeless.

Glimpse

The assignment this week was to take two photos that exhibited elements of a Glimpse.  A Glimpse is a photograph that has a frame which takes up about two-thirds of the shot, but the focus is on a scene that is partially obscured.  These next two photographs are my attempts of a Glimpse.

The holly trees frame the car in the parking lot and building in the background.

The trunk and limb of a tree and other surrounding trees frame a building in the distance.

Silhouettes

In my seminar class, our project for this weekend was to take two interesting photos of silhouettes.  These next two photos were taken of my friend, Ambralin, around campus.

                            Ambralin looking up toward the sun on a cloudless day.

This picture was taken by complete accident.  I was actually taking out the trash Sunday afternoon.  (Why I had my camera is beyond me.)  I glanced down to see my shadow stretched out just beautifully on the pavement.  So, I snapped a quick photo.  

Frames and Windows

This photo was taken from the fourth flour of the McFarland Science Building.  Although the picture was taken from the other side of a window, the view was amazing!  The column on the left, the hills in the background, and the trees to the right really frame the bell tower.  I love this picture!

Centre of Interest

I chose the water fountain in the courtyard of my dorm as my centre of interest.  I loved how the light in the background offset the blackness of the sky, but somehow drew attention back to the fountain.  Having the fountain positioned off center and blurring the edges slightly, I believe, really brings a visual interest to the subject.

The Familiar

Choosing something familiar for this assignment was a difficult task for me.  Because I am not at home, nothing is really familiar to me here in Nashville.  The reason I ended up choosing this swing as my subject is that I see it everyday when i walk out the front doors of my dorm; it's the only thing that seems familiar to me here because something about it reminds me of my home in Kentucky.  The three pictures are shot from three different perspectives.  I chose these specific angles because they show the swing in ways I don't normally look at it but still convey its simple beauty.  As I was taking these photographs, I saw the colorful variety of the flowers, the abstract shape of the tree, the bright green color of the bushes, and the way the bugs crawled on the ground surrounding the swing.  It occurred to me that even the most simplest of scenes can be the most stunning.

In order to see we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at. - Freeman Patterson

In Photography and the Art of Seeing, Patterson, the author, states "In order to see we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at".  This sentence intrigued me because I had never heard it before.  It really made me think about the accuracy of the statement.  As adults we tend to label the familiar.  Something we see everyday becomes just a building, just a flower, or just a an old tree; we don’t really stop to see it for is, we see only its label.  

Preoccupation with self is the greatest barrier to seeing, and the hardest one to break. -Freeman Patterson

In Freeman Patterson’s book, Photography and the Art of Seeing, Patterson wrote, "Preoccupation with self is the greatest barrier to seeing, and the hardest one to break".  This sentence stood out to me because it is so true.  I know that I tend to focus on things that seem important at the time, but in the process I miss the simple beauties that are all around me.  I hadn't realized how much I had been just looking at things and not really seeing them.  Patterson sees the world in a different way than I do.  After reading his views, I have become more aware of the simple beauties in the world around me.

My Self-Portrait

I'm Here

Hey I'm Rachel Wilson and I go to Lipscomb University!!!!  And these are my pictures