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.